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New here.... but not to lung cancer -- a brief introduction


Lisa O

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Hello. I know some of you from the ACOR list. My name is Lisa. I am a 42 year old "mom" of 2 lovely daughters, a wife to a wonderful man, and a contracting attorney. I have been battling adenocarcinoma/BAC since July, 2002. I have recently rediscovered this board and decided to log on and say hello!

I had two prior surgeries during which time 11 nodules had been removed. After surgery, several nodulse reoccurred on the right lung and new nodules were noted on the left lung. I have been on Iressa since October of 2002 which has been holding me stable so far. I had my CT scans today and I am hoping for continued stability.

I look forward to getting to know you.

Lisa

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Hi Lisa,

Glad your back. Great site with great people. Good luck on your Ct scan. Let us know. Peace, take care and God Bless.

Rich

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The Power Of People Helping People / The Power Of Knowledge / The Power Of God / The Power Of Believing / The Power Of Positive Thinking / The Power Of Never Taking No For An Answer / That’s The Key

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With Every Breath A Lung Cancer Guidebook / From ALCASE / A Wealth Of Information / Free

http://www.alcase.org/education/publica ... reath.html

The Cancer Survival Toolbox / Free / From NCCS

http://www.cancersurvivaltoolbox.org

Clinical Trails Listing Service / Center Watch

http://www.centerwatch.com

Lung Cancer In The News / GOOGLE

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&editi ... ung+cancer

The Wellness Community / National Cancer Support, Education And Support / Free

http://www.thewellnesscommunity.org/pro ... /guide.asp

Drug Information Online

http://www.drugs.com

ALCASE / Alliance For Lung Cancer Advocacy, Support, Education

http://www.alcase.org

Unites States / National Library Of Medicine

http://www.nlm.nih.gov

Health Information / Medical Encyclopedia

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html

Google / Great Search Engine

http://www.google.com

R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation, Inc. / Please read: A Letter to all newly diagnosed cancer patients

http://blochcancer.org

American Cancer Society / No Matter Who You Are, We Can Help

http://www.cancer.org

Cancer Information Service / NCI

http://www.cancer.gov

Cancer Research Center / A Cure For Cancer...

http://www.cancerresearchcenter.org

American Institute for Cancer Research; Nutrition Hotline / AICR

http://www.aicr.org

Cancer Hope Network / Cancer?

http://www.cancerhopenetwork.org

Association of Cancer Online Resources / Free Online Lifeline For Everyone Affected By Cancer & Related Disorders

http://www.acor.org

Lung Cancer Information Library / Electronic Library Of Comprehensive Educational Materials On Cancer For Healthcare Professionals And Patients.

http://www.meds.com/lung/lunginfo.html

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Hello Lisa;

Welcome and so very glad you decided to join our wonderful family here. :):)

Just wishing you well and praying your scans come out good

God bless and be well

Bobmc- NSCLC- stageIIB- left pneumonectomy- 5/2/01

" absolutely insist on enjoying life today!"

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Hi Lisa,

Welcome.

For those interested. Lisa & I went to Western Michigan University together back in the early 80"s. We lived on the same floor at "Stinson Hall".

Lisa happened to recognize my name on the ACOR website.... and she has introduced me to others there as well.

"Small world" as they say. I am sad that we both have this challenge, but I am thankful for having an opportunity to get re-aquanted with Lisa...

Lisa, I dont know if you remember Bill Hogeboom? My cancer has actually gotten us back together (we were good friends in college) I called him to let him know to have a chest xray (we both sprayed chemical pesticides as a summer job for a company to control spiders on lakefront homes- during our college years) - and I thought this might have caused my condition- since I never smoked.. and wanted to make sure he got checked out.

Anyway, sometimes the Lord brings us blessings even in the hardest of circumstances....

Lisa, I am praying that the CT results are excellent!

Joe

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Welcome Lisa~

Isn't stable a wonderful word? So glad the Iressa is working for you.

I live not too far from your buddy Joe. What area are you in? We are getting too many Michiganders in here. What's going on? The car factories maybe???

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Tarceva is just like Iressa, but I read that it is more powerful. I may have read that from the manufacturer of Tarceva, so do your own research. But the release below indicates that the combo works really well (Tarceva/Herceptin)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 9, 2003

HER2 RECEPTOR MAY BE IMPORTANT TARGET FOR BRONCHIOALVEOLAR CARCINOMA THERAPY

(CHICAGO) — A new study suggests the combination of two new “smart drugs” may be effective in treating bronchioalveolar carcinoma (BAC), a type of non-small cell lung cancer generally considered resistant to chemotherapy. Researchers from UC Davis Cancer Center reported the finding last week at the American Society for Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

“This is an important breakthrough,” said Paul Gumerlock, associate professor of hematology & oncology at UC Davis Cancer Center and an author of the study. “It suggests a combination of drugs that block EGFR expression with drugs that block HER2 expression may have potent activity against a previously untreatable form of lung cancer.”

Iressa and Tarceva are examples of EGFR blockers; Herceptin was the first HER2 blocker to reach the market. All three drugs are examples of a new generation of so-called “smart” chemotherapy agents that specifically target cancer cells.

About 3 percent of all lung cancer patients have pure BAC tumors, and about 20 percent of all non-small cell lung cancers possess some BAC features. Unlike most lung cancers, BAC occurs more frequently in women than in men, and more frequently in nonsmokers than in smokers. It appears to be increasing in incidence. Patients with BAC generally live longer than those with more common non-small cell lung cancers, but BAC tumors are usually too diffuse for surgery and unresponsive to existing chemotherapeutic agents.

Preliminary research from other centers and anecdotal reports from around the country have suggested a role for the EGFR blockers Iressa and Tarceva in BAC. The UC Davis study provides new evidence that combining an EGFR blocker with a HER2 blocker may be more effective than an EGFR blocker alone.

In the study, UC Davis investigators examined tissue specimens collected from BAC patients enrolled in a previous clinical trial of the drug paclitaxel. The specimen bank represents one of the largest collections of BAC tissue in the country. Wilbur Franklin, professor of pathology at the University of Colorado in Denver, participated in the study.

The investigators found that although EGFR and HER2 expression varied among the tumors, BAC proliferation correlated with HER2 but not EGFR expression.

“This suggests that perhaps it’s the combination of EGFR and HER2 that may explain the unusual biology of BAC,” Gumerlock said.

Scientists at UC Davis Cancer Center, who participated in the design of the first clinical trial of Iressa in BAC patients, now hope to launch a clinical trial of HER2- and EGFR-blocker combination therapy in the treatment of BAC.

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Wow,

This is really an awesome supportive group!!! Thank you so much for the warm welcome, support and prayers!!! John I really appreciate the tip on the HER -- especially so close to my upcoming appointments!!! I am currently looking for my next step "just in case"!! But as I am thinking positively now.... I am hoping for continued stability!

Joe, I certainly do remember Bill. I hope he checks out okay. If you talk to him, please say hello for me. I am going to send you an email shortly.

As to the other Michigan folk here.... I live in the West Bloomfield area, northwest of Detroit. I am currently treating at U of M which is about 25 minutes from my house (so it seems we are all pretty close in area).

Again, I have been climbing the walls (as I usually do on scan night) so the support has done me a great deal of good. Thanks so much.

Lisa

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Hi Lisa, welcome to the Family. I'm also in Michigan, westland to be more precise and also being treated at the U of M, great place, great doctors and nurses(my wife is a nurse manager there, so I have to give them a plug too!)

I hope every thing works out great for you today. Know that I'm sending positive thoughts your way.

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Lisa,

Sorry to be late welcoming you....and worse yet, sorry that you have to even be here, but you have found a wonderful and very supportive place to be during this difficult time of your life!

Hope your scan results are all that you are praying for!

Prayers for strength to get you through the weeks and months ahead fighting this horrible disease.

Lynne

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Hi Lisa,

Welcome, there is one thing you will find here and that's support. There is a wealth of information and truly kind, caring people here. I also took my dad to UofM for a second opinion. My daughter graduated from WMU in April. Guess what hall she spent her first year in, that's right stinson. I am not sure if your familar with St. Clair Shores thats where I live. Its about a 30-40 minute drive from west bloomfield. Good luck with your test results Lisa, let us know.

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I just got back from the oncologist. My CT scans appear stable. One of the (eleven?) nodules even appears less dense. While the doctor seems to think it is probably just a different "slice" -- I prefer to think the Iressa is finally killing the cancer -- :o)

It can't hurt to think that way anyway --

right???

Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers.

Lisa

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Yep, Lisa, I'm with you.

Iressa's whooping up on the cancer!!!! :x:x , Congrats on your good check up and go out and celebrate.

my best to ya!!!

God bless and be well

Bobmc- NSCLC- satgeIIB- left pneumonectomy- 5/2/01

" absolutely insist on enjoying life today!"

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Hi Lisa, great news. I wonder is we crossed paths yesterday I saw Dr Kalemkerian also yesterday , then had chemo later in the afternoon.

So glad Iressa is working well for you, that is something we discussed a little yesterday, if my current chemo doesn't work.

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David, that is too funny!!! I was at U of M from about 2:30 til 4:30.... I also see Dr. Kalemkerian.

I hope you chemo is wildly successful and that you don't have to think about any next step -- but if you do -- Iressa is a pretty easy one in terms of relative side affects. How are you tolerating your current chemo??

Wishing you all the best....

Lisa

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Hi Lisa, Our paths did cross, I saw Dr K at 1:30 and was there until about

4:00pm in the chemo lab. I think Dr K and Collete are great, to me he always seems honest about my situation, but not doom ans gloom. As far as Collete on the wednesdau before Thanksgiving my wife ran in to her as they both were on their way to the parking structure to leave for the long weekend , she asked my wife if anyone had called about the results of an xray ray I had had when my wife told her no, she went back in the office looked them up, called me up and then discussed the results with me, I've always felt with those two I'm in capable, caring and competent care.

Aa far as my current chemo, I seem to be tolerating it well with the help of steriods, won't know how well it is working until mid January as I'm just starting my 2nd round.

I hope you continue to have great sucess with Iressa.

DAvid

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