I have missed all of you..........

mybestfriend · New User Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 6 Location: California

Hello to all of you,
I have been absent from the forum and have really missed being here with all of you. You continue to be a great source of strength for me. I hope someday I can repay it.

I can't remember where I left off so I will just give a quick rundown of events since we started our unplanned ride on this "roller coaster". I saw "that word" this morning when I was trying to catch up with everyone. I like that word for this part of our story because the process we are going through does have it's ups and downs. Part of the ride is slow and then all of a sudden things seem to just speed up.

My husband, John, was diagnosed with NSCLC in August which had metastized to the vertebrae. His back pain was what brought the Cancer to the attention of the doctor. We started radiation to the back not only to give him relief from the extreme pain he was having but also to stop the progress of the "devil" from encroaching on his spinal column. He has at least three fractures in his spine but the radiation has given him a break from the pain.

John has only had one session of chemo due to the fact that we cannot get the platelet count high enough. It has been very discouraging for both of us. We get to the office and after the blood is taken we wait for the result of the blood test only to find we haven't gotten there yet. The second time it happened I did fine till I got back home and away from him. Then I went out side and cried my eyes out. How can we beat the darn stuff if we can't get the chemo going? It has now been almost 8 weeks since his first and only chemo. Crying or Very sad

In the meantime we have had frequent visits with our general doctor for monitoring his coumadin level. He had a blood clot in his lung and was hospitalized for a week shorly after diagnosis in August. During one of the visits the doctor gave him a few tests to check his balance. The doctor decided he should have an MRI of the brain just to check it out. Well......... the next chapter of this really lousy story is that the cancer has now invaded his brain. Currently it is showing as a lesion in the cerrebellum. We had an appt. on Monday with the oncologist and they hope to see the platelets higher so that chemo can begin this coming Monday. They will try a lower dose of chemo to try to prevent another assault on the platelets. On Tuesday we went to the radiation oncologist and were given a choice of attack to the lesion by itself or complete brain radiation. There was discussion about the side effects....... hair loss, fatigue, loss of appetite but the one we were most concerned about was the possibility of dementia. The doctor explained that it would not be as severe as not recognizing his wife but more like going to another room and not remembering why he went there. We laughed and said we both do that all the time! Laughing

I asked the doctor (young enough to be our grandson) what he would do if it was his father or grandfather and without a pause, he said he would do the entire brain radiation. That helped me with my choice and I asked John and he felt the same. So we began that day. We will now have radiation 5 days a week for 3 weeks. They made some sort of mask to hold his head during the treatment. He will ask if he can bring it home for Halloween. Very Happy

I can't remember whether I explained our living situation from the start of this trip. We have been living with our grandaughter, her husband and our beautiful little great-granddaughter since August. We have found a very nice rental house nearby and just moved most of our things in last week. We are awaiting the delivery of an adjustable bed that one of our sons had in storage. He will be bringing it this weekend. Another granddaughter and her husband have a washer and dryer for us so we will be totally ready for our solo flight by next Monday.

We didn't have a house here in the states but we do have a beautiful home in Southern Baja, Mexico and an avocado grove in San Diego County in California. When we weren't at the house in Baja we stayed in our trailer at the grove. It is a beautiful piece of property with a wonderful view. We had planned on building our home on top of the hill. Needless to say we have decided to sell the property since John will not be able to do all he was doing to maintain it. We had a wonderful three years there and it will be one of the best memories of our good times. When John is feeling well we still make plans and take the trip to be there if only for a couple hours. He has been back twice since August.

I will try and keep up on our progress and keep in touch with all of you. It would be a lonesome trip without the wonderful people to visit with on the way. Thanks to all of you who take the time and make the effort to bring a little hope and smiles to all of us. I am going to practice on the smiling and support for others part!

Love and Strength,
Regina
_________________
Husband diagnosed 8/14/08 with nsclc with multiple fractures in his vertebrae. Chemo started 8/21 and radiation 8/28.

dano

Hi Regina;
I'm a little surprised that your doctor is using coumadin for a blood thinner rather than Lovenox which I am taking. Lovenox is very expensive, but effective for me. I hate the injections twice a day, but it helps with the clots I had in my legs and in my lungs. It is said to help slow the cancer growth as well. Good luck with the Radiation treatments, I had whole brain radiation, it sounds like your husbands is more dialed in because of the mask. The WBR sort of fried my hearing a bit, which has been a little bit of a pain in the butt, but better that than letting cancer take over. I'm hoping for the best for you and your husband.
God Bless
Dan
_________________
54 year old male in Hawaii
Diagnosed Nov. 9,2007 with NSCLC IV
with Mets to the lymphs and brain
Had full brain radiation treatment in Jan 08
Currently on chemo treatments every 3 weeks
with Alimta
and taking Lovenox for blood clots
Now back to work full time
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=9993

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