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Cancer strikes my family again

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eks6426

Ideal_Rock
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My father in law from my first marriage just got diagnosed with lung cancer yesterday. (I''m still close with them). He hasn''t smoked in over 25 years and is otherwise healthy. He complained of shoulder pain so the regular doc took an X-ray then saw a spot on his lung. Into the hospital for a biopsy and it came back malignant.

I feel so terrible for this family. Their son (my first husband) died of cancer about 3 years ago and my in-laws were just getting their lives back in order after having their child die. (They finally moved out of the house where their child died in their bedroom!) My son (age 9) is also very close to his grandfather and knows that "Poppy" went in for a biopsy and will be asking. I hate to see this little boy have to deal with another cancer death so quickly after his dad''s death. But I know I can''t hide it from him.

On another note, does anyone know of any great specialist in lung cancer? We are in northern Indiana but could travel some. I just don''t really believe the local docs are the best and since I''ve been through all this before I''m pretty familiar with the options here. Any survivor stories appreicated too. We''re just all so stunned with this diagnosis.
 
no info for you but prayers are outgoing!
 
I don''t have any info either. I just wanted to offer my support and prayers.
 
I saw this website a while a go and thought you might be interested. I''m sorry to hear about your father in law.
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http://www.cancercenter.com/about-us.cfm
 
I''m very sorry to hear about this.
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I''m Canadian and can''t really help you with information, but your family is in my thoughts.
 
Sorry to hear this ID... I had an uncle and a friend die from lung cancer in the last 5 years ... well they THINK it started as lung cancer, but it spread so quickly on both of them that it was hard to pinpoint where it started. The really interesting thing is that neither of them smoked (well one smoked the occasional cigar but once a year maybe, but the other never!)...it's just so scary. My best wishes for you and the family...life can be cruel at times, hang in there!!
 
I''m so sorry to hear this.

Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital in New York is the premire cancer center. Unfortunately, my mother passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2002, but she was lucky enough to be in the care of the wonderful nurses and doctors there. I would check it out if you can.
 
IslandDreams, I''m so sorry to hear about this. Well wishes go out to you and your family. Especially your little boy. I don''t know any places, but I do remember one of the figure skating pairs had a girl who had lung cancer, and beat it. It IS beatable. Good luck.
 
Prayers outpouring for your family in this difficult time of need.
 
My fiance received his treatment (leukemia, two times) at New England Medical Center in Boston. They have amazing care and technology. My thoughts are with you.
 
ID,
I am so sorry to hear this. Prayers outgoing. I hope you can find a good specialist soon.
 
I am so sorry to hear this news.
Just wondering if you have considered the University of Chicago hospital. It has an excellent reputation as a cancer center plus since it''s on the south side, it''s not too far from Northern Indiana. I don''t know how to put links here, but here is the URL: http://www.uchospitals.edu/specialties/cancer/why-choose-us/index.html

Good luck. You and your family will be in my thoughts...
 
ID, I am so sorry to hear the news. I hope that this all turns out ok. Don''t lose hope or give up, there are so many things they can do these days to prolong life and treat cancer patients.

My grandfather had lung cancer and I believe he was treated at Mayo in Rochester, MN. Most of my maternal relatives are around MN and WI. My uncle got a liver transplant last year at Mayo, and he''s doing very well. My father has had two or three operations on advanced colon cancer there as well and he''s currently in remission. I really don''t know of any "better" place to start, nor do i have any recommendations as far as specialists in the Midwest. I just know my family has had very good experiences with Mayo. Not only do they have wonderful doctors, the campus itself is just beautiful and the whole town of Rochester is geared toward helping out-of-towners get around and be comfortable. My parents were there for 2-3 months at a time on a couple different occasions and outside of treatment and operations on my dad, found the city itself and the campus a peaceful and upbeat place to be.

Hope this helps...Mayo has a great website if you want to check that out.
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I am so sorry to hear about this. My best friend''s grandfather, who was like a grandfather to me, died just 2 weeks ago from lung cancer. I swear I know more people who''ve gotten lung cancer and never smoked than people who smoked every day. It''s such a horrible, horrible thing.
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Thank you everyone for your thoughts & prayers.

I''ll be calling some of the big centers like U of Chicago and Sloan Kettering. I haven''t been able to find too many postive stories on lung cancer. Many of the trials just show an improvement of a extending life a few months at best but there is always hope. I just know that when my first husband had cancer that there were a lot of trials and better options than our local doctors that he couldn''t do because he started treatment locally. Don''t want to make the same mistake again.
 
ID
sorry to hear this kind of news.
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Oh honey I am so sorry.
 
Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.
 
My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. My father had lung cancer from second hand smoke (my mom smokes) and they removed the cancerous lung. That was in 1996 and he is still with us and cancer free. Other than being easily winded, he is doing fine and grateful for his time here. Maybe this is an option ya''ll could look into? Love and hugs, Carolyn
 
Oh, ID, I am so sorry to hear that awful news!

My uncle died of lung cancer about 7 years ago. He lived in Florida and smoked basically since he was a teenager. His cancer was very agressive and I believe he died about 8 months after being diagnosed.

Have you considered Rush University Medical Center, formerly called Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke''s Medical Center in Chicago or Northwestern Memorial, also in Chicago? They are a bit farther than U of C, but I have had several family members go there for cancer treatment; none for lung cancer though.

I think the University of Chicago is excellent too. I did one of my pharmacy clinical rotations there. Great doctors and nurses. I spent some time in the oncology unit too. The pharmacists there really work well with the physicians.

Check out this link. It is the US News and World Report ranking of the Best Hosptials in 2005.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/tophosp.htm

I will keep your son''s grandpa in my prayers.
 
I''m so sorry to hear your sad news. My uncle has recently been diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer, but it grows quite slowly, and they hope that he''ll have years left. He''s in Canada...but I know the tests were send to several different Dr.s in several different countries!

Do you sometimes feel like your family gets it all? I''m one of the first 7 grandchildren born (all under 40), and only 2 of us are living...we''re all pretty decent people, so it''s hard to understand why, and accept all the tragedy. I really feel for you...

Take care!
 
I hope all goes well. My thoughts are with your family.
 
((((((((((HUGS))))))))))
My thoughts and prayers are with your family.
I hope they found it early enough so that he has a good prognosis.
Special prayers for your son, too.
 
So sorry to hear your news.

University Hospital''s Ireland Cancer Center in Cleveland is well-recommended.

And, the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center. You can''t get much better than the Clinic.

Both are manageable distances for you.

Best of luck to you and your family.
 
So sorry to hear this Island...and so sorry to hear about your first husband...that must have been just horrible...
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So sorry IslandDreams to hear your news. My heart goes out to you, your son and your former in-laws, as you deal with this terrible disease again.

Heather
 
I''m so sorry to hear about your bad news... sending thoughts and prayers to you and your family!
 
So sorry to hear this IslandDreams...my heart goes out to you and your family.
 
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and ideas. I''ve compiled a list for my in-laws and will be really pushing them to check into other places. All of the Chicago locations are only 2 hours away or so. If we can drive there to shop, we can certainly drive there for a potential life-saving treatment!

My father-in-law went to the doctor yesterday and they were told that there are spots on both lung which I know is really not good. He goes in Friday for a full-body pt ct scan.

I''m struggling with what to tell my son. He asked how "Poppy''s biopsy went" yesterday. I told him that they need to do more testing and my son says, "More testing is never good. That means it was probably malignant." Sad that my 9 year old immediately jumps to that conculsion and even knows the word "malignant" to be able to say it so casually.
 
My thoughts and prayers are with your family in this difficult time.
 
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