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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Cancer / September 2006Results
Hi everyone.. Big day tomorrow. Cancer centre to find out results and treatment. Armed with a bunch of questions that you all have helped me with! Will get back to you all about what they say Macy > Big day tomorrow. Cancer centre to find out results and treatment. > Armed with a bunch of questions that you all have helped me with! > > Will get back to you all about what they say Our thoughts will be with you and your husband, Macy. I'll be here caring... Hugs J Hey J. Went in there with my questions, but it seems like i never got answers. Doctors went through his entire health history, took more blood and another chest xray. What they did tell me was that he has lesions on both his lungs. A large mass on his left side. He also has fluid in his lungs which is why he spits up so much phelgm. It is non-small cell cancer but they said the biopsy they took they were unable to determine the type of cancer? The oncologist told us without chemotherapy he would not last 2 months! With chemotherapy it will prolong his life by a few more months and will shrink the lesions which are pressing on his airways. We have not received his head scan yet and will be going in for a bone scan this Friday. Macy > > Big day tomorrow. Cancer centre to find out results and treatment. > > Armed with a bunch of questions that you all have helped me with! [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Hugs > J > Went in there with my questions, but it seems like i never got answers. > Doctors went through his entire health history, took more blood and [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > We have not received his head scan yet and will be going in for a bone > scan this Friday. Sorry you didn't get all your answers, Macy. Did they mention "undifferentiated"? or there's 3 types of NSCLC (adenocarcinoma, squamous or large cell carcinoma). NSCLC = non-small cell lung cancer It's sad to see the timeline they've given. The chemos these days often have less side effects, so hopefully they'll help your husband. If you have unanswered questions, Steph, our newsgroup oncologist may be able to assist. Hugs from me, J >> Went in there with my questions, but it seems like i never got >> answers. [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > Hugs from me, > J Macy, From my limited experience, predictions of time left can be very unreliable. Socks (my late husband) was told 6-18 months with chemo but lived very well for almost 4.5 years. Penny was cautioned in December not to pay for travel in January as they thought she'd be unable to travel by then. Yet she & her husband went on a multi-month car trip in February/March & she & I went to San Francisco in April. That's Penny, still posting! Others find their cancers move very swiftly. It's sometimes hard to know what to hope for. Once he is comfortable, you might just try to make each day special in some way. You will want to get his input into final wishes & have some sort of living will, but once you've covered those bases, just treasure each day. Socks was very social & needed his friends, so I threw him a big surprise party as he was beginning chemo - so he could visit with dozens of people he wanted to see - all at once. Took away a lot of the awkwardness of one-on-one too. One of the best things we did. Maybe they will answer your questions once the results are all in. Hope so. Someone should. J, we were told all 3 types of NSCLC were treated the same & I thought had similar prognosis. True? I was trying to recall which type Socks had & I think adenocarcinoma but may be wrong. Did he tell you? I can't find in his blog. We had a longish wait too, or it seemed so, while they searched for the primary. Over a week. And what J says of chemo was true in Sock's case. He had one day per treatment (2nd day post chemo) that he just stayed in bed & read/slept. But other days were much better & tumor shrank & pleural effusion went away. We made our plans around treatments. Very best times were just before a treatment for him. I hope you get answers soon. Waiting & not knowing are hard parts, Hugs, Fig > >> Went in there with my questions, but it seems like i never got > >> answers. [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > had & I think adenocarcinoma but may be wrong. Did he tell you? I can't > find in his blog. Yes, Socks had adeno. As to Macy's husband, investigations are ongoing. Hugs J > Yes, Socks had adeno. Thanks, J. Wish I'd thought to ask you when I was testifying on the smoking law. I wanted to mention type as it is caused by only 3 things - smoking, 2nd-hand smoke & radon. I just said 'the specific type he had...' which has less impact than naming. Do you know if those 3 causes are the only known ones for the other 2 types as well? Just curious... Fig Hi everyone Thanks for all your support. John had his bone scan on Friday. We had a phone call for his first chemotherapy tomorrow. I thought i would be looking forward to this day but in fact im scared. Talked to a few people who went through chemo and they said it was painful. What is the cause of the pain? We have prescriptions for nauseau and T3's. Our schedule is 2x within 8 days. Havent spoke with the oncologist since Monday and hopefully all the scans have come in. They never mentioned anything about undifferentiated. We take things day by day, seems thats the only thing we can do. Im not looking forward to tomorrow. : -( Macy > > >> Went in there with my questions, but it seems like i never got > > >> answers. [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Hugs > J > Hi everyone > [quoted text clipped - 56 lines] >> Hugs >> J Hi, Macy, I understand your concerns. It's a venture into the unknown. Everyone's different & there are so many different drug combos. My husband had no pain at all from chemo. He was very tired 2 days afterwards, so he just didn't make plans for that day. They flowed Benedryl before his chemos which tended to make him sleepy but prevented some possible reactions he never had. That may depend on type of chemo. I sometimes visited Socks when he was having chemo & saw a number of people on lounge chairs watching TV, reading, chatting, dozing but not visibly in pain. Sometimes I sent him with a plate of brownies, muffins or something else I'd baked. At the end of one round, I sent a box of chocolates as celebration. You don't have to do anything like that, but it can take the edge off & the nurses will appreciate it. The nausea can be sneaky, so ask doc, but if prescribed, have him take the stuff on a regular schedule post chemo even if he's not nauseous. Socks would sometimes vomit with no prior sensation of nausea. He found this strategy worked. Chemo can change the taste of food & some people advise not eating your favorites as it may turn you against them. Socks described as metallic taste. He particularly couldn't stand Diet Coke at times, which he loved [blah/gag]. He enjoyed fruit, especially cantulope. He couldn't tolerate spicy foods which he'd preferred before. Simple grilled meat & salads in small portions worked. You'll know more about how John tolerates chemo after the 1st treatment or two. Treatments are improving all the time. If you post the drugs he'll be taking, maybe others with recent experience will weigh in. Please don't worry. And let us know how it goes, please, Hugs, Fig Macy, I forgot about the ginger. We both find it fixes an upset tummy faster than anything else we've ever tried. The crystalized ginger is wonderful but spicy-hot. There's also ginger candy in the oriental markets & an oriental ginger drink (green carton & packets) - you dissolve in water. Anything ginger. We kept it handy throughout the house for instant grab. Fig >> "Macy" wrote : >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > oriental ginger drink (green carton & packets) - you dissolve in water. > Anything ginger. We kept it handy throughout the house for instant grab. I have been told (not had to try it yet) by a relative of a chemo patient that it may not even be necessary to ingest the ginger. This person just bought a ginger root at the grocery, scraped it a bit with a knife, and either laid the root on her chest or on a table nearby. Apparently the smell alone can ease the nausea. FWIW, Marsha > >> "Macy" wrote : >>> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > FWIW, > Marsha Wow! We never even thought of that. I rarely get nausea, but on a cruise ship we did a Rhum Runners excursion (you can imagine). I was to the point where I had lots of saliva & was moments from getting ill. A bite of ginger stopped that & I even went down to dinner. Ginger helped Sock's chemo nausea too. Fig > <snipped> but on a cruise > ship we did a Rhum Runners excursion (you can imagine). I did one of those excursions. Fell in love with their Rum Runners drinks, too. If I recall correctly (it was a lot of years and a lot of rum ago) we won a dance contest and the prize was a big plastic jug of the stuff. We shared it at dinner and had the happiest table in the dining room that evening. From Houston where we just arrived for another week of RT. Hugs, Janet  SignatureJanet Wilder Bad spelling. Bad punctuation Good Friends. Good Life Janet Wilder said... > > <snipped> but on a cruise > > ship we did a Rhum Runners excursion (you can imagine). [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > From Houston where we just arrived for another week of RT. Janet, did you have a good weekend? Was it this weekend you were meeting your granddaughter? What with all the other nonsense going on here I've lost track of things. SignatureEm >> From Houston where we just arrived for another week of RT. > > Janet, did you have a good weekend? Was it this weekend you were > meeting your granddaughter? What with all the other nonsense going on > here I've lost track of things. We meet the granddaughter on Wednesday when her parents change planes brom Guatemala to Newark. They have a brief lay over in Houston.It won't be a long meeting, just time for a few hugs. Janet SignatureJanet Wilder Bad spelling. Bad punctuation Good Friends. Good Life Janet Wilder said... > >> From Houston where we just arrived for another week of RT. > > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > brom Guatemala to Newark. They have a brief lay over in Houston.It > won't be a long meeting, just time for a few hugs. I'll be out all day on Wednesday, but when I get home I'll be checking here to see how you all got on. I missed (I think) the beginning of the saga, about why Guatemala etc, so I'm very slightly confused by what's going on, but no matter - I'm sure the little one has a fantastic life ahead of her now. Will you be posting any photos anywhere? You are taking your camera to the airport I hope? SignatureEm, eagerly anticipating > I'll be out all day on Wednesday, but when I get home I'll be checking > here to see how you all got on. I missed (I think) the beginning of the > saga, about why Guatemala etc, so I'm very slightly confused by what's > going on, but no matter - I'm sure the little one has a fantastic life > ahead of her now. Will you be posting any photos anywhere? You are > taking your camera to the airport I hope? My DIL has some serious gynacological problems and can't conceive. They tried the invitro which was very stressful. physically and emotionally so they decided to adopt. The babies from Guatemala are given up to the government before birth so the moms get to go to the city and have great medical care before and after birth. The babies are assigned to potential parents within days of their birth.The babies then go to government approved and monitored foster homes where they are raised. Every month the baby goes to the doctor who examines her and sends the parents to be a report and photos. The new mom and dad got to go to Guatemala for a long weekend when Marcella was a month old and spend a weekend with her in a hotel that is especially equipped and licensed for these visits. What is nice about these babies is that they are not dumped in orphanages, but are raised in loving homes. I will have to post some pictures. Maybe on the old blog, I'll figure it out. Hugs, Janet SignatureJanet Wilder Bad spelling. Bad punctuation Good Friends. Good Life Janet Wilder said... > > I'll be out all day on Wednesday, but when I get home I'll be checking > > here to see how you all got on. I missed (I think) the beginning of the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > tried the invitro which was very stressful. physically and emotionally > so they decided to adopt. I'm sorry Janet, I didn't mean to pry. It was insensitive of me. > The babies from Guatemala are given up to the > government before birth so the moms get to go to the city and have great [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > these visits. What is nice about these babies is that they are not > dumped in orphanages, but are raised in loving homes. On the face of it that sounds like a good system and a useful solution to a problem. If administered correctly it can presumably eliminate rogue 'dealers' in babies, since there would be little or no incentive for the birth mothers to go to such places. > I will have to post some pictures. Maybe on the old blog, I'll figure it > out. There are various free photo-hosting sites around. I use http://fotopic.net. Uploading photos is done step by step with very easy to follow instructions - which I need because I'm not that techy savvy when it comes to such things. SignatureEm, looking forward to tomorrow evening to hear how it all went > I will have to post some pictures. Maybe on the old blog, I'll figure it > out. > > Hugs, > Janet Hi Janet, I post a lot of photos that family members can then download. The site http://www.pbase.com/ You can test the page for 30 days free and pay a measly $23 US for a year subscription. That's less than a tank of gas. The nice thing about pbase is that they will let viewers choose the size of the images to suit their screen. Went to your blog and found some pics of the new family. Congrats. Marcella is really a beauty. Hope you get to spend more time with her soon Barb and I just got back from a week on Maui. while there I took a plane ride around the island and over the active volcano on the Big Island. I'll post the URL when I get them up. Bob SignatureMia culpa, mia Culpa, mia maxima culpa Jimmy Buffet Bob in Carmel, CA Janet Wilder <kelliepoodle@yahoo.com> wrote in news:44f31af0$0$9880$c3e8da3 @news.astraweb.com: >>> From Houston where we just arrived for another week of RT. >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Janet Enjoy your meeting! I'll be thinking of you cuddling your new granddaughter. Fig > >> From Houston where we just arrived for another week of RT. > > Was it this weekend you were> meeting your granddaughter? > > > We meet the granddaughter on Wednesday when her parents change planes > brom Guatemala to Newark. They have a brief lay over in Houston.It > won't be a long meeting, just time for a few hugs. I love layovers; being the greeter or the greetee.. The anticipation is so exciting; the partings often teary, but smiles and memories and hugs are so warming. I 'll be thinking of you tomorrow, Janet and hoping you'll get lots of hugs and warm smiles to hold in your heart. Hugs J > Hi everyone > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > We take things day by day, seems thats the only thing we can do. Im > not looking forward to tomorrow. : -( Good luck today, Macy. What you can maintain, if they don't provide one, is a symptom diary. There's one here in Adobe Acrobat format - 1 page. <http://dittany.googlepages.com/chemo_symptom_diary.pdf> It's graph-style There's a long list of (potential) symptoms (side effects) - can be checked off for each day. Then print it off , monitor how things are going with your husband and check off symptoms, each day. Then he cuuld give a copy of how things went (between treatment appointments) at his next appointment. It's also useful, to gauge whether the treatments helping your husband, more than causing worse problems. If something you (or he) weren't warned about happens, be sure to call the treating doctor. As caregiver, you have a right to communicatie, on behalf of your husband, to them. I may have other practical resources for you. So please let me know if I can help. I'll be watching for your posts and updates. J Macy said... > I thought i would be looking > forward to this day > but in fact im scared. Talked to a few people who went through chemo > and they said > it was painful. Painful? That's not what my mother (mouth cancer) said. She found the after-effects of RADIOtherapy painful and had problems with eating (but bear in mind her mouth was the target) but she didn't report any problems with the therapy itself. I don't recall her saying she had any pain with chemo, but as with everything there are side-effects that can be none too pleasant. To be honest I wouldn't worry about it if I were you - one thing that comes across crystal clear on this newsgroup is that everyone reacts in a different way. You may find that there are indeed problems and frustrations - or you may find that John sails through as if nothing untoward were happening. Take care SignatureEm > Thanks for all your support. John had his bone scan on Friday. We had > a phone call for his first chemotherapy tomorrow. I thought i would be looking [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > We take things day by day, seems thats the only thing we can do. Im > not looking forward to tomorrow. : -( How did things go, Macy? J - thinking of you Hi Everyone: John had his chemotherapy yesterday. Was not as bad as we thought it would be. Took about 1 hour. They used Vinorelbine first then Cisplatin. John had to take3 tablets of Dexamethasone 4mgs and 1 tablet of Ondansetron 8mg in the chemo room They say this will reduce side-effects. (Seems like it worked) . He has a prescription for Prochlorperzine for home. Today there was no nausea or vomiting but he has persistant hiccups which tire him. Called the clinic about this and waiting for their call. His appetite is up a bit which I am so happy about. His next treatment is on the 5th which he will also have blood test and xrays. Have an appointment with the oncologist Sept 19 to find out more results of all these scans and bloodwork! Took your advice about taking a pill for nauseau before the symptons overwhelm him. Staff were great at the Chemo wing. Really upbeat and informative! Just wanted to say I love you all..wouldnt know what I would have done without all of you. Macy > > Thanks for all your support. John had his bone scan on Friday. We had > > a phone call for his first chemotherapy tomorrow. I thought i would be looking [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > How did things go, Macy? > J - thinking of you > John had his chemotherapy yesterday. Was not as bad as we thought it > would be. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Staff were great at the Chemo wing. Really upbeat and informative! Hello Macy, Thank you for the update. Sounds like they're taking good care of your husband. Must be reassuring for you. You sound so much calmer. I hope they'll be able to sort out the hiccups for your husband. How are you feeling? Sleeping good? Getting rest? I hope so. Please know that there'll always be caring hugs here for you. ( ( ( Macy ) ) ) J > Hi Everyone: > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Macy Macy, Glad chemo went smoothly. Socks got hiccups, but we didn't know from what. They really wore him out but eventually subsided. John may have a 'tired' day coming up (or not). That was some speedy chemo! Nice veins or what? There are so many things to reduce side effects now. Seems to improve all the time. Now you each deserve a pampering treat. What will it be? Fig Hey F. lol my pampering treat will be going to work. but his hiccups subsided also, hasnt returned since that day. The chemo nurses loved his veins, they say its perfect (bulging). He had so much energy right after therapy, but the last few days he has been tired. Just wanted to know..as chemotherapy sessions go on...will there be more side-effects? Will he tire more etc? Macy > > Hi Everyone: > > [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > Fig > Hey F. > [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] >> >> Fig Macy, The 'side effects' do tend to become worse as the treatment progresses. However, Socks was up for 10 chemo treatments, not just the 6 originally scheduled, without any major problems. The main thing was his white blood cell count took longer to rebound. He'd have it checked the day before chemo was scheduled. Sometimes it was OK, other times so close that they rechecked on chemo day & he was good to go, & a few times they had to push chemo out a few days. Please note that more isn't always better with chemo. They need to keep some guns for later, in case they're needed. People can become resistant to the 'good' effects of chemo. In Socks' case, his onc said lets go ahead & see if we can shrink the tumor & the 2nd opinion at the medical school said the potential benefit of more was inconclusive. Socks had the last word & decided to go on. If John has a good response to the chemo, he may start feeling better because of that. You can help him log in his problem episodes so he can report accurately. I worked too, all through Socks' illness. He taught a few evening college classes (not his usual job), but that got to be too much for him. It wasn't always easy to keep everything going, but I would not have done well at home all the time. I was self-employed, so I'd take Fridays off sometimes or work from home. Is John working too? If he's at home, you might want to encourage him to meet friends for lunch or after work - so the 4 walls don't start closing in. Socks always wanted to travel on holiday weekends, such as this one, & other times too. I found that tiring but did it anyway - & we had fun & built memories. Each day, try to think of something to do to make his day better, & yours probably will be too. Good luck to you. It's not always easy, but I'd do it again if I had that option. Hugs, Fig |
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