Help! I need to Understand

Doc is giving you his best judgment
Based on what you've described, I didn't hear the doc telling you anything unreasonable. The cancer may not be in any vital organ, but it has already established itself in three new locations beyond the lung. At some point, the guy has to talk from the stats, based on similar cases he's seen and read about, and it sounds like that's what he's doing.

When I was about 2/3 of the way through my radio and chemo last year, I was worried I wasn't going to be able to finish up both chemo agents because my white cells were getting pretty close to lower than you need them to be. At the time, my nurse navigator, in the presence of the oncodoc, told me that the radiation did all the heavy lifting anyway, and the chemo just increased your odds of success a tad. In the event, I was able to finish the whole deal, and so far have a clean year under my belt (knock wood and whistle), but there was no guarantee.

The doc is aware of the possible outcomes, and he knows chemo could tear somebody up. I just hear him assuring you that it's a personal choice, and you don't necessarily have to feel you did the wrong thing by opting for quality of life and comfort care as nature takes its course. He doesn't have to cover his butt, because whether or not the treatment works is more or less out of his control, and I definitely wouldn't begin to believe he's running some kind of an end-of-life experiment on you.

There's no easy answer, and there are a lot of us "beatin' the odds so far" folks who wonder what we'll do when and if we're put in that situation. I'm guessing I'd try something if it came to that, but only because I weathered my previous dual chemo stint pretty easily.

All the best to you, whatever you choose.

ldoman said:

Dont know what to say
Hi,
Sorry for your husband's condition. I was diagnosed with NSCLC, non operable. It took 2 weeks of tests before I was diagnosed. I went home after my diagnosis and said to myself. I will fight this, and I started blending and juicing veggie and fruits. My oncologist started me on Tarceva pill and had been taking it since. My last CTC scan was a remarkable improvement. So tell your husband to have a positive attitude, have a good nutrition and rest well. He needs a lot of rest and nutrition and lots of prayers. Believe in god,miracles can happen. I have a prayer for cancer patients, let me know email me if you like a copy. God bless!
Lorna

shiloah
Are u grtting all thr right info from doc. what stage was the cancer? Was it in the swollen lymph nodes? I had lower right lobe remove 09/08. No Chemo necessary. No spread to anywhere else. I don't understand why he is talking Hospice. I am doing very well. Maybe you would like a second opinion.


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Shiloah29 said:

Thanks for input
Thanks all for your thoughts and info. Guess we are doing ok. I have a few more questions and thoughts I could use your input on. The radiation helped the pain my husband was having in his neck but his side and back still hurt. They put him on a 3 day patch of fentalyn( that may not be spelled right) anyway he still has some pain in those areas. We are to start more chemo this week with Alimta. My question is: Will the chemo help reduce the pain or will radiation be needed for that?? Also, do you have any suggestions on how to increase his appetite?? I am giving him megastol and can not see that it is helping. This morning for breakfast I fixed him one egg,one piece of bacon and one piece of toast. He ate half the egg,half the bacon and not quite half the toast. That's not near enough for a man. You just can't force it down him. Help

Try some boost or another
Try some boost or another liquid supplement