treatment for brain mets

I hope my brother gets his voice back. It's so annoying. He was very angry because he said that if he hadn't been such a "good boy" and gone for his yearly physical, he'd never had known and he'd have a voice. We hope the prosthesis will work. He gets this put in at the end of the month.

I just spoke to her. She said she feels better and will return home tomorrow but her family laughs at her that she's a bit foggy..laughing in a fun way to cheer her up. She sounds good and feels better now than she did when she started the WBR.

Well, you've got my prayers, Ferne. Of course it could be a lot worse! That is something we could say for just about anything. But, you deserve to be feeling better and to get a break. Stils..with all you are going through, you've really been such a help to so many women here. I just wish you an easier journey from here on out...

I was also very foggy upon completing the  rads. It took a while for my head to clear up. I am mentally sharper now, but still have some moments. Please tell your friend that and that once she is completely off of the Decadron, she will start to feel better.

Also, that decadron affects your the big time. I'm usually a very easy going, patient person. That decadron made me short tempered. I just didn't have the patience to deal with people. And I felt as if I was snapping at people. I just pretty much wanted to be left alone most of the time and didn't want to talk to anyone. I took up too much energy.

ugh..I got an e-mail from my friend this morning. She had a sleepless night apparently because it came in at 2 am. She hasn't been e-mailing me. We've been talking on the phone and we were texting, too, but she was having trouble texting. Talking hasn't been so great, either since it's not face to face..she lives over an hour from me.

3neg,

I was and sometimes still am a big ball of cognitive mush! It was such a blow to me that my brain and thinking functions were impaired because my intelligence, organization, ability to communicate and memory were always strong points. It was a real downer to go through what your friend says she's feeling and going through. But it got better. I was pretty darn sharp week before last and I felt pretty good. I work as the Production Manager for a small printing company and I have to think on my toes and make decisions.

During rads, there were lots of times that I couldn't talk on the phone. I couldn't think or put words together quickly enough to carry on a conversation. So I just remained silent and said uh huh alot. Then I'd get a burst of clarity and could talk, then I'd get tired and it'd be gone!

It was hard to get some people to understand that I was not the same since the brain rads and I could not do the things the same way as before. I think it was hard for my mother to understand or maybe it is some form of denial. She had me teaching her computer things and asking me all kinds of questions on the phone, I thought my head would explode. Some of my friends didn't get it either, but some did. As for typing, if I didn't go back and correct things, it would be just awful. It's better, but it was horrible. I also couldn't see for squat, but that's getting better, too.

As for work, all I can say is take time getting back into the swing of things. That brain rads takes only 10 or so treatments but takes a lot longer to recover from. It won't happen overnight, but it does get better.

It's good that her family is patient because I bet she feels awful about this. I know it's hard to watch your friend go through this, and I know you are a survivor, but it's a little different because you never had wbr.

It's like with my best friend who had non small cell lung cancer. We were diagnosed around the same time, but she was diagnosed with mets. I understood her feelings when we went though chemo and rads at the same time, but I couldn't understand about her intense physical pain and when she got brain mets until I went through it myself. She died last August, but as I am now going through these things, I understand how hard it must have been for her. I don't think I would have fully understood if I had not gone through it myself.

So yes, I very much had this problem. It's better, but not completely resolved...yet.  Please tell your friend I understand what she is talking about and  that she's not alone. Please tell her to hang in there. It gets better.

Hugs to you both

Hi Ferne, just read your "story"....wow!  I just posted a question about anyone being on Ixempra which I just started.  Have you gotten around to starting on it yet?

3neg,

How are you?

How are things going for your friend?

Hi 3neg,

I'm glad you're friend is hanging in there. Is she finished or home for the weekend?

When I had to take time off from chemo to do the rads, by other mets progressed quite a bit, especially my lung and mediastinal mets. The skin mets are waking up and hurt and burn too, and I have new lumps now, even a lump in the other breast not far from the new (now larger) nodes that I mentioned before. It seems like everything good the chemo did has been lost in the 7 weeks I've been off it. But my onc told me way back when I first got mets that we are at 55 miles per hour and the cancer is moving at 65 miles per hour.

I never had a cough with the3 lung mets, but have lots of pain. It's still not under control. I never thought I'd say I'm so happy to be on chemo again, but I am. Sometimes I feel pretty miserable, but the Almighty is carrying me along the way, and I am making it. I know there are others worse off than me, and I just cannot imagine how they do it. I just keep praying for strength.

Please send my regards to you friend. I hope you are able to visit her.

I hope you are well, too.

Ferne..how are you doing? I hope you are okay.