Hello friends, may this day offer you all a day of the Blessings you seek and Peace.
Bec had her repeat CT of her chest and Abd and the one month follow-up MRI.
The results aren't good. The CT showed increasing consolidation and a change in the denisty around her lung tumor. The consolidation has progressed by crossing from the Left lower lobe to the upper lobe. Consolidation is a result of the AdenoCA, basically the area affected is fibrotic and not able to exchange air.
The MRI showed three more tumors in her head, the first has grown from 7 to 9 mm. The other three are in different areas of her brain, smallest is 3 mm.
Her Oncologist called today and said he is consulting with the Radiation Oncologist for whole brain radiation, ASAP.
And he is changing her chemo regimen from Taxatere to Alimta.
Obviously we are both scared, I feel her slipping away from me.
It is getting pretty rough now, the pace seems to quicken. Please don't think neither one of us has given up the fight- WE WON"T.
Jan Marie and Jan I have noticed we three share issues of progress and set backs together.
I am so sorry for you guys and your loved ones.
My prayers have changed to prayers of begging for more time, I am ashamed of myself for trying to bargin with God.
My spelling isn't too good tonight, forgive me.
I pray for you all daily, sieze the moment, relish this time.

Support the ACS and Relay for Life, I will be walking this year to honor my sweet Becky.

May God Bless you and keep you at Peace.
Ron W.

I am so sorry.I wish you and Becky well.As long as she is alive she has a chance!!!

Ron,
Wow, what do I say...it breaks my heart to hear of your Bec fighting so hard only to have more mets! I know this is the way this brutal disease likes to take control of ones body, but you never know when you can have that miracle and beat this nasty disease! Let me know how Bec does with the WBR....Stan opts not to have that done and we have been fortunate so far even though he has about 11 plus mets to the brain they are in "safe" areas. Please know I think of all my friends on the posting board daily and hope and pray everyone is doing okay. Thanks for always keeping us posted on Bec's condition.You seem like one of the most loving husbands...you take care of yourself too.
Kim

Ron, I am so sorry to hear about Bec's test results and will pray that the Alimta can help. My mom had good results with it without bad side effects so hopefully Bec has the same results. Have they ever considered adding Avastin to her treatments? The doctor has said he would not give it to my mom because of the risk of bleeding that he says increases in the elderly thou I do plan to ask about it when he says this chemo is no longer working and there is nothing more he can do as I just read about a man with Stage IV NSCLC that did not respond to any chemo and then was given one dose of Avastin back in July 2005 and has been stable since then! I don't know about you but I would be thrilled with 9 months of stable! If I am understanding it right he only got the one dose and is a patient of a doctor here in California at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. I have also read of quite a few others that are having good results with it without any bad side effects. I think you said they have not used Tarceva because she was a smoker? I have seen some smokers post on other message boards that did respond to it so it may be worth pushing for it as one just never knows. I will continue to pray for you and Bec and I am willing to bet that we have all prayed for more time so you are not alone there. Hang in there and know there are alot of people pulling for Bec. God bless you both,JanMarie

Ron, please tell Becky how much we want her to respond to the meds, and to be comfortable and at peace. You are all in my prayers daily. At times it is all almost too much for me to handle so my heart truly goes out to each of you who is dealing with this horrible disease so bravely. Hugs and love coming at you from Kentucky, Pat

Hello all...first time in days I've been able to come here. My son was rushed to ER on Tue and have been in the hospital since then. So, I had to find a very creative way to split my time between Bud, Kyle and work...which is also critical mass right now because of month-end processes. So, I have been doing very little for myself and am beginning to feel the results of that neglect. I'm so tired I think I could sleep standing up. :) But hopefully Kyle will be released today. Then Bud's sis from Bloomington is coming into town with her beau and visit for a couple of hours this afternoon. I'm looking forward to it, despite I had to make time to pick up the house and vacuum the dog hair and do dishes...LOL...it never stops. But this frantic pace has helped me cope with the desperation that is beginning to set in KNOWING time is running out. Maybe for now I just think about today. We hope the Avastin and the Carbo/Gemzar combo will start kicking in. I have lost faith in some of the bio drugs (Avastin being one of them now) since the Tarceva and the Alimta did nothing for him. Ron, I am so sorry about Bec. You all have been always in my thoughts and prayers and sure hoped that the Gemzar and Taxotere combo would work. We are on our last leg here and althought it looks bleak, I keep a smile on my face when in Bud's presence. I too Ron have started to plead with God. But although I want more time with him (WAAAY more time), I also want quality and if He cannot heal him properly I surely don't want him living a long time in constant pain, breathlessness, and fatigue so debilitating that even going to the bathroom is an effort. That's not "living".

May God help us all as our journey continues, for each of us have to face a new day filled with uncertainty and a hope that, although still alive, is dimmed by the physical evidence that our precious ones are continuing to lose ground. Faith is the belief in things unseen. I believe in heaven although I cannot see it, but to believe Bud is doing better goes beyond faith. Sometimes I think I purposely immerse myself in delusion...because it hurts less. God, please forgive me for my flawed, human self.

Take care all and love, peace and comfort to each.

Jan

Hello to all my support friends,
I truly find comfort in connecting with you all!
I am saddened by all the grief Cancer causes all of you. I am proud to know each and every one of YOU. God Bless each one.
Bec started her WBRT(whole brain radiation therapy) Friday and had a second on Saturday. The Rad Onc. didn't want to do one and wait 2 days for Monday.
The first day Bec got real tired with a headache, took Tylenol only. Saturday was very different, she got tired, Headache, nausea, unable to walk with assistance. I gave her Tylenol, and nausea meds, had to give her two different types to make the nausea tolerable. She could only eat a roll from Logans Roadhouse(great rolls) and she slept hard until I woke her at 1230 in the am for bed. She slept most of the night with lots of twitching and talking in her sleep. She has been doing this more and more lately.
She awoke this morning and felt better and had more energy, basically back to normal, although she is very pale and looks weak.
Can anyone tell me if this continues to worsen with each round of WBRT?
Of the first two, seems so! She has 13 more to go.
May God Bless you all, bring Comfort and Peace to your lifes and to those we care for.
Always in my prayers, Ron

Good Morning Ron,
What a fighter Bec is...and I feel for her going thru all of this...always so sad but we do know there are miracles out there. It sounds like the WBR is knocking her down good, but nice to hear she was up and about this morning...good sign. I don't have experience with WBR, but I have had several friends who have had radiation in different areas of the body and as time went by the burning became more intense and they became weaker and weaker...but each person's body responds so differently to everything so you never know. I hope and pray she can stay strong enough to get thru the remaining 13 treatments. I always have worried when I have to care for Stan when he cannot walk...I am not a big person and I cannot lift him at all! A couple of days ago he bent down and could not get up and it took a lot of work on my part to try to help him up...so good you can help Bec with getting around if she cannot walk sometimes during this treatment. I do hope she will tolerate the WBR well this week...you take care of yourself too.
Kim