A long road and more to come

[star]

Hi

Let me introduce myself I am a 63 year old woman who was just diagnosed today with SCLC with 3 tumors to the brain and I am scared to _________.

I have been reading your many posts for the last couple of months and have been very encouraged by what I have read here. Tomorrow I am off to see the oncologists at Sunnybrooke Medical Centre in Toronto, Ontario and hope anyone can give me advice on what questions to ask when I get there. My biggest hurdle is my husband who is so against my having radiation. Right now I do not see any other options that could present themselves to me at this time.

Hoping that more you have some helpful advice that could help me convince my husband that this could be the only course of treatment open to me. He just recently lost his brother (54) to cancer after chemo and he believes it only prolonged his life but not to the betterment of it.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day than what I am feeling right now.

Star (my dog)

Pat

[ginnyde]

Oh Pat, I am so sorry you have to be here. This is your journey and the choices for treatments have to be yours. Many, many here have had successful treatment of brain mets with radiation with no lasting side effects.

Let us know how we can help you.

[Patkid]

Hi, Pat, my name is Pat, also.

I understand your husband's concerns. I lost my sister to SCLC at age 50. When my husband, Brian, was diagnosed I had a pretty clear idea what treatment entailed. It was hard to know what he may go through.....................BUT!

Each person is different. Each person is just that : A PERSON.

Many people go through chemo and/or radiation and/or surgery and/or gamma knife and/or RAF..........and each person reacts individually.

Though this diagnosis impacts your husband, it is yours. You make the calls. Then your husband, (and if you wish) all of us support you and encourage you.

Brian makes the motions --- I second them -- no matter what. If he wants to try the "??? green bean ???? treatment or the ????? Dial Soap ????? treatment then that is what we will do............and Pat, so far, so good!!!

Don't give up............you are NOT a statistic, nor are you anyone else..............

You go girl!!!

We are all here for you.

Tell Hubster we are here for him, too. His role is tough, but we can help.

Lots of love!

Pat and Brian O

[Wendy]

Hi Pat:

So sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I know you are running the gammut of emotions right now. There is so many things going on in everyone's mind that it may get overwhelming. BUT.....

rest assured there is hope!!

So many people view treatment for cancer as a horrible experience. You can always find someone with a horror story or two to tell. The truth is that the treatments are so much more improved.

There is life after treatment, during treatment and in the years to come.

You mentioned your husband having potential different views on treatment for you. What would I suggest - gather information on the treatments. Discuss them with your husband. Ultimately the decision is yours to make, but by researching and informing your husband he may agree with the treatment plan.

Good luck at your appointment tomorrow. I will keep you in my thoughts.

Keep us posted,

Wendy

[nancy c]

Pat-I'm sorry for your troubling news. It is very hard to deal with the dx,treatment, and trying to keep the family happy with your treatment,Doctors,etc. You hang in there and fight this with all your might.This site is the most wonderful place to be. It has given me so much comfort,hope,and strenght. These people are really angels among us. Keep in touch and you can always get a second opinion about your future treatment,surgery, etc. That is what is the most disturbing for me.My husband has always refused or didn't feel the need for another doctor's opinion. I am a nurse(orthopedic surgery--far cry from oncology!)and I always felt another Dr's input was a good idea. But that wasn't my husband's desire.I wish you the best and God bless,Nancy C

[stand4hope]

Hi Pat and WELCOME!

My husband was diagnosed with 8 brain mets. He had WBR (whole brain radiation) and stereotactic radiosurgery (w/a machine called Novalis). He still has 4 mets left, but the treatments got rid of 4 and shrunk the others by 30%. They stayed that way for well over a year. If he hadn't had the radiation he wouldn't still be here with me. Not only that, he had a very, very good year! I mean a really great year. I don't want you to read it on another post, though, and be surprised, so I do have to tell you that recently he isn't doing so well, but I wish I had the time to tell you how well he has done until very recently.

I know the idea of having radiation to the brain sounds really, really scary, but the alternative is a lot more gruesome. I hope he opts for the radiation.

Love and hugs,

Peggy

[Frank Lamb]

Hi Pat,welcome to our support family.There are many knowing and caring people here.Sorry you had a need to find us but glad your here.

SCLC is more agressive than NSCLC but it also responds very well to treatments.(please tell hubby that).There are many here who have had good results with radiation and chemo.

[Don M]

welcome Pat. Tomorrow will be a better day.

Don M

[Maryanne]

Hi Pat,

I just want to welcome you to our family. You will get all the support you need here.

I think your husband has to get used to the idea that you have LC. You have to leave it up to your doctors and you what the best treatment is. But if you are not satisfied, you can always get a 2nd opinion.

Your husband is so scared right now and is afraid he is going to lose you, like his brother. He has to know that this is not a death sentence and there is help out there for this disease. There are so many on here with SCLC with Mets to the brain that have been around for years. But you must have treatment.

Let us know what the doctor tells you. You must do what you feel is right for you, no matter how you hubby feels about it. It is your decision to make.

Keep us informed Pat, and I am so sorry for your diagnosis. We are always here for you. Hang in there, you can and will fight this thing.

Maryanne

[Don Wood]

Welcome, Pat. I am not sure how to convince your husband. I do believe the patient's wishes should be respected and supported, even if they are different from mine. I can tell you that, before my heart attack, I would always say "no surgery -- noone is going to cut me open/" Then I was faced with the reality of having heart bypass surgery. It was an easy decision to have it done, because it saved my life. Also, everyone reacts differently to chemo and radiation, so you can't use someone else's example to predict your own situation. Keep us posted. Don

[J.C.]

Hello Pat,

just want to welcome you in the club

nobody wants to be a member.

I will let the knowledgeble people

answer some of your questions.

Hugs

J.C.

[SBeth]

Good Morning Pat,

Just a warm welcome and letting you know that you will gain a great deal of knowledge, support and love from the many many caring people here!

[DebsSky]

Hi Pat:

My Mother is going for her 3 month check on the 7th. She is NED, thank God! She received all the standard treatments as you can see beneath. She did not get rad. to her lungs as pulmonary function was a big factor and they did not want to compromise it anymore. She did receive PCI. (rad. to head) as a preventative measure.

SCLC is very response to Chemo. and rad. and is the standard treament for SCLC. Your husband should be aware of how aggressive SCLC is, but how well it responds to treatment. If my Mother had not had treatment, she would not be here right now. We almost lost her back in September, then she had a 100% turnaround because of her oncologist's regime.

Take care, prayers for you,

Deb

[Doughnut]

I am new here myself but just wanted to welcome you. I am sorry about your diagnosis and the additional stress you are under. I like Wendy's advice. Let us know how you get on.

Dee