Today Linda had her second CT scan and was "mapped" for the radiation treatments.....she was told that the treatments would begin soon but she has yet to get the exact time and date..... she found the session today not as bad as the nurse indicated it would...so she was thankful for that.
Linda is getting a pain in her chest in addition to the pressure and cough and will discuss it with the doctor tomorrow....
While waiting for Linda today I read quite a bit about cancer in the waiting room.
I learned....the four stages of cancer are broken down into the spreading of the cancer...it is Stage I if the primary tumor is small but has not spread.....Stage II if the primary tumor is large but no evidence of spreading.....Stage III of the tumor has spread to the lymph glands in that region of the body and Stage IV if the cancer has spread to another region to a tissue or organ. Linda has Stage III as it is in 4 lymph nodes between the lungs.
About 12 million people worldwide are diagnosed with lung cancer each year. It is one of the most common cancers..much more than breast, colorectal, prostate, etc.
Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common lung cancer and accounts for 85% of the lung cancers.
More information can be found at The American Lung Association ( http://www.lungusa.org/ ) and It's Time To Focus On Lung Cancer ( http://www.lungcancer.org/ )
Linda was also provided with a free magazine subscription to CURE, a magazine on cancer updates, research and education by her cousin Doris...the is summer's issue features "Solving the Mystery...Why People Who Never Smoke Get Lung Cancer"...so more on that later.
Linda cut her blood pressure medication to zero and finally got it to go back up again....blood pressure is very critical to her well being in terms of energy....depression....etc...etc. Linda has scheduled an appointment with another doctor to start dealing again with the blood pressure issues...as I said much earlier.....her primary physician had a baby and quit being a doctor.....which we never knew.....as we were in Florida (most likely the notices went out mass mailing and were not forwarded as a result). So we're getting on top of that..as it is critical to her well being.
Next Thursday I've scheduled her with a dermotologist to deal with some skin issues..why not? Let's see how many different doctors we can see in this period of time.
Today we picked up the motorhome and will use that at the hospital if the treatment schedule is too much for travel .....we live 25 miles from the hospital....
More later
Dave
Monday, July 30, 2007
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2 comments:
Let me know when you want a BIGGER tattoo Mom- I'll go get one with you!! What an incredible mother/daughter bonding THAT would be! :)
Thinking of you and sending love and good thoughts your way all day long.
love, Janine
25 miles to the hospital? That's about what mom and I drove every day for 5 weeks. We listened to the Harry Potter books on tape (although we'd both aleady read them) and ate M&Ms to keep us going. It was actually kind of fun to have the time together. But, if you can park the RV at the hospital, you'll be in good shape... except that it is kind of nice to go home every night.
See? Now your daughter wants you to get a tattoo, too. I know a great place that, I think, has a location open inside the track at Long Beach. Maybe in 08? Heck, I'll pitch in part of the cost! ;-)
Hope you're feeling good today! My thoughts are with you every single day.
-Cheryl Jones
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