<p>LTS
S…t happens. You have the strength to work, while many CA patients drop out during chemo time.</p>
<p>From now on you will keep emergency kit with you, with plastic bags, $1 body sprays (from bath and body works), etc. When my dad was on dialysis, such occurrences happened if he couldn’t get to a bathroom ASAP. I kept towel, bags, wipes, and extra underwear in my car. Hopefully, this will never happen to you again when on such an important call</p>
<p>Not sure this will be of much help, LTS, but lots of people taking ALLI for weight loss have been in your shoes-- accidentally poo’ed in their pants. So, while the situation is different, and I certainly dio not mean to minimize your situation at all, I thought knowing that you are not alone, even in this particular situation, might be comforting!</p>
<p>and another</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[The</a> Toledo Free Press - A tradition for Toledo’s future](<a href=“http://www.toledofreepress.com/?id=8143]The”>http://www.toledofreepress.com/?id=8143)</p>
<p>^^^ sending good thoughts for the best weekend with your daughter.
Regarding the above post, my wise Chinese OB/ GYN likes to give “parting words of advice” about all kinds of topics.
One day, years ago, he warned about burning scented candles because he was seeing lung cancer in non-smokers.
Just passing this along.</p>
<p>LTS,
One thing I learned in addition to eating frequently in very small amounts was that I could never let myself get really hungry. I always thought it was a good thing that I felt hungry but I almost always ended up eating too much and then paying the price.
I am sure they are giving you great anti-nausea meds but the ones I found really helpful were Kytril and Emend. If those arent in your arsenal ask about them. I noticed very few side effects(except constipation).</p>
<p>Oh LTS: you have such a FANTASTIC attitude. I am in awe of your sangfroid!!</p>
<p>You’re like a Timex: “takes a licking but keeps on ticking.” BRAVO to you.</p>
<p>LTS – I had a feeling that is what might have happened. You are not alone. There are a number of people with various health issues that have this happen – it’s not uncommon in those who have Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I have worked with a woman in my practice who has this issue due to serious nerve damage from spinal injuries – you might want to keep a few Depends on hand that you can maybe slip one on if you’re suspecting a problem might come on and don’t want to be worrying about it. And I would just say, I think it’s good you shared. I think these things have the potential to create feelings of shame and isolation which is very unfortunate. Fortunately for you, this is probably a temporary effect of your chemo as opposed to a long-term problem.</p>
<p>LTS, glad you could laugh about it. Great attitude! :)</p>
<p>You are LIVING your life … and I am awed.</p>
<p>LTS:</p>
<p>Yes, it’s good that you could laugh about it. I also suggest that you learn to say “no” or “excuse, me, I have an emergency, can I call back?” even if it’s an international conference call. You don’t have to give details, or share that you have an illness. If your office suddenly had a burst pipe, you’d end the phone call pronto and deal with it. Think about it that way.</p>
<p>LTS, Not sure that I should bring up delicate subjects ever again but you do have to take precaution that it may be more liquefied the next time. </p>
<p>Good to hear that you are maintaining your blood counts, weight and humor [pun]. Have a good July 4. Best,</p>
<p>LTS and any one else dealing with cancer, there is a magazizne my Dad gets:
[CURE:</a> Cancer Updates, Research & Education](<a href=“http://www.curetoday.com%5DCURE:”>http://www.curetoday.com) The subscription is free for people with cancer, check it out</p>
<p>It is for people dealing with cancer and is all about research and coping with Cancer. Here is one note in the latest magazine:</p>
<p>Erbitux Extends Lung Cancer Survival </p>
<p>One of the highlighted studies at this year’s meeting, the FLEX trial, showed Erbitux (cetuximab) extends overall survival by five weeks in non-small cell lung cancer—considered a success in this hard-to-treat cancer. </p>
<p>The international phase III study involved 1,125 newly diagnosed patients with latestage disease who were given either Erbitux plus chemotherapy (cisplatin and vinorelbine) or chemotherapy alone. While progressionfree survival remained unchanged between the two arms at 4.8 months, overall survival in the group receiving Erbitux and chemotherapy reached 11.3 months compared with 10.1 months in patients receiving only chemotherapy. One-year survival improved from 42 percent to 47 percent—a 5 percent absolute gain in survival. “To put it into perspective, that’s half the gain of adding chemotherapy to no treatment in the disease,” said Robert Pirker, MD, lead author of the study, at a press conference. </p>
<p>Dr. Pirker, of the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, suggested the study results could signal a change in the standard of care for metastatic lung cancer patients, possibly those ineligible for the targeted therapy Avastin (bevacizumab). Presented last year, Avastin combined with carboplatin and Taxol (paclitaxel) improved survival from 10.3 months with chemotherapy alone to 12.3 months. However, Dr. Pirker stressed that a direct comparison cannot be made from the two studies. </p>
<p>Side effects of Erbitux include neutropenia, anemia, and rash—a common effect in therapies that target the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR. Studies have shown many lung cancer patients—as many as 80 percent—carry a mutated version of the EGFR gene. Erbitux is approved for colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer, and is expected to be submitted later this year for approval for newly diagnosed advanced lung cancer. —Elizabeth Whittington</p>
<p>LTS, you can’t possibly know what an impact you have on those of us who follow your progress on this site. I regard you partly as a superhero and partly with an almost maternal feeling of pride as I watch you knock down one challenge after another. You are such a winner.</p>
<p>LTS,
This is a very common side effect of Gleevec, too. Yuck, yuck and yuck. I keep an extra change of clothes and supplies around. My PA recommended dietary fiber for severe diarrhea – it actually helps to bind (even though most folks would use it for a laxative). Check with your doc, but I have found it helpful for sudden bouts of the big D. I also eat rice a lot.
(Sorry to gross out the rest of you.)</p>
<p>LTS, </p>
<p>When I watch the fireworks tomorrow night, I’ll be thinking of you as they sparkle and celebrate my Long Term Survivor friend. Sparkle! Pop! Wheee! It’s the Fourth and you are here! Have a great time with your daughter and i hope you see some fireworks that celebrate your long term survival!</p>
<p>LTS-</p>
<p>About to give one final backcheck of the spandrels for the Maternity Center project before the design sent out Tuesday to the clients. The contractor will bid on it, and then we’ll be on our way.</p>
<p>I will be sure to send pics as they go under construction!</p>
<p>LOL…well…at the end of the day, what CAN you do but laugh, anyway…the funniest part…where my caregiver and I got to laughing, was when it went PLOP on the bathroom floor. Consider a measurement of material more likely to be associated, with, say, a Clydesdale, one of the beer hauling animals, vs., say, a petite human female. There was another customer in the stall right next to mine and there’s just simply NO WAY that person didn’t notice the PLOP. I wonder if you can imagine my shock, and horror, given that my plan was to aim it a little better. I was like, how in the world did things EVER get HERE??? There’s a pile of poop on the floor, and, it’s mine, and now I gotta do something about it. </p>
<p>So we got to laughing, thinking, what if it had rolled or migrated into that person’s stall? What in the world would you even say??? “Excuse me, that would be my poop, it sorta got away from me there, can you just sorta kick it back over here to me please???..thank you very much…” </p>
<p>Anyway, we laughed a lot, sophomoric bathroom humor just like when we were three years old, and then speculated, thank heavens, it didn’t happen when actual clients were in my office, or somewhere out at a meeting…</p>
<p>Marite, you’re so right…for a good 20 minutes at the end of the call I was desperately wanting to say “gentlemen, I need to leave the call” - but - I could NOT make myself do that. I just couldn’t do it. I don’t know why.</p>
<p>LOL, LTS… I am laughing with tears in my eyes now! You really could go on a comedy tour with some of these anecdotes. All the best to you this July 4th!</p>
<p>LOL what else can you do…</p>
<p>LTS, </p>
<p>Mucositis can be very serious and cause pain and the inability to eat and drink. I am sure that your team will be checking for mouth sores if you are on chemo (methotrexate?) that can cause mucositis. I am on a on-line list serve for a rare cancer - patients on that list seem to benefit from glutamine. Glutamine does not seem to be something routinely recommended for mucositis but anecdotally my list has seen very positive results. </p>
<p>As a dietary supplement, Nancy Grey protein shakes are wonderful - calories and a LOT of protein but they taste like a milkshake. I can find them in the freezer section of my grocery store here in Western PA and all the hospitals I’m familiar with had them available. </p>
<p>wishing you the best…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>–Albert Einstein</p>