Fear FACTor

  I wanted to take the time to post a few facts about mom's cancer for those of you who are not familiar with it.

• Small-cell lung cancer grows rapidly. 
• Small-cell lung cancer spreads quickly.
• Small-cell lung cancer responds well to chemotherapy (using medications to kill cancer cells) and radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells).  
• The predominant cause of both small-cell lung cancer and non–small-cell lung cancer is tobacco smoking. However, small-cell lung cancer is more strongly linked to smoking than non–small-cell lung cancer.
• Even secondhand tobacco smoke is a risk factor for lung cancer.
• Persons with small-cell lung cancer typically have had symptoms for a relatively short time (8-12 weeks) before they visit their doctor.   
• The symptoms can result from local growth of the tumor, spread to nearby areas, distant spread, paraneoplastic syndromes, or a combination thereof. 

Symtoms Include:

• Cough
    
• Coughing up blood
    
• Shortness of breath
    
• Chest pain made worsened by deep breathing 

• Hoarseness of voice
• Difficulty swallowing, resulting from compression of the esophagus (food pipe)

• Swelling of the face and hands, resulting from compression of the superior vena cava (vein that returns deoxygenated blood from the upper body)

• Spread to the brain can cause headache, blurring of vision, nausea, vomiting, and weakness of any limb. 

• Spread to the bone can cause bone pain.
• Spread to the liver can cause pain in the right upper part of the abdomen. 

• Nonspecific symptoms include fatigue, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

In case of extensive stage small cell lung cancer, life expectancy is approximately 1 year i.e. 12 months. However, if the patient undergoes treatment, the life expectancy may increase to 20 months.

(facts are courtesy of WEBMD)

 When I think about this horrible thing growing inside my mom it really scares me. This cancer is such a monster. It is said that most people are not diagnosed with Small Cell Lung Cancer until it is in the extensive stage (not contained to one area). It moves so quickly. They actually told us, that this cancer can change dramatically in just a few days. This is scary. When you think about it, if mom had not been able to get the proper testing or get started on chemo as quickly as she did, she may not be here today. Every day is so precious. What is even scarier, is that mom is still sick with this bronchitis. Not just a little sick, VERY sick. She is truly not any better. On top of that, she is SUFFERING with nausea this time. This has not been a big issue through the last two cycles, but when I talked to her this morning she was struggling to get her medicine down. She was dry heaving, gagging and fighting off tears. They told us that if she runs a fever 24 hrs before a treatment, they will cancel it. That is not good. We do not know what to expect form day to day. There is no norm in this situation.I fear what will happen if chemo is postponed. I am headed out to take her for Day 3 of Cycle 3, but first, I wanted to post a few facts of my own.

• My mom is loved beyond comprehension by her 3 children
• My mom single handedly made us all what we are today--good hearted people
• My mom is the strongest person that I know
• My mom is beautiful inside and out
• My mom will never have to face a test, Dr., treatment or symptom alone
• My mom believes that she makes her own statistics
• My mom believes "Cancer is strong, but God is stronger"
• My mom believes whole heartedly that she is going to be a miracle
• My mom believes that God is in control

(Facts are courtesy of my heart)