scans just came back,not good

My husband had an excellent response to cisplatin, but he also had rounds of taxotere and alimta. He had cancer in both lungs, primarily the right, and over the course of 10 months had it reduced to no tumors indicated by the PET scan, just areas where growth could be occuring (partial remission). He did pretty well on the chemo throughout treatment. We recently had a set back with the cancer returning fairly quickly, but his initial response was so good, we are hopeful that he will be this time too, hopefully to the point of complete remission so we don't have to worry about those "bad" cells regrowing so quickly.
It was difficult to tell our son (11yrs). Our daughter is now 17 mo, so she wasn't really aware, but it was hard to tell our son. Over time, though, I think he has really handled it the best. What has seemed to help him, and me as a wife, was to keep informed of what my husband was going through. He seemed to freak out more when he didn't think we were keeping him in the loop. So we do our best to sound positive, but give him accurate info.
Keep us posted!

Hi there. My father just finished his treatment with carbo/taxol and responded well. He is also on a clinical trial drug in the same family as tarceva/iressa but more potent. Has your doctor spoken to you about clinical trials at all as an option? As a daughter, this has been very scary but like the two of you my faith has kept me going. I pray for all of you to have a promising response and recovery. This site is important to me as I don't feel so alone and others have had some great imput regarding treatment options.

bugsy127 said:

thanks rpatt,
sounds like your husband has had good results with his chemo. did he change his diet or exercise habits?i also had cisplatin and v-16 with rads., followed by surgery and then carboplatin and taxotere in nov. i'm thinking of going to chicago for a second opinion. i told my kids. son 19 and daughter 23. i worry about my son the most. he doest talk about it at all. i try to encourage him to. i told him he can go to the Drs. with me and his dad next week if he wants. i think he will, he wants info, just doesn't know how to talk about it. your children are very young. you must be very afraid at times. my faith in God gives me comfort. i will pray for you. i will pray for you all.

I read your response to my post regarding Navelbine (thanks!) and responded to that. However I would like to add (as you will read above), my husband has now had an incredible, overnight response to Navelbine, so now we are hoping that this will be the drug to help send him into complete remission. It seems that there are so many options out there, it wouldn't hurt for you to get a second opinion. More info. is the way to go!
My husband's diet, to the horror of my overly protective wifely heart, has not changed for the better. He seems to be like a pregnant woman in his fickelness and craves high fatty, low in nutritional value food. He has lost so much weight, I have had to learn acceptance that he is eating at all. However, I have read that there are huge benefits to diet change in terms of possible complimentary effects with the treatment. In terms of exercise, he has to work to get back some of the recent strength he has lost, but throughout treatment he has remained active by walking, playing with our kids, etc., which our doc tells us helps keep him strong for whatever comes his way. It seems to have worked, for there have only been a few moments throughout this 11 mo. ordeal where he has really sucuumbed to weakness and fatigue and that has mostly been due to his difficulty breathing. Other than his lungs, he is the picture of health!
Also, good for you for being so understanding and concerned about your children and family. I think that will help them with their process and draw you all together in a time where there is strength in numbers. You are in my thoughts!

crot1998 said:

Hi there, yes I remember you, I too am the youngest of 4 children and the "baby daughter". I have had a very difficult 24 hours as my father has been admitted to hospital with a collapsed lung filled with fluid, we are not sure what is going on. I find a lot of support from this web site during this very difficult time. Keep us posted and all the best to your Dad.

Hey you Im praying for your dad and family, I know how important he is to you. How is he? I read this message today and your in my thoughts. My dad is going to start tarceva after his 5 rounds of chemo are finished. He is still so weak, he has a therapist come a couple times a week but still uses a walker to walk and doesnt get out of the house unless its a doctors visit. I pray that he will get well enough to enjoy himself and go fishing this summer. Im praying for you and yours keep in touch