Been a while

I feel like my world has fell apart, I am trying to be so strong, so positive. But I feel I have been kicked in my gut. Today a very good friend of mines mother passed away. Her mother suffered and wanted to live. Her death brought back a lot a feelings of my own fathers death. Then I looked over and saw my husband slipping away. I see him getting thinner, I see a shell of a person that I knew. It breaks my heart.

Hospice

Well, a lot has changed in two weeks. I ended up taking my husband to the ER on Jan 4, Doctor ordered a CT scan where it showed spreading to hubby's spine and to the rest of his ribs, Pleural effusion has got larger, and a new mass in his lower part of his right lung. So he was changed to stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer. Doctor done a bone scan and conformed the spread.

So doctors and my husband made the choice that since his lung function was so poor, and the cancer was making him so weak, that he will not be getting any treatments. It became a issue of having a better quality life.

So the doctors sent us home with an hospice referral.

B-12

Works wonders! Hubby got a B-12 shot a few days ago, He is able to sit up and play games on his laptop. Yesterday he went out all by himself for a few hours. This was a major change from the man who could hardly walk around.

Well this week he goes for a bone scan to check the tiny Met, and a CAT scan to get an updated look at his cancer to check how much spread he may have had. Basically so we can have a starting point before chemo treatment.

On the 11th he goes for the follow up, then treatments starts.

Happy new year!

Happy Holidays

Today is Christmas, Today is also the first time in many years that my husband cannot leave the house for the holidays. I am not sure if it is from the radiation or the lack of sleep for the past 4 months; But he is very tired.

A month ago, (thanksgiving) we went to church, then did our rounds. Then on black Friday, He went out with his cousins. Now he cannot walk from the chair to the kitchen without issues.

Major update

My last post, We got the official Dx. Since then we have been busy.

Hubby cannot have surgery, due to the results of his lung function test.

Cancer has spread to hubby's chest wall, lymph nodes.
There is also a 3mm area in his lower rt lung that did not light up on pet scan, a very small area on his hip that did light up and a small pleural effusion. The last two could mean a change of stage 3b to a stage 4 lung cancer. Treatment will be the same for both; Chemo

We have just got done doing 3 days of targeted radiation, this was done because the lung cancer destroyed a rib. The doctors felt he could benefit from 3 days of high radiation treatments to help with the major pain he is in. The chest area where the cancer has spread is to large for radiation.

After Christmas he will be going to the medical oncologist, more scans He will also be starting palliative care. He has also started oxygen.

medianoscopy

Hubby had a medianoscopy/port put in today. Biopsy of lymph nodes tested positive for cancer.

Doctor said he is NOT looking to cure his cancer, but to only manage it.

Stage IIIB lung cancer.

Well now we know

Stage IIIB lung cancer, This looks like what we are deal with. Could be a stage4, But we have to wait and see. Either way we will know for sure next week when we go and see the oncologist.

I do know what this means; no cure, Just treatment. Survival about 10%.