newly diagnosed

[dadstimeon]

Welcome Mch.

[ken f.]

hi,

welcome here and best of luck! i found it best to make lists. this defined the number of things i had to deal with so they didn't all run around in my head at once!

love, ken

[Leslie221]

Welcome. I joined this group last month and have found so much information and support. In January I was diagnosed with stage IV nsclc (had spread to verterbrae, pelvis, and a rib.) I was terrified and needed medication to shut off the scarey thoughts and sleep at night. I was put on Iressa right away and have felt better than I did before! It's true. I haven't had any pain, luckily, so no radiation. I'm on Tarceva now and still feel normal.

You'll feel better once you are settled with or near family and can get a routine going. After the first couple of months I realised I wasn't going to die suddenly and decided to try to live the best life I could. I feel confident I'll be able to use newer and newer treatments as time goes on and eventually be able to keep this a chronic condition.

Keep spirits up! Watch the funniest movies you can rent! Don't let youself sink into depression (that will only distort your thinking.) It helps me, if I start to panic a little, to say to myself, "I'm alive today and I feel great! Today is all anyone has." And that's the truth! Read books by Dr. Bernie Siegel - they will help you put yourself in a good frame of mind.

Best wishes and hope you'll be pain free and more relaxed soon.

Leslie

[Guest mch566]

Thanks Leslie,

I am coping a little better due to the need to get things done and get started on treatment. I start radiation tomorrow and also have a brain scan and abdominal ct scheduled. It's all so overwhelming - and I need to sell my home, move and arrange for a new doctor etc. How much I need to do has helped keep my mind off the disease - except now and again.

My family is assisting me and I will be relocating close to them early next month. I guess that's when the really scary stuff starts, becasue I will have to deal with the disease. Hopefully the radiation treatment will get rid of the pain - then I can at least function normally.

I hope to be able to learn from everyone her to help me understand how things progress.

Best wishes for your treatment plan and I'll plan on further "discussions" as I get situated for treatment.

[Leslie221]

Glad you're feeling a little better emotionally. Even though it's a lot to deal with, all your necessary tasks (selling house, etc.) are a gift in that they will help keep your mind focused off the disease most of the time and will remind you that you are still YOU - competent, able, determined. It's hard when you suddenly feel like a disease has taken over your identity and life. Don't let it!

There are times I remind myself "coffee still smells good when its brewing, the sun on my back is warm and reminds me of summer as a kid, this strawberry popsicle is really good, the dog still sheds all over the living room floor, the garbage goes out every Monday morning." It helps me to remember that the world hasn't really morphed into the Twilight Zone- even though it feels just like a nightmare at first. There are lots of days when I actually no longer thinks about the disease and when neighbors ask me how I'm doing, I realise they expect to hear more than, "I'm fine, how are you?"

A day may come when I can't forget about cancer, when I don't feel so normal. I understand that. But that day is not here now and all I have is NOW! I know that if I don't live life this way, someday I may very well look back on these days and want to kick myself for not enjoying whatever I could and for wasting time in worry and fear over things that didn't exist yet.

Good luck with all the life changes and paper work and hassle you face moving. Be sure to delegate any tasks that you can to others - not because you can't do them, but because you don't need have all the hassle.

P.S. What name would you like to be called in letters?

Leslie