Chamberlain Procedure

tfrost

My Dad had this performed yesterday. It was suppossed to be an outpatient procedure. We were told by the surgeon he was stage IV - uncurable Lung Cancer. (Very hard to see the diagnosis on paper) He developed a blood clot in his lung and has to stay in the hospital for 3 more days. The doctor says he has to take coumidin for 6 months. Does anyone know if this will affect his chemo/radiation? The doctors cannot tell us anything and we don't see an oncologist until next week.

ernrol

I do not see how they can tell you that this is incurable. I would think you would need some scans and the opinion of your oncologist. At any rate I have stage IIIb/IV nsclc and I was told it was not curable, that they could not operate, and could not use radiation. One year later I am here and cancer free for now. You have to believe that you can be cured. My story is posted here just type ernrol in the search box above and then click on ernrol to the right. If you or your dad have any questions let me know. We are all here to help.
Ernie

tfrost

Thankyou ERNROL. I have shared your story with my family. However, everyday seems to be a set back. Today we were told that he now has developed a blood clot in his lung, and now has underlying heart conditions. This disease has just brought out the worst. He is a very healthy active man. How does this happen? Now we are being told the course of treatment will be altered because of his heart. I wanted to drive to a reputable cancer clinic an hour or two away and now my dad says what is the use, he is going to die in the hospital. Everyone involved in his care has been so disconnected. We don't even know what is going on. Did this happen to you? I am so confused!!! Our doctors seem to know nothing. That is why I am coming to you guys. Thank you for your support.

reinstones1

tfrost said:

Thankyou ERNROL. I have shared your story with my family. However, everyday seems to be a set back. Today we were told that he now has developed a blood clot in his lung, and now has underlying heart conditions. This disease has just brought out the worst. He is a very healthy active man. How does this happen? Now we are being told the course of treatment will be altered because of his heart. I wanted to drive to a reputable cancer clinic an hour or two away and now my dad says what is the use, he is going to die in the hospital. Everyone involved in his care has been so disconnected. We don't even know what is going on. Did this happen to you? I am so confused!!! Our doctors seem to know nothing. That is why I am coming to you guys. Thank you for your support.

Hi-- I don't know what the Chamberlain procedure is, but I can tell you that there's no reason to delay the start of chemotherapy because he's on coumadin. My mother had clots in her legs, and has been on either coumadin or Heparin since January 7, 2006. She started chemo on January 26, 2006, and has had chemo every 3 weeks since that time.

Tell your Dad to hang in there. When cancer is considered non-resectable (cannot be totally removed surgically), the doctors will tell you it's "incurable". My mother was told the same thing.

Don't get bogged down in pessimism. TRY NOT TO. It's soooooooooo easy, but you MUST have faith and be positive, even when your father can't be.

Best wishes.

tfrost

You are definatley right about it being easy to get bogged down with pessimism. That is the only thing easy about this. Believe it or not, I have been the cheerleader of this family, thanks to the support and messages asked on this board. I know we will have lots of ups and downs but in your opinion, are the beginning stages the worst? I am hoping that it is still the initial shock and fear of the unknown, (not to mention the fact that the surgeon told him to get his finances in order and fast)that is bringing us down. I am hoping he will become more upbeat, once we start treatment.
Thanks for bringing me up.

ernrol

tfrost said:

Thankyou ERNROL. I have shared your story with my family. However, everyday seems to be a set back. Today we were told that he now has developed a blood clot in his lung, and now has underlying heart conditions. This disease has just brought out the worst. He is a very healthy active man. How does this happen? Now we are being told the course of treatment will be altered because of his heart. I wanted to drive to a reputable cancer clinic an hour or two away and now my dad says what is the use, he is going to die in the hospital. Everyone involved in his care has been so disconnected. We don't even know what is going on. Did this happen to you? I am so confused!!! Our doctors seem to know nothing. That is why I am coming to you guys. Thank you for your support.

There is not a cancer that someone has not beaten. A year ago when I was first diagnosed, Hospice was mentioned to me by one of my doctors. I choose not to believe it and became determine to do all I could to survive. As far as getting my affairs in order I figured there would be plenty of time when I am better, besides if I had had a heart attack there would not have been any time to do any of that. I believed my time would be better spent on doing all I could to survive. A good book that you can read on line that is great guide for cancer recovery is Fighting Cancer. You can have them send you a free copy. The website is: http://www.blochcancer.org/fighting/fightcan.html

Go to this web site. You can select any chapter from the top of the screen. You can print out the entire book or get a free copy sent to you by clicking on How to get a copy to the left of the screen. This is a great book. I did not read it till after I went into remission, but I had done just about everything that is recommended in the book. You can go to their home page by clicking on R. A. Bloch Cancer Foundation at the left this man was given a few weeks to live in 1980. He died of heart problem in 2004. He started HR Bloch. To answer your question no this did not happen to me because I would not give up hope. If you can get your dad to take control of his treatment and develop a winning attitude, I think you will find that people will become united to help with his cure. Get him a copy of that book and make sure he reads it. You really have to take control of your disease and not be passive. Some of this may sound a little strong, but if you are going to beat this you have want to and believe that it will happen. Keep in touch.
Ernie