new member

[cpunches24]

hi

my name is chrissy, and i'm new. haha

umm, i'm a caregiver/family member of a lung cancer patient right now. my mother was diagnosed about 4 months ago with stage iv adenocarcinoma, large cell type.

she's gone through one round of chemo therapy treatment as well as 22 sessions of radiation therapy... but, after a recent cat scan, the tumor has grown rather then shrunk, and its become completely inoperable even if it shrinks down a quarter of the size it is now. its started to press on her aorta and they're worried about performing surgery because of the risks.

i guess i'm here, because ... well, they don't give her long. and i'm looking for guidance. she lost her mother when she was the same age as me (23) and was very bitter. and she's worried i'll become very bitter towards her, the same way. she's got a lot of emotions right now, that i don't know how to cope with. i know i can't change them, but i guess i wanted to come here and see if you guys could help me figure out a way to cope.

they don't give her long. 'till the end of the year would be a surprise, but we can't say a definite timeline'

well. thats that. haha

as for me? theres not much to say. i'm into tattoos. and my new boston terrier puppy. haha

[SandraL]

Hi Chrissy. So sorry to hear about your mom and your family history. There is always hope and there are lots of survivor stories here. The members here are always at the ready to help in any way they can, about lung cancer itself or emotionally. So you have come to the right place. Please keep us posted on how your mom is doing.

Sandra

[cpunches24]

thanks so much

you did the same chemo 'cocktail' my mother did, etoposide and cisplatin (i'm spelling the first one wrong, i know, haha)

how did you react to that? my mother is really having a hard time.

[SandraL]

Hey there again Chrissy. As for the chemo cocktail of etoposide and cisplatin. I found that I felt a bit off after the 3 days of infusions. And took anti-nausea stuff before and after. It seemed to me that the worst of it was a number of days after and more related to getting off the decadron. Then I was extremely moody and not up to doing much or talking to anybody. Whatever your mother is going through is I am sure perfectly normal as any of this is, and be sure to remember that throughout, it is not her talking, it is the drugs. Decadron can be extremely mood altering to say the very least, and sleep depriving which wears on you and your mood as well. The important thing through chemo is to just get through it, and if your mom doesn't feel like eating then don't sweat that too much. The more important thing is to drink, drink, drink (non alcoholic of course, with lots of water being the key) and if you can't eat then so be it. Best wishes to your mom through the remainder of her treatment.

Sandra

[Don M]

Hi Chrissy. Once your mom is done with chemo, she may be able to have cyberknife (ck) so as to shrink the big tumor away from the aorta. If you live in the USA there are many facilities that have ck equipment.

http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/

I guess the way I cope is to focus on the next step and not to wrap myself up in a doctor’s prognosis. I guess your mom will just have to sort out her feelings about having cancer and how it will affect you. Maybe you both could talk about it from time to time…that is what I do with my wife and adult children… but mostly I just focus on the day at hand.

Don M