scared and confused

Good luck, Robert. It is a scary time, but this group has a lot of wisdom and support to offer. And you tell your granddaughter that the two of you will go fishing again.

finely having a pet scan tuesday then a port wednesday. dr got me scheduled the following monday for my first chemo iv. still not shure what to expect. my wife don`t know what i will be able to eat or not . seems like it took forever to get things going but only 3 weeks ago they took that 3in tumor out of me. petscan will tell the lymph noids or not so i get a better idea how things will be. my wife told our grandaughter about my cancer and she is worried about me now. she is going to be 12 in december and loves going fishin with me.

Hello Robert,

This is a particularly scary time. I remember. When the others on this site urge a second opinion - it is not to hand you another problem. We all know how inconvenient that it may be.

But Robert, I can only say that the decisions you make right now as to hospital, doctors and surgeons are going to be the most important decisions you will make in your life. This message can't be undersold.

The surgery itself is very complex and specialized. You want a surgeon who has done a bizillion of these. Please trust us on this.

As to the chemo - the standard now seems to be cisplatin/gemzar. I had carboplatin/gemzar - the 'platin' chemos are rough. I had adjuvant chemo (after surgery) and the fatigue was the worse. I also didn't like the steroids they give for nausea - they were like getting uppers and downers at the same time. I chose to take the nausea - it was a much better option for me. Your body is not going to like chemo but just remember that its not forever.

I wish you well - one step at a time.

Gracie

my pet scan was approved so i will get that tuesday , the port wednesday. i live on the other side of the state from chicago ,i would love a second opinion but my wife has a bad tailbone so driving hurts. i guess i will get the pet scan and my dr will probably start chemo. I have heard things about chemo, is there anything that might help as far as what i might try to keep down as far as food and how much bed time should i look at.

Robert --- I am 71 year old retired priest, and I was frightened --- after 3 resections and cancer was back quickly; BGC and Chemo and 36 days ago R/C. I have not heard of anyone who was hurt by a second opinion. We are here because we started out exactly where you are at -- -and we are here to tell you --- if R/C is the journey you should take we will be around if you have any questions or just want to have a place to let us know how you are doing. Scared and Frightened -- welcome to being normal --- take it day by day, step by step.

Robert

Welcome to this site. Sorry to have you here. All of us know how you feel. We are(were)scared and confused so we can certainly know how it feels. You have found a great resource for advice and care. You can also use this site to ask question and even Vent when you want to.

You may already know, from Cynthia's post, that we are BIG on second opinions here. We are Not trying to pry you away from you present Dr. If they are good at their craft, then they know, a second opinion is Not a slam on them or their abilities, It is just a way of confirming the path you need to follow.

We are BIG on getting you to the RIGHT place.

We are kinda big on keeping you alive for a long time. I myself am kinda big on making cancer a thing in your past.

It is VERY Normal to be scared and confused. We are here to help you. By the way we are Not paid spokespeople, or professional in ANY WAY! We do not even Play Doctors on TV! We are just like you.... We have cancer, had cancer, kicked cancer, are afraid of cancer.

Thanks for choosing to fly with ABCS. We know you have choices out there, but, our no cost advice is lightyears ahead of any other Free advice available. It comes from the heart.

George