Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer - Cancer: Lung Message Board

Sue Harwood · 03-25-2001, 07:43 PM

I need a miracle!!! My 65 year old husband, Steve, has Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in the lining of his right lung. He had chemo off & on for 11 months. Last time was 11/00. It was decided to stop & go after quality of life as chemo did no good & he did not react well to it. We were told that it is starting to spread to the casing around the lung. As far as we know, it has not yet spread anywhere else. He has stopped working, wants quality of life, but is still not feeling good. Does not sleep at night, has pain which we are trying to control through hospice visits, gets very short of breath & is using an Option I Converter machine as well as portable oxygen tanks. The drugs have slowed him down, & feels crummy most of the time. I've tried some herbal therapy, but hospice doesn't want me to any longer as it could interfere with the performance of the pain drugs, etc.
I want to find an alternative clinic or doctor who thinks he can save Steve. I'm not good on the internet & have found no useful answers. Any guidance would be very much appreciated. I have read about a couple clinics that help terminal cancer patients, but I don't know how to find them. Thank you for anything you can tell me. Sue

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Sue

rosilita1 · 03-26-2001, 07:15 AM

sue,
while i do beleive in miracles i beleive they come from not earthly sources. if you think alternative therapy is going to cure your husbands c ancer and someone tries to tell you that. they are taking you for a ride. lung cancer no matter what type, is terribly agressive.your husband is young at 65 by todays standards. if he wants to fight still he should be given a chance.i understand its hard to know how to research on the internet. all you have to do is contact a big " university of" hospital. such as university of michigan , wisconsin exc. a cancer counselor will tell you many of them are trying new angiogensis drugs such as iressa which are aimed at controlling the cancer with very little effect on the patients quality of life. since your husband already tried 'standard' chemo he would qualify for that type of trial.since he is over 65 its is covered by medicare. good luck to you whatever you do. by the way there has been some sucess with drugs as iressa due to the makeup of nonsmall cell lung cancer because its a very homogenous cancer (meaning it requires a lot of blood supply to keep growing)

Sue Harwood · 03-26-2001, 07:34 PM

Rosilita:

Thank you for your message! I will try what you said & appreciate very much your suggestions. Hopefully, some time soon, I will be able to let you know that we had very good luck from your input. Thanks again!

Sue

J Elaine Bultemeier · 04-03-2001, 08:55 PM

Sue,
My husband has just started 3rd month of Iressa. He is being treated at M.D.Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The trip is hard on him (650 miles from our home), and he was extremely tired first couple of days after return this time. However, yesterday he took care of some chores/projects/errands and today he was up before me to go fishing with a neighbor. He was tired when got home, but after nap on couch, he is now watching TV. I compared today with a month ago, and can sincerely say my husband is better. He went fishing with same neighbor last month, and when returned was exhausted. Every day is different, and we are starting to accept the fact that his condition can change radically at any time. He was diagnosed 3/8/2000 with Stage IV Lung Cancer in lower right lobe. It had spread thru entire right lung, lining, liver, and spine from Dec-Jan 2001. While we pray that God will intercede with a miracle, we continue to do what God's medical helpers here on earth advise. God Bless. Elaine

[This message has been edited by J Elaine Bultemeier (edited 04-03-2001).]

Sue Harwood · 04-04-2001, 07:42 PM

J. Elaine:

Thank you for your information. My husband is extremely fatigued the last few days. Does nothing but sleep during the day & eat a little bit. Rarely sleeps at night - up & down all night long. I will see what I can come up with for Iressa. Good luck to you & your husband. I know what a challenge this all is to each of us. Like you said, we pray that God will perform a miracle for our loved ones - soon!!! It's so hard to watch them suffer & we can do so little!!!
Thank you!!! Sue H.