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[Fall54]

I am 49 years old and have a brother who is 46 who has been diagnoised with lung cancer that has spread to his liver ( at least 30 spots) and has eaten through a bone in his back. He has completed radiation on his back and has no more pain there. After his first round of chemo all his tumors have shrunk and his liver function is better. I became so depressed and couldnt get a grip on this that I needed to go on an antidepressant. I am doing better now. My brother lives 3 hours away and I have gone and spent several days at a clip with him several times. I am afraid for him. He doesnt seem to know the severity of it. He has never asked his DR. His DR did tell him that it was not curable but was treatable. I think he thinks that it can just be treated indefinantly. I did buy and read the book "Final Gifts" and that has helped me a lot. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on and also go to the American Cancer web site a lot. I am not sure if I am asking any qusetions here or just need the support of others who have been through this. God Bless you all.

[TheresaKB]

Hello,

Welcome to the family. I am so glad that you found us. As the days go on I am pretty sure you will have a lot of questions and concerns. Just log in here and post them and somehow somebody will try to anwer you. As you will get to know the various members of this group you will notice the large amount of long term survivors who have defied statistics and their doctors' prognosis. There is a lot of hope yet for your brother, just hang in there.

Praying for you and your brother,

Theresa

[karenl]

Welcome!

Firstly, CONGRATULATIONS to your brother on a positive response to chemo!! That is wonderful. I know that stage IV is a devastating diagnosis to hear, but things are already looking up for your brother if the chemo is working for him. Try to hold on to the positives! I hope he continues to get more shrinkage, and that as the days go by, you find the strength you need to help him in his battle with this disease. We all know how overwhelming those first few months are (and the rest ), so please come to this board when you need a shoulder to lean on.

Karen

[karen335]

HI Fall,

Welcome! Sorry you have to be here, but you are going to find a lot of information, caring and loving people here. This site has the most support and information. You will not EVER find another site like this one. Rick and Katie Brown are the Administrators of this site and they are totally awesome. This site has been a blessing and comfort and comfort to many. Please post often and let us know how your brother and you are doing. In my prayers...

Blessings,

Karen

[DeanCarl]

I'm sorry you had to seek us out but VERY glad you found us. Whatever it is you need at any given time, information (or where to go to get it) or support, you can pretty much find it here.

Ya know, your brother just might be one of the ones who CAN be "treated indefinately". Or he might be one of the ones who makes the doctors look REALLY stupid and ends up being cured. We have both of those types right here on this board.

In your reading you've probably come accorss some pretty grim statistics on this disease. Here's something to think about. Who's to say your brother won't be one of the ones who ends up on the good side of those statistics? When you read that five year survival rates are in the single, or low double didgits ... well ... SOMEBODY had to be on that side of the ledger. Why not your brother?

Is the road ahead a bumpy one? Sure. But one really nice thng about it, it doesn't have to be travelled alone!

Dean

[dadstimeon]

Welcome Fall! Best place with the best people. Stay with us. Peace, take care and God Bless. Rich

[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 / The Power Of Laughter / United We Stand, Divided We Fall / That’s The Key]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... h&DB=books (NCBI / BookShelf)

http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/tr ... ng/patient (SCLC)

http://www.meds.com/pdq/smallcell_pat.html (Medicine OnLine / SCLG)

http://health.allrefer.com/health/prima ... -info.html (Diseases And Conditions / SCLC)

http://www.hospicefoundation.org (Hospice Foundation Of America)

http://www.hospiceweb.com (Hospice Web)

http://www.hospice-america.org/consumer.html (Hospice Association Of America)

http://www.hospicenet.org (Hospice Net)

http://www.plwc.org/plwc/MainConstructo ... 151,00.asp (PLWC Feature: Talking to Someone With Cancer)

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/ ... 87526.html (3-year-old keeps her smile in battle with rare cancer)

http://www.rfalung.com (Radio Frequency Ablation Of Lung Cancer)

http://www.lungcancercoalition.org (Global Lung Cancer Coalition)

http://www.plwc.org/plwc/MainConstructo ... 008,00.asp (PLWC Feature: Financial Support Resources)

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/nycu/healt ... hqcanc.htm (Best Hospitals)

https://www.alcase.org/advocacy/sign_the_petition.html (Advocacy /Sign the Petition)

http://www.cancersymptoms.org (Oncology Nursing Society)

http://www.plwc.org/plwc/MainConstructo ... 008,00.asp (Questions to Ask the Doctor)

http://www.alcase.org/education/publica ... reath.html (With Every Breath A Lung Cancer Guidebook / From ALCASE / A Wealth Of Information / Free)

http://www.cancersurvivaltoolbox.org (The Cancer Survival Toolbox / Free / From NCCS)

http://www.centerwatch.com (Clinical Trails Listing Service / Center Watch)

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&editi ... ung+cancer (Lung Cancer In The News)

http://www.thewellnesscommunity.org/pro ... /guide.asp (The Wellness Community / National Cancer Support, Education And Support / Free)

http://www.drugs.com (Drug Information Online)

http://www.alcase.org (ALCASE / Alliance For Lung Cancer Advocacy, Support, Education)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov (Unites States / National Library Of Medicine)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html (Health Information / Medical Encyclopedia)

http://www.google.com (Great Search Engine)

http://blochcancer.org (R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation, Inc. / Please read: A Letter to all newly diagnosed cancer patients)

http://www.cancer.org (American Cancer Society)

http://www.cancer.gov (Cancer Information Service / NCI)

http://www.cancerresearchcenter.org (Cancer Research Center)

http://www.aicr.org (American Institute for Cancer Research; Nutrition Hotline / AICR)

http://www.cancerhopenetwork.org (Cancer Hope Network)

http://www.acor.org (Association of Cancer Online Resources / Free Online Lifeline For Everyone Affected By Cancer & Related Disorders)

http://www.meds.com/lung/lunginfo.html (Lung Cancer Information Library)

http://www.lungusa.org (American Lung Association)

http://www.ama-assn.org (American Medical Association)

http://www.docguide.com/news/content.ns ... g%20Cancer (Doctor’s Guide / Lung Cancer)

http://www.healthfinder.gov/Scripts/Sea ... ?topic=506 (Healthfinder)

http://www.medicinenet.com/Lung_Cancer/article.htm (Medicine Net)

http://www.cancerindex.org/clinks2l.htm (Cancer Index / Lung Cancer Resources Directory)

http://www.nfcr.org/site/PageServer?pag ... ncers_lung (National Foundation For Cancer Research)

http://www.patientadvocate.org (Patient Advocate Foundation)

http://www.lungcanceronline.org/effects ... fects.html (Lung Cancer Online / Hematologic (Blood) Effects)

http://www.cancerlinks.org/lung.html (Lung Cancer Links)

http://www.cancer-free.com (Cancer Free Connections)

http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/C ... ung_cancer (Health Insite)

http://www.lungcancerclaims.com (Lung Cancer / Lung Cancer Information Page)

http://www.cancerlifecenter.com/engine. ... =dictionar (Cancer Life Center/ Cancer Dictionary)

http://www.canceryellowpages.com/Resour ... G%20CANCER (Cancer yellow Pages)

http://icare.org (ICARE / The International Cancer Alliance)

http://www.vh.org/index.html (Virtual Hospital)

http://www.lungcanceronline.org/support/financial.html (Lung Cancer Online / Financial, Legal & Insurance Issues)

http://cancernews.healthology.com/focus ... cancernews (Cancer News)

[Don Wood]

Welcome to the board! "Treatable" is good, and it seems the chemo is doing its job. My wife also had upper spinal pain, pain in the hip and rib pain, all of which treated with radiation and the pain went away. Do you know what type of lung cancer you brother has? Keep us posted. Don

[Donna G]

Welcome Fall54. I bet that is your birthday season. So sorry to hear about your younger brother. If he responds well to chemo and radiation he may have some good quality time ahead. Sounds like he is doing well now. I hope you find the info and support you need . Donna G

[gerbil runner]

Welcome, Fall54. Attitude counts for a lot, so if your brother believes he'll be treated indefinitely, more power to him!