The Oracle

Ok we now have a confirmed diagnosis that is beyond doubt. The hospital in Houston did all the tests from our local over and did not get the same results so they ran them a second time. He DOES NOT HAVE MESOTHELIOMA!!! He has lung cancer instead in both lungs. It is bad but not as devastating as the Mesothelioma. Instead of having only 6 months, he now has a 50% chance of living a year. It is treatable with the right chemotherapy where the Mesothelioma was not treatable at all. We are rejoicing our small victories and preparing for the fight ahead. I can’t tell you all how many this has meant to me having all your support and energy. My mother wanted me to pass along her thanks as well. My faith in Eir has increased volumes because of this. She has been a great source of help during these trying times.


I love you all!!

i'm happy for you and your family lynx. at least you have hope now, and faith.

Well all I have to say is stop thanking everyone here and give you and your family credit. Seems you've been a rock in my eyes and I know you'll think to yourself this is a small victory, but as Adarian said, think possitive.

Blessed be Lynx

The energy that you all have given is the only thing that has kept me going so I could help my parents. You really have no idea how much everyone here has helped. As for the small victories, they lead to greater victories when put all together.

I have continued my prayers to Eir (Norse goddess of healing) for his journey and have also thanked her for all that she has provided me as well as my family.

Well my dad has taken his first chemo treatment. This is a case study group for IV chemo treatments. This medicine is approved for lung cancer patients who are in better shape than he is. What they want to do is to see if it will help give a better quality of life to those who advanced staged like he does. It is suppose to stop the spread but it does not make it go away. My mother is still hoping for a miracle.

My father is taking it hard that he is so far advanced. He has been going thru bouts of depression which the treatment made worse. I just wish there was something I could do to help him cheer up. A good mental attitude is very important at this time.

Hi Honey.

Having just read through this thread I am amazed at how calm and strong you sound and I commend you for it.

You and your family are in my thoughts and I hope the best hope for you and for them. *hugs*

Lynx now you know I understand depression and the one thing that is most important to anyone who is afflicted is routine. You need to make sure that he doesn't have too much time to dwell while balancing out the amount of rest he'll need.

Find things that he can enjoy, things that occupy the mind, puzzles, just doing simple things like washing up the dishes after dinner. Sounds really mundane but trust me without those things a person with depression can just keep sinking.

Well my dad was in the Emergency Room most of yesterday. They ended up postponing his chemo treatment until next week. We did find out why he has only wanted to sleep for the last three weeks. They took 1,700 ml of fluid out of the sac surrounding the lung. All that fluid had his lung compressed to a point that he was not able to breath well. They are supposed to draw the fluid off his other lung next week and check the drain they put in his right lung yesterday. My mother is to empty the attached bag and record the amounts. He is feeling better with all that fluid gone. As he explained it to me, it was like having an elephant sitting on his chest so his body was shutting down to conserve the oxygen to use for his vital organs. I am just glad he is feeling better.

My father now has a very bad Staph infection. It came from his incision site. They have him on a strong antibotic. This has again postponed his treatments. The fluid level in the lung is much better so that is the only good news.

Well at least there is some good news, how are you holding up my friend?

I am not afraid to admit that I am very worried about him. Staph can be deadly depending on the strain of it and how it responses to antibotics. When I talked to him, he sounds tired and says he is very sorry everywhere. I know it is the fever causing that. Just want to get it cleared up so he can do his treatments and get better.

Thanks for asking Dear.

Well he is back in the hospital. He is unable to breathe while lying down so he has been sitting up in a chair for 3 days. The fluid they removed 1,400 ml of fluid a week ago. It is now back! The time between the drains had been weeks so as you can imagine this isn't good at all. I haven't seen him look this bad since he started treatments in Houston TX. I am extremely worried about him.

Last night was made worse by an insensitive "friend" who calls to whine about her problems with her ex-boyfriend and their son (who wants nothing to do with her). She was upset that I didn’t answer her call. I told her I was at the hospital with my dad, but that isn’t as important as her ex-boyfriend not letting her talk to her son when she calls. She knows my dad has lung cancer but nothing is as important as whatever crisis she is having at the moment. She is also upset that we have been home for a few days and my husband hasn’t come out to fix her pick-up truck even though he had told her until he is blue in the face that he ISN’T fixing it. Branwen, this is the person you did the reading about. We still can’t get rid of her. Nothing you do or say makes her go away. I don’t need this kind of stress right now. I am trying not to shut down but I don’t how much more I can take of this.

Thanks for letting me share my fears and frustration.

*hugs* Have you outright told her to go away? Not always the easiest thing to do, but sometimes necessary xx