recently diagnosed
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i agree sharon God is good. i dont know where we would be without him. i am glad to hear that your tumor is shrinking. i am also glad to see that you are still working while on chemo and radiation. i was wondering if that would be possible for my sister. she will begin chemo after she recovers from the surger. the dr says it should be in about four weeks. good luck and may god bless you.
SallyPa, I have gone the same route as your sister. But I will say I have been blessed—Started in Dec 2008- 13 1/2 cm –had cisplatin/gemcitabine—it shrunk—I had to quit the cisplatin, due to hearing side effects, continued w/ 5 fu & gemcitabine—Tried to have a surgery in Philadelphia Jefferson hospital Dr Doria, but my tumor was also wrapped around the large vessels & the surgeon had to give it up on it after he did an intraoperative ultrasound. So more chemo & then in the fall of 2009 radiation. and more radiation in April 2010. I now have a 7 1/2 cm tumor & have had no side effects from the radiation. I got to use the big Novalis machine at the University of Nebraska & I swear that it is wonderful. I work full time & have been able to continue except for some occasional 1/2 days off for the chemo. My goal is to survive long enough to retire. . . 2 more years!! God is Good. Sharon Nebr
sallypa, congratulations on your sister’s successful surgery! Your sister has a recovery time for sure, but have her take it just one day at a time. I had my liver resection surgery 6+ years ago. The first several weeks were definitely the toughest. But each day I could see improvement, and knew I was getting better. Just continue to press forward, and never give up! My best to your sister in her continuing journey.
Dale
sallypa,
My only advice is to continue on the course you are on. Never take a negative opinion. Never give up. I didn’t and I’m still here.
Good luck and prayers for all of you.
i just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. my sister had a successful surgery today. we were told the entire tumor was removed and so far it doesnt look like there was any spreading. the dr still thinks chemo and radiation will be needed after she recovers from the surgery in hopes of killing any microscopic cells.we know there is still such a long way to go but today was definitely a good day. thank you again to everyone on this site for their help, thoughts and prayers and thank God for a good day and a successful surgery.
I will be thinking and praying for her today – I hope the surgery goes perfectly. Please keep us updated on her progress!!!
since my last post we met with drs from msk and u of penn. both drs said spot on lung is too small to even biopsy so they are just going to watch it. they say it may be cancer or it may not be. they both felt confidant surgery should still be done so we decided to go with university of pennmainly because it is closer to home. both drs seem confident and highly skilled. it also looks like she will still have to do chemo even with the surgery. she is scheduled for surgery tomorrow at 8am. it will be a six hour surgery and we are praying it is successful.we are all so scared for her.
just when you think things are going good,something else happens. today we received the results of my sisters chest ct scan and there is a mass in her lung. the surgeon is suppossed to call us tomorrow. we are all afraid that this is really bad and surgery will no longer be an option. getting the chance at surgery was the best news we had heard and my sister was prepared to go to the hospital next monday and now we dont know what is going to happen. it is all so frustrating and frightening.
the ups and down continue for my sister. dr from msk called and said after reviewing a new ultrasound he feels he can now do surgery as the picture showed their is a small gap between the tumor and the vein. we are so relieved that we now have two drs who say she can have surgery. since we live closer to philly she will probably have the surgery at university of penn. hopefully there are no more setbacks before the operation. was just wondering if anyone had any experience with university of penn.
lsisman wrote:nancypkeen, when was your husband treated with resection. Is he doing well now?Hello Isisman,
My husband had a resection at Sloan Kettering in August 2007. He goes for his 3 year check up in two weeks and hoping and praying he continues to get a clean bill of health. So far so good…………
You said the doctor said the chemo “may not shrink the tumor”. That to me says the chemo “may” also shrink the tumor. Putting a “may” in there means there is a chance it WILL work. And since the doctor(s) said if the chemo works and shrinks the tumor, then maybe they could do surgery, that says someone thinks it could work.
Best wishes to you and your sister.
Linda
we had a bad day today. we went for our third opinion today at memorial sloane kettering. the dr there said he feels surgery is too risky for my sister. he feels she should try chemo first to shrink the tumor and than maybe they could do surgery. this was the same advise we heard at fox chase. the problem is the dr said chemo may not shrink the tumor in which case there is no hope. we are so confused the dr at upenn seemed confidant he could do the surgery and now this. we dont know who to believe or what to do. all the other options of brachytherapy, photo dynamic therapy etc were also rejected by the dr today. we are looking and praying for hope and a chance for a cure.
Hi Sally,
Great news on your sister in that she will be able to have surgery and I will keep my fingers crossed for a successful outcome for her. I don’t know too much about brachytherapy, but here are some links that may help with your research into it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachytherapy
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=brachy
I hope some of these are useful.
Best wishes to you and your sister,
Gavin
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