New Member Need Support!

luvmydad

I am a new member to this site as of today and think it's absolutely wonderful!
We all need some support!
I am 36 years old and my dad was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer this last May and underwent surgery to have 2/3 of his right lung removed.
He had seven weeks (once a week) of chemo and 35 days of radiation. His treatments ended over two months ago and he is still extremely tired, depressed and continues to lose weight although his appetite has increased greatly.
I am sooooo upset about his Oncologist as he has been a jerk since the beginning. It seems as though he's just prescribing medication to keep him occupied. My dad is the absolute greatest man I have ever known and truly does not deserve this as NO one does.
Does anyone know if these symptoms are normal for this point in time? He is scheduled to have another PET scan done this Thursday to see if any tumors or cells have re-appeared.
I keep looking for new web sites that could tell me more but I'm getting quite confused!!!!!!!
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bobmc

Hello Semperfidaughter;

Welcome. and so very sorry to hear about your dad. It's really hard to say what's normal for this lousy disease as it does effect us in many ways and depends apon age, health condition and other factors. However, I would certainly suggest you get a second and even third opinion if you can. If nothing else it will at least provide you and your dad with a degree of comfort that you don't have now. Also, get them from a cancer center, if possible. Most good doctors welcome second opinions so you should feel OK in asking. It does seem he should be a bit further along in recovery, however, I'm not a doc. and don't know the details.
I did have my left lung removed about 2 & 1/2 years ago. I was stage IIB squamous type NSCLC and did not have the problems your dad is having. I was 50 years young at the time and in pretty good shape so that did help and of course I did not have the chemo or radiation that your dad had which can really wreak havoc on the body.
For additional support and info. besides ACS, you can try ALCASE ( Alliance for Lung Cancer Advocacy, support & Education), ACOR, - both are good sites for info. also, lungcancersurvivors.org (boards for support) and you can certainly e-mail me either here at ACS or directly at rmccu37700@aol.com. I can try to do whatever I can to help. This is disease does turn your world upside down but know that you are not alone and there are SURVIVORS out there in every stage fighting it.
God bless you and your dad, you both will be in my thoughts and prayers,
Bobmc-NSCLC-stageIIB- left pneumonectomy- 5/2/01; " absolutely insist on enjoying life today!"

cbecker

HI, so sorry to hear about your dad and it is a tough battle to fight this disease. My husband last summer 2002 started out with a tumor in his throat and after 40 aggressive radiation treatments the tumor was gone. His last radiatin treatment was July of 2002 and he did not start to feel good until Feb of 2003 then to our surprise it metastasized to his lungs, he has 15 tumors in both lungs and went thru several chemo treatments of 5fu, cisplatin and taxol. He went thru hell again and did not respond to chemo so now he is on a new drug called Iressa and is on a clinical trial. So far it does not make him sick and he has reponding but just a little. He is still very tired from the chemo treatments and from what I have learned it may take a long time before they really feel good. I also have him on a special diet to fight cancer and this has really helped his energy level and feeling better. Please do get several second opinions to check out your dad. We have been to several major cancer centers and they each have new methods that keep in working. There is alot out there to exlore and in my husbands case we do not have any thing to loose because they say he cannot be cured just doing things to prolong his life. But we are trying everything to fight this disease. We have been fighting for two years and he is doing better. There is radio frequency ablation, there is IRessa, there are special diets. I also get good books on cancer and you will be surprised on who you can contact on the internet and they answer you back. If I can be of further help my email is mktgintl@inlandnet.net I have been research for two years and have alot of things I have found out, but please get other opinions so you feel good that you did everything you can do. Like they told my husband, You are driving the bus. So keep that in mind with your dad, he is driving the bus and get other opinions. God Bless, Candy

cbecker

HI, so sorry to hear about your dad and it is a tough battle to fight this disease. My husband last summer 2002 started out with a tumor in his throat and after 40 aggressive radiation treatments the tumor was gone. His last radiatin treatment was July of 2002 and he did not start to feel good until Feb of 2003 then to our surprise it metastasized to his lungs, he has 15 tumors in both lungs and went thru several chemo treatments of 5fu, cisplatin and taxol. He went thru hell again and did not respond to chemo so now he is on a new drug called Iressa and is on a clinical trial. So far it does not make him sick and he has reponding but just a little. He is still very tired from the chemo treatments and from what I have learned it may take a long time before they really feel good. I also have him on a special diet to fight cancer and this has really helped his energy level and feeling better. Please do get several second opinions to check out your dad. We have been to several major cancer centers and they each have new methods that keep in working. There is alot out there to exlore and in my husbands case we do not have any thing to loose because they say he cannot be cured just doing things to prolong his life. But we are trying everything to fight this disease. We have been fighting for two years and he is doing better. There is radio frequency ablation, there is IRessa, there are special diets. I also get good books on cancer and you will be surprised on who you can contact on the internet and they answer you back. If I can be of further help my email is mktgintl@inlandnet.net I have been research for two years and have alot of things I have found out, but please get other opinions so you feel good that you did everything you can do. Like they told my husband, You are driving the bus. So keep that in mind with your dad, he is driving the bus and get other opinions. God Bless, Candy

loulou

I was 40 when I was diagnosed with nscl that metastisized to my brain. With all the chemo and radiation I have to say it took a long time to get my energy back again. I would say a good year. I agree, I think you should look for another doctor if your not happy with the one you have. I always say "follow your gut".

loulou

ann330101

Hi,

I am 32 years old and my dad was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in June. It is so hard to go through and I know how you feel. My dad just finished 6 rounds of chemo and he has similiar symptons, along with numb feet and pains in his legs. It is so hard to see someone you love suffer and this desease has changed things forever for all of us. I try to take one day at at time and just try to enjoy what we have right now, but it's hard. Sometimes I feel very optomistic and other times I feel like I am having a panic attack. There are just so many different things that go through your mind. This is the fist on-line support group I have joined and I hope it helps. Please respond to me, I think it helps to talk to people who are experiencing the same thing.

Alloyd

It's 16 months since I had my left lung removed. I had chemo & radiation before that. I still have cronic fatigue and back pain. Before cancer I was running 5 miles every other day. I have accepted that things aren't going to be the way they were before lung cancer. I have good days and bad days and I expect that will continue. Get a lot of support. Good Luck

dodgeracer

I had the upper right side lung removed 5 years ago. For the first 2 years i had a lot of pain in my rib area. My Dr. kept telling me that i needed to work out. I build piers and bulkheads, and trudge through knee deep mud every day, don't tell me i need to work out! I finally got into a pain clinic, and recieved 14 c-zone shots in my ribs. Next day i felt like a new man, i still get short of breath, but it dosent hurt to breath any more. Keep asking for another Dr. till you get one that listens!Yes med's worked for me, but not until they were injected into the right place.