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• Living with cancer

• April 1, 2010 1:13 p.m.

  I have been in remission with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer for 2 1/2 years, and counting my blessings! My younger sister (soon to turn 60) was just diagnosed with Small Cell Lung Cancer, already having spread to her lower back and top of her head, with enlarged lymph nodes. She's received 20 radiation treatments, with 8 more to follow; and is just starting her second round of chemo.. Pain and nausea are a big issue for her, and she has lost 25 pounds in a month. Her doctors tell her this is "non- life threatening". Does anyone out there have any input on her chances of survival? "Thanks".

  - Kathleen

• March 31, 2010 2:16 p.m.

  Susan, Salagen is a prescription drug for dry mouth. I don't know how bad your hubby's dry mouth is, but mine was almost completely dry. They sell over the counter products in gels, spray and mints that help keep your mouth moist. Dry mouth also causes tooth decay rapidly. My dentist fitted me with a tray and prescription flouride toothpaste to help protect my teeth. My saliva has improved some, but will never be like it used to be and I carry bottled water everywhere I go. I am glad you got the Ambien and Zoloft. We all are impatient when treatment stops and we don't feel like we used to. It does take quite awhile as lots of chemos are made from WWI mustard gas except some of the newer targeted ones. Hang in there. It will get better!

  - Donna

• March 30, 2010 3:12 p.m.

  Thanks Donna for your advice. It's hopeful to hear from someone who's been through this--our prayers to you as well for your health and improvement. The Dr. just ordered Ambien for sleep and also Zoloft for his depression ( I hadn't thought of this as a post traumatic stress disorder, but it is!) I'll ask the DR. about the Salagen--I,m assuming it's perscription. Thank you again!

  - SUSAN

• March 26, 2010 5:46 p.m.

  This is in reply to Susan. I was diagnosed with tonsil cancer two years ago. They did laser surgery to remove the tonsil, a small part of my tongue and floor of mouth and then a neck dissection where they removed lymph nodes and my jugular vein on the left side. I also had the radiation your brother had and 6 chemo sessions. I had a PEG tube for feeding, too. If your brother has someone living with him, perhaps they could handle his feeding so he gets more in him. He also does not want to get dehydrated. Perhaps he should get an IV stand where both food and water could drip into his stomach like I have had before. The chemo brain can take about a year to get better. When I could start eating soft foods again, everything tasted like cardboard for quite awhile. My food tastes have permanently changed. For example, spicy things burn and I don't like fruit and I used to love it. My saliva has never returned and I take three tablets of 5mg Salagen (artifical saliva) daily and will probably take it for life. I still have to wash food down that sticks in my throat with water. As for his not sleeping, have his doctor prescribe Ambien or another sleeping pill. When you have cancer, you have to do whatever is necessary to get enough sleep, etc. It takes about a year to recover the strength you lost. This is my third bout with three different primary cancers since 2001. I hope this answers some of your questions and my prayers to your brother for his recovery.

  - Donna

• March 25, 2010 12:47 p.m.

  My brother just finished 8 weeks of daily radiation sesssions to the head & neck and 3 chemo sessions for tonsil CA-stage3. He's actually been declining since the end of it; can barely swallow anything, has very thick upper airway secretions(salivery glands shot), can only manage 2 cans of feeding supplement thru PEG tube /day so is under nourished/dehydrated, not able to sleep well, but very fatigued with any activity. He definitely has "chemo brain", can't understand most of what he's told or is written down, obviously depressed. He tells me his head feels like it's in a pressure chamber--affecting his ears, cognative abilities, memory, speech... Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? The treatment center told us that he received the harshest treatment they give but of coarse are non-committal on how long before, if at all, these symptoms will clear.. I can't find much on tonsil CA and what he's experiencing.

  - Susan

• March 22, 2010 10:54 p.m.

  my mother dx with breast ca last july was told she's now cancer free last month now she has extreme swelling on her face ,abd parts of her body her skin is red and appears to be burned she has been hospitalized several times and all the doctors are unable to determine the cause ,she has used silvadene cream her face has been so swollen she can hardly open her eyes. she has painful joints and possible having some neuropathy . we are at a lost no one has been able to help please advise or let us know if any one has had these symptoms

  - jineen

• March 18, 2010 4:07 p.m.

  There is a natural product called PRIMAL DEFENSE that is used to build immunity big time. It's got 12 kinds in the billions of good bacteria that helps to fight off much that is in the gut. Same thing you'd find in yogart, but yogart only has 2 or 3 types of bacteria. I have not personally used this, but have a friend who's a physical therapist who has fibromyalgia-now under control-who uses this product, and gave to her mother and father with astounding results, noticed by her mothers doctor, that was amazed. This product can be bought on-line, or is found in health food stores, or stores that lean toward organic products. This is in response to Fred.

  - Leanna

• March 17, 2010 3:31 p.m.

  hi just finished hi dose chemotherapy for AML inversion 16 leukemia.have been in remission five months now. getting a little tired of people being surprised that im still here, and back at work, anyone out there ever had this, or know anyone that has? the doctor has given me a good prognosis,due to the type of leukemia it was and cytogenitics, i almost dont feel right, i mean leukemia? its been almost a year since diagnosis, and i can hardly still say the word. any help?

  - wendy

• March 6, 2010 6:46 a.m.

  Fred.....my husband is post surgery -3 yrs- for esthesioneuroblastoma. He works on strengthening his immune system by 1.walking 30 min/day 2.balanced diet (chose to learn from weight watchers even though has never been over weight) 3. sleeps 8 hrs/night with one daytime nap 4. meditates/Holosync tapes 5. pre procedure uses Health Journey tapes 6. participates in cancer survivor gatherings 7. moved as quickly as he could from 'why me' to 'let me tell you how this journey with cancer enriched my life' 8. when hits a difficult spot readily seeks a professional to 'talk it through'. 9. Maitake Extract--daily which is currently being studied by Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a benefit to the immune system 10. being a nurse I would encourage tight control if he had diabetes If he has a immune glitch requiring MD attention( currently a ANC deficit) he follows their treatment advice which is specific to cause. NAN

  - Nan

• March 4, 2010 2:33 p.m.

  I recently completed my chemotherapy protocol, for colon cancer. I am looking to strengthen my immune system. Any advice?

  - Fred

• March 3, 2010 3:00 a.m.

  Thanks for your post Joan. Your are dealing with a lot and doing well. It sounds like your medical team is working with your nutrition and supplement plan. However, you may want to ask for a consultation with a dietitian also. Find out more about how you can take in calorie dense foods that you like to increase your weight. The dietitian can look at your current plan and may be able to recommend some changes that would help. It is great that you are also working with a Physical Therapist to increase your muscle strength at the same time. These are both really important as you recover from this latest surgery.

  - Sheryl

• March 3, 2010 2:48 a.m.

  This post is for Hannah. To reassure that everything is OK, have your parents make an appointment with your doctor or nurse to find out more. If you have a lump it is best to have a physical exam to find out exactly what is happening. Sometimes, between the ages of 10 - 14, when the breasts are starting to develop, the breast tissue might feel a bit different than before. It can be different looking and feeling on one side or the other. Get some reassurance that all is OK.

  - Sheryl

• March 2, 2010 7:33 p.m.

  Hello. I am 40 years old and last year I was diagnosed with vulvar cancer. I had chemo and radiation. My treatments stopped this Sept 09. It is now March 2010 and it is back. This time I don't need chemo and radiation. I had a PET scan in Jan 2010. It said I was cancer free. By Feb 2010 I was having surgery to remove a growth. So now it is a waiting game again to see if it grows back. I would love to hear from anyone else who has had this kind of cancer. Thanks.

  - Tammy

• March 1, 2010 7:40 p.m.

  Im 12, and i think i have breast cancer. It's scary, and i don't even know if that's what it is. My family has no history of it and i don't have a clue how i could have it. i wish for people to pray for me!

  - Hannah

• February 24, 2010 8:39 a.m.

  Sheryl, I am a 13 year colon cancer survivor but still live with frequest lung mets. I am 4 month s/p surgery for a fistula which culminated in removing what little small intestine I had left. Now I suffer from malabsorption and weigh 83 pounds from 175! I try to eat several small meals a day, am on large does of potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, citric acid, etc. via peg tube but still I can't gain weight. I have a physical therapist who is trying to build up my strength but I really want to gain weight. Any suggestions?

  - Joan

• February 19, 2010 8:56 a.m.

  Re: How to help a chemo patient. I completed chemo and radiation for breast cancer. Here's how to help: Be supportive but be strong. Cry to your friends because you need strength too. Be hopeful. Do simple things like hold his hand and listen. What not to do: Tell him stories about everyone else who has had cancer and their outcomes. Don't minimize his concerns and symptoms. Prevent "helpful" friends and family from doing so.

  - Terry

• February 19, 2010 6:42 a.m.

  I have recovered from lung cancer, which i had to have 36 radiation & 16 chemo treatments. I have had, for years, 49 in fact, a skin-cell disease called Haley-Haley disease, which Dr.'s said was incurable, but since the cancer treatments, I have had no signs of it. It seems so good, no to have these horrible skin eruptions, & to think they got the cancer shrunk & in remission. Thank God for modern technology.

  - Norma

• February 19, 2010 12:16 a.m.

  I'm a an 18 month survivor of colon csncer, stage 3 with lymph node involvement. At this point, I'm feeling wonderful and very positive about my survival. I do have peripheral neuropathy as a residual from chemotherapy. It's in my fingers and feet. I'd like to hear from anyone who has these symptoms, what, if any, success you've had in relieving the neuropathy, and what medications you're taking for the problem. is anyone taking reserveratrol? Looking forward to hearing from other colon cancer survivors. Carol

  - Carol

• February 18, 2010 6:24 p.m.

  hi - Thank you for your time on this website - my husband has cancer and is now on the chemo. how can i really help him and be there for him. this is so scary and awful.

  - marsha

• February 18, 2010 6:09 p.m.

  Inflammatory Breast Cancer -- any support you can give? Chemo, surgery, radiation and it is back, spreading quickly.

  - Trent

• February 18, 2010 4:41 p.m.

  Thanks for this opportunity to tell about my battle with cancer. I would like to add one more thing for anyone that has any kind of cancer, to get all the information on your cancer and to pray a lot and ask others to pray for you. I believe that has helped me a lot. I also believe in miracles....I think I have had one, in 2006 I had a PET Scan which showed the metastatic breast cancer to my bones and lymphnodes, the successive ones I took in 2007 showed an improvement. I had only had two Zometa infusions...could that have brought about the improvement? I am having another one in May, I live in Italy and we have social medicine, so it takes a while to have certain tests, sometime the wait is anywhere from weeks to 6 months. (I did not want to have another PET scan before now because I just didn't want to know if I was getting worse since I was told there was nothing else for me to do. except to take a Tomoxafin pill. I am now 75 years old. I admire all the people who have and have had more recurrences and more problems than I have had. For all of you still living with cancer, please make sure you eat well, no junk food, very little sweets. very little red meat and a lot of fruit and vegetables. Excercise as much as possible when you feel up to it, even if it is just walking.

  - Joanna

• February 18, 2010 4:19 p.m.

  I am a 17 yr survivor of breast cancer, my first cancer was in 1993, I had a lumpectomy at Mayo Clinic at Rochester, MI, followed by Chemo and radiation. In 2001 I had a second breast cancer which was different than the first breast cancer. This time it was stage IV and I decided to have a complete mastectomy. This was also followed by chemo and radiation. This operation was also done at Mayo Clinic in rochester, MI. The chemo and radiation were done by a private doctor in Hinsdale, IL. I returned to Mayo for periodic checkups, and when I returned in 2006 after having lost some weight. Originally they had found everything normal, but when I insisted to have a PET scan, they found that my cancer had metastatized to the bones and lymphnodes. They suggested I take Tomoxafin which was suggested to me when I had my second operation, but after taking it for 3 months I gave it up because of side effects. Since I am living in Italy, my uncologist here suggested I have Zometa infusions, but after having two treatments I gave it up because of side effects. I am not taking any medications now with the exceptions of a multi-vitamin, selenium, and COQ10. I have some bone pain and I am weak, but I try to keep going. The doctors at Mayo told me that because of my age I could go on for a while because cancer at this stage spreads slowllly. I know that because of my weakness I cannot stand chemo or radiation anymore, but it was not an option in my case.

  - Joanna

• February 17, 2010 7:12 p.m.

  I am not a Cancer survivor but my husband is. He had stage IV Colorectal Cancer surgery last year and thank God survived. Since then his Dental health has hit rock bottom. He had radical chemo and radition. Now all his teeth are falling out and he has constant infections plus bone lose. Is this normal? Because we owe so much yet for the treatments and surgeries we can't afford the $4000.00 plus bill for this new treatment. Is this common for the chemo and radiation treatments? And if so why were we not told? I can't stand to see him suffer so much again. His health is danger again and I don't know what to anymore.

  - Joanne

• February 15, 2010 4:45 p.m.

  Hi, I am a 3 time bc survivor..In recent months I have been having pain... from my neck down to my arms.. Numbness.. pins and needles feeling...Each time I went for scan.. it came back CLEAN.. I just had my recent Yearly PET SCAN.. it showed hot spots..It also showed on my MRI.. I know have BC Mets to my cervical spine.. Onc is starting me on..Radiation.. Here is my ?..Its too risky for me to have biopsy because of where the tumors are..(Neck) Thats why I am NOT having chemo now... just radiation.. How will we know what I have? I was HER 2 Postive last time.. How will they know how to treat me later on with chemo.. If we dont know what I am? How risky is having an Biopsy on my Cervical Spine?

  - Donna

• February 12, 2010 5:37 p.m.

  It will be a year since I was diagnoised with HER2+ Breast Cancer. Still taking Herceptin, and thank God the last treatment is 9 April.....I feel very blessed, that I am here. When we (my husband and I) found out that I had Cancer, I told him how lucky I had been to make to it 56....many aren't that lucky.....and we would fight this together....we have and so far so good. I've learned to take very day and count my blessings for its a "present"

  - Mona