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<p>[Lung</a> Cancer Research Foundation - Homepage](<a href=“http://www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org/index.htm]Lung”>http://www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org/index.htm)</p>
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<p>[Lung</a> Cancer Research Foundation - The Foundation - Board Biographies](<a href=“http://www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org/board_bios.htm]Lung”>http://www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org/board_bios.htm)</p>
<p>Epistrophy, thank you for posting that, I appreciate it. I wasn’t aware of Laurie Carson’s work. This might be an ideal organization to support, assuming they can gain traction. It has to be very hard work, even maddening, at times. It’s nearly impossible to go anywhere in any major city without seeing pink ribbons, advertisements for free mammogram screenings, etc. Not so with lung cancer and in fact only recently did most insurance companies begin to authorize PET scans for small cell lung cancer follow up.</p>
<p>Finally, some good news…the MRI report came back, no evidence of metastatic disease in the lumbar/spine.</p>
<p>I do however have disc disease at L4-L5 and L5-S1, but, that’s as bad as things get. I’ll take it; it’s certainly far better than metastatic cancer spread…</p>
<p>LTS: Good news! Keep it up.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s maddening that lung cancer is ignored. And no one is responsible for his/her disease. Such awful thinking.</p>
<p>As if we’re entitled to judge the lifestyles and vulnerabilities of others.</p>
<p>Good news, LTS. Our hope is that you can look forward to having an aching back for years like the rest of us, and we will be counting our blessings. Are you feeling better from your flu-symptoms? If it is the version with the cough, that can go on and on! Lorelei</p>
<p>Hey LTS, great news! You made my day!</p>
<p>Hey, great news!</p>
<p>LTS: Yes, great news!</p>
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<p>At the risk of stating the obvious, the stigmatization associated with lung cancer, resulting from its association with “guilty” behavior (cigarette smoking), and the consequent difficulties in obtaining research funding, call to mind similar issues that have played out in the context of AIDS.</p>
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<p>[The</a> Front: No guilty parties](<a href=“http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1999/022599/news5.html]The”>http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1999/022599/news5.html)</p>
<p>Wow, great news, LTS! We are rejoicing with you. Have a peaceful weekend.</p>
<p>anxiousmom and lts-
Good news all the way around!! Thanks for sharing it with us! So happy for you both.</p>
<p>Epistrophy, thanks for bringing that to light - how true. Also, as a group, HIV/Aids patients have done an excellent job of advocating for themselves, in a way that seems to be out of reach for many lung cancer patients: the latter are either too old, too sick, underfunded, don’t live long enough to see things through, in lower socioeconomic status and therefore lacking in modern computer technology and the ability to communicate with those in a position to be impactive to change, etc., all of those things combined. </p>
<p>I don’t dare allow myself to ponder too hard the issue that the government gives big tobacco all sorts of breaks and earmarks while simultaneously denying research funding for lung and other cancers…on the one hand it’s good to stay a little bit angry but on the other hand probably a disastrous idea to totally lose it…</p>
<p>Lorelei the flu symptoms seem to be mostly gone; all I have done since Monday is go to work, then come straight home and collapse into bed and sleep 14 hours straight. I am not sure if it was a real flu or chemotherapy side effects or perhaps both of those things. But today I went shopping, played, etc. so - getting there. I see my doctor Monday so will see what he thinks.</p>
<p>Great news on the MRI results!!</p>
<p>LTS, I am very happy for your good news!</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Yay! Hooray! Confetti! Cheers! Flowers!</p>
<p>That’s great news, LTS.</p>
<p>LTS, I’m so happy to hear about the positive MRI results and that you are feeling better. Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall right back to sleep I pray for you… you are right in there with prayers for my kids, family members and friends and often you are first on the list.</p>
<p>LTS, When I was first diagnosed the best resources I found for understanding my blood counts and some of the issues with interferon were HIV/AIDS sites. They were shut out; they broke down the doors. </p>
<p>Glad to hear your good news.</p>
<p>That’s great news, LTS. I wouldn’t worry too much about the sleeping. I think that sleep is one of the best things for you since it’s entirely governed by your body. It doesn’t matter whether it’s from stress, chemo, the flu, a medication (even cold meds), or anything else; tell your doctor if you’re sleeping significantly more or less than normal, but just let your body run your sleep cycle however it wants to. You’ve talked about this earlier, and I agree with you that listening to your body is often the best thing to do.</p>
<p>I think HIV/AIDS “patients” are a fantastic inspiration. They did so much for themselves as a community both socially and medically before anyone else would help them. It’s quite remarkable really, especially regarding the changes brought about in condom use in the gay community, by the gay community. One of my father’s friends from college–and someone who I have looked to as a personal mentor–has been HIV+ for decades without developing AIDS despite an originally bleak and tragic diagnosis right when HIV was at its peak in the early 1980s. He’s now retired, well into his 60s, and going strong. He has one child, a grandchild, an ex-wife on good terms, a fabulous pension, an amazing personal history, has quit smoking, runs a non-profit, and everything else you can think of-- and above that he is beyond smart and well-meaning. I have never asked specifically, but from what I’ve heard, it sounds like his doctor has always believed in his ability to live strong and live well, which is exactly what he has done. Hope, trust, the power of a community–those things should never be discounted.</p>
<p>I will also mention as a brief update that my aunt, someone I mentioned many pages earlier, was granted an amazing respite. Her brain cancer was originally said to be in 80% of her brain and inoperable. She is in her 40s with a son in high school and was given just a few months to live. She had talked to a number of doctors and specialists. After brain surgery to biopsy part of the mass, doctors discovered that the cancer was not the type that they were “90%+” sure it was (even after the surgery and initial biopsy results); instead, it is the slowest growing type of tumor. Though I don’t believe it’s operable or curable, she will hopefully have many years left with her family, instead of short, hurried months. I hope, LTS, that you don’t see this as anything but encouraging. Even in your different situation with a concrete diagnosis, I look at this experience and I see a family told for a month that their wife/mother/sister/aunt/friend was going to die and was going to die soon, and I see that everyone kept faith in her ability to live, no matter the diagnosis. I say luck was on her side (or maybe God, for those who believe in Him); as everyone who’s lived has said, just keep believing that you will be part of that surviving percentage, no matter what it is.</p>
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<p>[Used-to-Bees:</a> Hornets senior dance troupe set to strut at All-Star game - Living - NOLA.com](<a href=“http://www.nola.com/living/index.ssf/2008/02/positive_steps_nba_showcase_tu.html]Used-to-Bees:”>http://www.nola.com/living/index.ssf/2008/02/positive_steps_nba_showcase_tu.html)</p>
<p>LTS!!! So very excited to hear your great MRI results:D:D:D</p>