The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

ARobben
ARobben Member Posts: 46
edited March 2014 in Lung Cancer #1
Where's Clint Eastwood when you need him. Sorry to keep you all in the dark. I've been trying to find the energy to post this update forever.

The Good:
I'm back out of the hospital and feeling pretty good overall. My lungs have been sounding clear and there's no sign of any pneumonia. Also, although I am still in pain, I am beginning to feel some relief from the radiation on my spine. I've also started reading a book called "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn, which was suggested to me by Kevin Thompson. It's a great book!

The Bad:
In the hospital, it was discovered that the source of my troubles this time is that a new metastatic cancer spot in my esophagus which is blocking it completely. Since my esophagus is completely obstructed, I am back on tube feeding and am unable to swallow anything at all. I've been sucking on ice chips to keep my mouth hydrated and sucking on hard candies (Worther's, Necco wafers, and starburst have been my favorites!) for my taste buds, but not being able to swallow is discouraging.

In order to treat that, I'll be starting to new regimen of chemotherapy on Thursday. This time the drugs will be Carboplatin and Taxotere. Just like before I'll be doing these once every three weeks, which will hopefully shrink the tumor enough where I can swallow. I'll have a scan after my second treatment, but that does mean I'm going to have to endure this for at least a month, if not longer. I'm a little discouraged by this, so please pray for me to find some encouragement in this area.

The Ugly:
Ultimately, this means that my cancer is continuing to advance rather rapidly. The testing I underwent in Boston did not yield the results the doctors were hoping for and didn't do much to provide answers for therapies that may effectively manage my cancer at this point.

Comments

  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #2
    Hope and Humor!
    Thanks for the update, AR. It sounds as though the bad and the ugly might be outweighing the good at the moment, and it is a lot easier for me to say hang in there than it is for you to do it, but based on your posts and responses here, I know that you will.

    For what it's worth (not much, I'm afraid), I had cisplatin for my head/neck cancer and carboplatin and taxol for my lung cancer, and in my case found the carbo/taxol combo a breeze compared to the very nasty cisplatin.

    Hopefully, it can be that way for you.

    Take care,

    Joe
  • ARobben
    ARobben Member Posts: 46
    #3
    soccerfreaks said:

    Hope and Humor!
    Thanks for the update, AR. It sounds as though the bad and the ugly might be outweighing the good at the moment, and it is a lot easier for me to say hang in there than it is for you to do it, but based on your posts and responses here, I know that you will.

    For what it's worth (not much, I'm afraid), I had cisplatin for my head/neck cancer and carboplatin and taxol for my lung cancer, and in my case found the carbo/taxol combo a breeze compared to the very nasty cisplatin.

    Hopefully, it can be that way for you.

    Take care,

    Joe

    Thanks Joe
    That's worth quite a bit actually. I start the carbo/taxotere tomorrow, so I'll be sure to keep you informed of how it goes.

    I always appreciate your posts on here. Always informative and full of hope.
  • catcon49
    catcon49 Member Posts: 398
    #4
    ARobben said:

    Thanks Joe
    That's worth quite a bit actually. I start the carbo/taxotere tomorrow, so I'll be sure to keep you informed of how it goes.

    I always appreciate your posts on here. Always informative and full of hope.

    Good luck. I will say an
    Good luck. I will say an extra pray for you tonight.
  • Artin2010
    Artin2010 Member Posts: 17
    #5
    ARobben said:

    Thanks Joe
    That's worth quite a bit actually. I start the carbo/taxotere tomorrow, so I'll be sure to keep you informed of how it goes.

    I always appreciate your posts on here. Always informative and full of hope.

    Be Strong
    You gotta stay positive, try to stay strong. Rasberry Life-Savers are good if you can find them. I am hopeful that the chemo will work its magic without to aweful of side effects. My dad is just coming off 8 weeks of daily radiation and weekly chemo and he is completely whipped. I am giving him Bluebell vanilla ice cream, carnation chocolate instant breakfast and milk all combined and he really likes it. Gets all the vitamins and minerals needed.
    I'm not sure but I think there are other flavors of instant breakfast and it is less expensive than those boost drinks and ensure i think. Best of wishes as you go down this perilous road of treatment. Will check back later. Be strong, remember when all else doesn't work, make yourself laugh, it's way better than sobbing. Not saying that you will.
    Hang tough brother!
  • nanaof7
    nanaof7 Member Posts: 127
    #6
    the good the bad and the ugly
    I will keep you in my prayers, sorry you are in such pain
  • cobra1122
    cobra1122 Member Posts: 244
    #7
    You got it
    My wife and I will keep you in our prayers and send you our support and best wishes. Just remember as hard as it is to think positive sometimes, it will help get you thro..
    we always find something good in everything that happens now days and we laugh alot, some people look at us with that look of "how can you laugh with everything that your going thro, its not funny". Well to us we think positive and think crying about it doesn't do any good. We are here on the site quite often so keep us informed..

    Our prayers and Best to you and your family,
    Dan and Margi Harmon
  • MichelleP
    MichelleP Member Posts: 254
    #8
    Robben
    I'm happy to see a post from you dear one and saddened that your cancer is progressing. But we "know what a fighter you are". My thoughts and prayers are with you. Keep up the fight and keep in touch with us. You know we care!
  • Artin2010
    Artin2010 Member Posts: 17
    #9
    ARobben said:

    Thanks Joe
    That's worth quite a bit actually. I start the carbo/taxotere tomorrow, so I'll be sure to keep you informed of how it goes.

    I always appreciate your posts on here. Always informative and full of hope.

    Hope
    Speaking of hope, I'm hoping that you are doing ok, today. Just stopped by this morning to let you know, we're thinking of you and in fact HOPING that the treatments get you better. Stay strong, stay positive guy. Day by Day.
  • Greggriggs
    Greggriggs Member Posts: 132
    #10
    Sure sounds like you got dealt a bad hand.
    It sure makes for a bad fight ,I hope the Chemo shrinks the tumor enough so you can have some kinda normal.
    I guess we all have our own horror stories . I am lucky I guess mine is not so bad.Wish they would come up with something to help you.
    Good luck in your fight .
    Greg

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