CancerCompass message board discussion started by Terri on 5/25/2004 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,1146,0.htm Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ My mom has lung cancer and it spread to her lymph nodes, if you have any information about this and what we will be going through I would love to hear from you. Just want to be able to cope with this stuff and help my Mother through it. She is 73 years old and it is very hard to stay calm when she is upset and worried. I cope okay but come home and cry. I have a lot of brothers and sisters and we are all worried. Terri Tue, 25 May 2004 00:00:00 GMT I can understand as well. My father who is 75 years old has been diagnosed with lung cancer. The hardest thing is trying to get him to change his eating and to get him to exercise. He is beginning to listen. I got a breakthrough in getting him to start some antioxidants vitamins. Also, getting him in spiritual tune to be healed. I believe cancer is a mean spirit. We need to educate our fellow man on nutrition and exercise. I will pray for your mom as well. Let me know how you are coming along. Does she believe in God? I would put some spiritual tapes on either music or the book of Psalms. Mary F. Tue, 01 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT Hi, I have had lung cancer, but it had not spread to the lymph nodes and I was 41 years old. I am 43 now and so far cancer free. I don't know if I can help you, but I will if I can. I had surgery to remove half of the upper right lung. I can answer questions about the surgery, but I did not have chemo or radiation, so I cannot help you there. It was diagnosed as non-small cell. It's official name was large cell carcinoma stage 1. I was very lucky. If your mom is having surgery or you think I can answer any questions you have, please feel free to write. I only check this website once a week or so. If you would like to e-mail me direct you can. My name is Cindy. My prayers are with you and your family. Sincerely, Cindy Cindy A. Wed, 02 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT Hi Cindy, My name is Carol. My husband was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in August. He also had the upper right lobe of his lung removed. He had two nodules and only one lit up so they diagnosed the one nodule as adenocarcinoma and removed the whole lobe as a precaution. They now want to put him through chemo and he has decided not to do it. We both feel that to destroy the immune system and only God knows what other organs would be permanently damaged is not worth the risk. His surgeon said he gave him a 97% survival rate whereas the oncologist gave him a 75% survival rate, the oncologist told us if he were his sugeon he would have told us the same thing. Unprofessional or what? Let me know anything you can about your situation. Thanks and God Bless. Carol Mickey2 Tue, 28 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT Hi Terri. My mom was just diagnosed with lung cancer that has spread to her lymph nodes. First of all, I was scared. I still am, but now I am angry, and determined. My mom is still in shock, and we really don't have all the details, except that surgery is not an option. If you need anyone to talk to, that is dealing with the same illness as you, message me back. I would love to share tips and suppport. Tuffy Tuffy Sun, 02 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT If the lung cancer is small cell, my husband was diagnosed in Jan 2004. We were told that small cell lung cancer doesn't respond to surgery. He went with chemo and radiation...first and foremost get a mediport so you won't have a problem with your blood veins...blood test chemo infusion etc, the chemo really does a number on your veins. After several rounds of chemo you will most likely not want to eat,lots of nausea and vomiting when the radiation starts it will knock you on your butt..very tired.. you must eat and drink water. My husband had scatter radiation in his throat area and he could not swallow, basically he was starving to death, if this happens demand a G-tube for feeding it saved his life.. cancer is very hard on everyone involved..stay positive and don't give up. Mary S Mary007 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 00:00:00 GMT Hi, my name is brittany. My dad was just recently diagnosed with lung cancer. He is only 42. He was diagnosed Monday March 21st. The doctors don't know what kind of lung cancer it is right now. They sent some off to be tested. I was reading about different kinds, and came across this 5-year survival rate. I'm not sure if this means he will die after 5 years or not, im very confused and scared. My grandma just recently died from cancer on her kidney's that spread throughout her entire body. I seen her condition and can only pray my father doesn't end up like her. I am only 15, and i was wondering if you could tell me your experiences and what it was like, what all you went through? Please this would mean so much to me to hear from someone that has went through what my dad will be going through. Sincerely, Brittany Britt08 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 00:00:00 GMT My heart goes out to you Brittany. You are so young to be dealing with this stuff. You are also a strong and loving young lady to be searching for information on your Dad's illness. My Dad was diagnosed wtih non small cell lung cancer stage IV in October of 2004. Since then he has had 3 rounds of chemo and seven weeks of radiation and chemo. We are waiting for the results of the latest treatments. It is very hard to see your Dad sick at any age. Just being there for them and loving them means so much. You said you were looking at 5 year statistics. I did the same thing at first. Then I realized that every case of cancer is different. That they group people of different ages and physical health together and give you the average. Your Dad is young and most likely healthy otherwise. That will help him greatly to beat this cancer. Don't ever give up hope for that. If you have any questions please get in touch with me. God bless you and your family. Godblessu Fri, 22 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT Dear Cindy, I wish you and your husband the best of health and luck with your choice. My husband had his left lung removed from Cancer in December of 2004. The doctor believed he got it all and they also removed one or two lymph nodes asw with your husband. However 6 months later it was in the lymph nodes down the center of his chest causing his esaphagus form an "S" cruve and making him choke when he ate or drank. We also found out at that time that it had started with just a couple of small spots in his right lung. Radiation and Chemo were started to shrink the thorasic nodes so he could eat and drink. Radiation worked but the Chemo did nothing for the cancer in the lung. It grew more in the lung and it has now spread to his liver. He lost most of his hair and became very weak with difficulty walking. So two weeks ago the Chemo was stopped just before the last treatment due to it not working and he was put on Tarceva. Look that up on Google.com for information on how it works. My husband now needs assist with walking and especially getting from sitting. Last Friday a new problem arose, and he is unable to hold his urine. He was in the hospital for the last two days for MRI and CT scans which showed that it has not gone to the spine or brain. This morning Rainbow Hospice is coming to help ease the situation at home since I work and am wearing down with the sleep interrupted nights. I do not mean to scare you but make sure that your husband really does not need Chemo or Radiation. Maybe if we had gotten it at the start it would not have spread so quickly or even at all. My husband has diabetes too so that also adds more complications to our situation. Good luck and God Bless you and your husband and I hope that your journey will be much more successful then ours was. Live Life and enjoy each day as the last just to make sure you don't miss a minute. Caringly, Diane Diane7 Sun, 11 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT I am sorry this last message from Diane was really meant for Mickey2 not Cindy. Mickey was replying to Cindy. I would never have sent this to Cindy because this really does not apply to her situation. I am so sorry. I hope that Mickey is the one that really gets the last message sent by Diane. Diane7 Sun, 11 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT Hi Mary, I was wondering how your husband is today? My mother 55 has recently been told she has stage 4 small cell lung cancer that has spread to her bones. She had to get decompression back surgery because the cancer ate away the back bone. I was just wondering what kind of hope we might have. She is going through radiation now. She is so tired and not eating well. I am hoping she starts to eat again. When radiation stops the are going to start her chemo. I guess I am just wondering what to expect of all this. She is staying with my family now. The back surgery seems to have put her behind as it is. Well any response would be appreciated. Thank you, Kim Kim1234 Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT Hi Kim. Sorry to say but my husband passed away on August 21. He had complications from brain surgery. Please don"t let this make you feel hopeless. When my husband first started his treatment of chemo in Jan 4, 2004, he did pretty well. The very first thing we had put in him was a medi-port. This helps with anything that has to be put into a vein. If your mother doesn't have one of these yet please make sure she gets one. The chemo is very caustic and will ruin her veins. Second thing we had put in was GI-tube(stomach tube)My husband lost over 100 pounds and so he wouldn't starve to death we had the GI tube put in. When your mom starts chemo both of these will help her. When she gets to the point where no matter what she eats it will probably taste like heavy metal or just plain yucky and she probably won't want to eat. The GI tube is there to feed her right into her stomach. There are liquid high calorie protein drinks made especially for this. I hope this helps, if I can help in anyway what so ever, pleas let me know. Thank You Kim, sincerely Mary Mary007 Sun, 13 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT I am so sorry to hear this news of your husband. How old was he? Are you talking Aug. of 2004 or 2005? Did your husband have any good days through all of the chemo and radiation treatments? We have already put in a medi port. My mom is quite depressed. I feel so very bad for her. I am having a heck of a time myself. She stays with us now and I keep telling her that as soon as she gets feeling better she will be back in her own place. I only hope that this can happen for her. Everything I read on this cancer is so bad though. Where all was your husbands cancer? Do you have children? I have 2 ages 11 and 15 both boys. They seem to be handling Grandma being here ok but it does worry me a bit. Well again so sorry for your loss. Hope you are doing as well as you can be. Sincerly, Kim Kim1234 Sun, 13 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT Dear Kim, My husband died Aug. 21 of 2005. Yes he had very good days after his first bad reaction to chemo due to his diabetes. Please have you or your Mother talk to the Dr. about depression. My husband took prozac, of course he was taking it before the cancer. He did have bouts of depression due to medicine and being so tired and not being able to do what he use to do. His cancer started in his lung,then went to his spine, then to his brain. You need to take care of yourself because if you get ran down you can't help anyone. We have a total of 6 kids between us, one (20 yrs old) that's ours, 4 are his and 1 is mine. So it has been hard for all. The five older kids are over 34. My husband just turned 67. You said your Mother is 56? That's how old I am. You take a day at a time. Make sure your mother doesn't loose to much weight. Take care and I will keep you and yours in my prayers. Sincerely Mary Mary007 Sat, 19 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT Hi I have my sister-in-law who has non-small cell lung cancer stage 4 and is done with her chemo and is on avastin and tarcerva she has been on tarcerva for 1 month and has diareaha and throwing up and has no appitite does anyone have anyone in this stage of treatment? She already had the pimples and the itching and her feet hurt on the bottom. She had a scan yesterday and it came back really good that can hardly see anything but she isnt doing good emotionly or physically does anyone know if this well get better because they say they want her to take it for 2 years. She got diagosed in Oct 2006 Starlene2 Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT  On 6/12/2007 Starlene2 wrote:Hi I have my sister-in-law who has non-small cell lung cancer stage 4 and is done with her chemo and is on avastin and tarcerva she has been on tarcerva for 1 month and has diareaha and throwing up and has no appitite does anyone have anyone in this stage of treatment? She already had the pimples and the itching and her feet hurt on the bottom. She had a scan yesterday and it came back really good that can hardly see anything but she isnt doing good emotionly or physically does anyone know if this well get better because they say they want her to take it for 2 years. She got diagosed in Oct 2006Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your sister-in-law.  I also have stage 4 lung cancer in both lungs diagnosed 10/06.  I did not have the chemo or radiation but was put on Tarceva 150 for about 6 weeks.  When they did the CT scan the tumor had started to shrink and stabilizebut the side effects were too much so stopped taking it for a month.  Then went back on it at 100 mg day instead of 150.  It has made a big difference.  While on the 150 I didn't want to eat and spent most of my time laying down because I was so tired.  I started taking Pomagranate juice with orange juice every day and have recently started taking liquid ginseng.  I feel great most of the time.  I work full time and have not had to miss too much work.  I make sure I get my rest at night.  While I was on the 150 I stopped eating all meat and started eating lots of vegetables and drinking lots of juice.  Tell your sister-in-law there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Once you get past the shock of these drugs in your system things start to turn around.  She may want to see if the doctor can change her dosage on the tarceva.  The onc also put me on Kytril 1 mg for nausea.  That helped me get my appetite back because I didn't feel like I would get sick every time I looked at food when I was taking it.   I have my next PET scan the first of next week so will know then if the stabilization is holding.  Everyone is different.  My doctor told me in the beginning I only had a year max.  After 7 1/2 months I'm still going strong and eating like a horse now.  I've only lost 15 pounds during this whole time and that was most due to nerves.   Tell her to hang on and fight, don't give up.  With you in her corner, I doubt you're going to let that happend.  Take care and God Bless you both.  If you have any other questions, I'll be glad to answer if I can based on what's happened to me.  Nancy      Chessie Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT