I feel like the penalties lately haven't been hitting nearly hard enough to actually deter aggressive driving. It seems like once a certain threshold is crossed, the "oops, my bad" excuse just gets a slap on the wrist instead of a real consequence. Does anyone else feel like the rules are becoming way too lenient for contact on track?
Does anyone have a recommendation for a solid private nephrologist in Chicago? We have a referral, but I have no idea what the actual wait time looks like...
Understood, loud and clear. 😁 Anyway, an oncologist friend of mine suggested Emend might be useful if my dad’s condition takes a turn for the worse. I even looked into some online discussions—specifically on an alternative medicine forum where a woman mentioned her husband's bronchial adenocarcinoma was successfully managed. Is Emend actually considered one of the better options? I asked her for a specific recommendation for the best medication available. To be honest, the real issue is that Dad is still being treated by Dr. Badovinac, who isn't an oncologist—we haven't even established contact with a specialist yet... I need to know: how many cycles of chemotherapy does it typically take before you start seeing actual results?
I get 🙂—honestly, I’m starting to lean into the alternative side because I find myself constantly questioning everything about nutrition 😁. We’ll pull through somehow... but lately, the panic at home has started setting in, and I feel myself beginning to surrender. I can only hope this phase passes... We are all providing him with immense support, and I have to admit one thing that I didn't believe until I experienced it firsthand... It is truly incredible how much a disease can unite people; we are more cohesive now than ever, showing an extraordinary level of tolerance toward one another... It’s tragic that such a tragedy and hardship had to occur, but unfortunately, illness finds everyone sooner or later—no one leaves this world in perfect health...
I have a Bullet express juicer at home—just wanted to ask if cancer patients can consume raw fruit and vegetable juices? Is that alright? The juicer completely removes the pulp... so you're left with pure juice. Right now, I'm making a beet and ginger blend. I read somewhere that citrus should be avoided? Forgive me if I'm asking too many questions; feel free to stop me if I'm overdoing it... and red meat—should we cut that out?
Back again... The PET/CT scan showed suspicious secondary involvement at TH10. His entire right lung lobe is riddled with these secondary sites—the doctors were blunt: surgery would kill him because they’d have to remove the whole right lung. I have no reason to doubt them. Chemotherapy is the recommendation, though we need a scintigraphy first. We’ve all suddenly become incredibly brave and optimistic—even though the doctors insist we should be "moderately" optimistic at best. Personally, after being a total wreck for about two months, I’ve somehow found this calm, positive strength... for myself and everyone around me. What I need to know now is: does anyone here have experience with chemotherapy for bronchial adenocarcinoma? Is there a specific thread on this site regarding what to expect during treatment? My dad is terrified—his only thought is how much it's going to hurt. Legend 😁 The headaches are still unbearable. The PET/CT shows everything else is clear except for the lungs and that TH10 vertebra—which isn't even confirmed as a metastasis yet. No one is telling us if a metastasis in the spine could actually cause such agonizing headaches... Does anyone have dietary advice that isn't overly complicated? I’m reading everything under the sun and honestly, I can't trust anything anymore...🙄
placidwalker452-- Hats off to all of you for showing this kind of courage. Reading this was difficult 🙂. Wishing you all strength to endure this agony together... stay strong and hold your ground...
Angela Wright said:The truth is, nothing is ever guaranteed—but damn if I don't want to know if something can hit those lingering cells (and there are always some left over). I’m the type who would do absolutely everything in my power to lower that recurrence risk, even if it means dealing with side effects. Honestly, an oncologist shouldn't even be suggesting you skip it if they think it helps. It really rubs me the wrong way that they leave the choice up to you without laying out every single "pro" and "con" first—leaving you to go googling just to make an informed decision. 😠
I have to admit, I've been following this closely and even I was shocked that the doctor is asking the patient to decide. I mean, what is their job then? There should always be a clear list of pros and cons provided so patients actually have something to base a decision on. This isn't some harmless antibiotic you just toss back without thinking... 🙄
Angela Wright, could you please find that chart somewhere? I'm interested because we're being told chemo is next, but I've read it might not be that effective for lung cancer cases—and I know my dad is going to ask for my opinion. He'll definitely think ten times over before deciding whether to go through with it.
Yeah, he’s handling this situation perfectly—if you consider being completely unmotivated "handling" it. All he wants is to "get away from the doctors." Honestly, I had to pull some serious strings across half the city just to secure an appointment within the next 48 hours, because they discharged him from Mercy Hospital again at his own insistence. Now, we finally have a slot for a CT scan. It might be easier for me to deal with all this if he would just acknowledge his symptoms instead of denying everything the doctors say and insisting on doing things his way. I can finally breathe a little now that we managed to get this appointment scheduled so quickly... thanks for reading, sometimes I just need someone to actually listen to me 😁 😁
Dad is heading back to the hospital today... He claims he's just going "to check in." Honestly, I still can't battle these demons and this grief on my own. I go to bed in tears and wake up the same way. The only time I feel okay is when I'm not near him—the moment I see him, the urge to cry hits, and he offers zero support with his constant negativity. I don't get how a person can fail to realize they have cancer and that every single day actually matters. All he cares about is how long he'll be stuck in the hospital because he hates being there; he's obsessed with how soon he can get back home... it's exhausting. I feel completely powerless and angry, and I can't believe Mom just sits there watching this happen with total indifference. Today, she's even making me feel like I shouldn't go to the hospital to tell the doctor that it's her responsibility to give him the truth and explain things clearly... instead, Mom just sits and waits, and once he's finished, she doesn't ask a single question. She leaves everything up to a man who lied to us for months just to avoid facing the doctor—someone for whom the truth is clearly an afterthought. Is it common to deal with people like this, or is my father truly one of a kind?
I picked up some beta glucan and propolis.😁 By the way, I’m not sure if you all saw this—I stumbled upon an article from January about how antioxidants might actually accelerate tumor growth, specifically beta-carotene. My English might be terrible, or maybe I’m just misreading it, but that information really caught me off guard... Has anyone here used Citrofit? I have some at home—back when I was taking it myself in capsules... I read somewhere that you should take propolis up to seven times a day? And beta glucan at 1000mg daily?
Thanks for the advice and support, ladies... Angela Wright, truly, thank you. The hardest part is coming home from work and checking on Dad—he’s home for a few days over the holidays, and he still looks okay, mostly. Except for those headaches—they're brutal, enough that he's walking around the house constantly wearing a cap just to deal with them... so that's where we are. Just taking it day by day... that's how I've been trying to process it. My little girl is suffering right along with me because I'm completely checked out—my mind is always stuck on a thousand different "what if" scenarios about what comes next. I can only ask: what should I do regarding his diet? He loves to eat, and I was thinking maybe I should just let him have whatever he wants—he isn't exactly the type to handle strict restrictions well. Yesterday, I walked in to find he had stocked up at the grocery store like he was preparing for a war... he specifically wanted baklava, but that stuff is loaded with sugar, and everything I read says sugar feeds tumor cells. 😢 Does anyone know of any other natural remedies to give his immune system a quick boost before the hospital visit? We're heading out soon, and I'd love for him to have something beneficial to drink during these last seven days... I've been reading about Noni. Does anyone know which brand is actually the best?
Here’s the latest news. I stepped in and we ended up in the hands of Dr. Janevski—they say he’s top-tier. I don't see any reason to doubt him; unfortunately, I don't know anyone at Jordanovcu, and I firmly believe that professionals actually know what they’re doing. The surgeon stated that without the PET-CT results, he can't decide if the tumor is operable. Dad is scheduled for admission on January 5th, and I suggested today that we just go private to get the PET-CT done immediately. He shot that down—said it's out of the question, that once he's hospitalized again, they'll run it at Rebro and there's no need to waste money. They did an MRI with contrast, as well as a CT, and unfortunately, his reaction was terrible—he broke out in a horrific rash all over his body. 😢 I feel like time is slipping away from him, just as it is for us... and mentally, I am completely broken. I'm usually a pessimist—the kind of radical, nasty pessimist—and this is going to be the end of me... even though I know the most important thing is to show support and stay positive for the patient. For me, personally, nothing is worse than someone hiding things from me. I need to know everything, every single detail, and then it's my problem to figure out how to deal with it. Everyone keeps advising me not to tell Dad anything, just to tell him he's having surgery and he'll be back out on his boat... The worst part is I can't even tell him they confirmed it's cancer because he is in total denial about the whole thing...
Yes, he claims there was a benign growth right there discovered about 15 years ago. 😢 Whether that’s actually true or not—it’s hard to say. He hadn't seen a doctor since then, aside from two emergency room visits where things were looking pretty dire. He’s dealing with these savage headaches, but the MRom didn't find any metastases. This PET/CT scan—what exactly does it show? Would it be worth taking him to a private clinic for that imaging? I’m completely lost... I don't know if I should push harder at Mercy Hospital to get him into the hands of a specialized thoracic surgeon, or just let nature take its course... Does anyone know how long the hospital stay is after surgeries like this? His tumor is located deep at the base of his right lung.
To everyone here—I’ve been following this thread periodically, always thinking how lucky one is when they don't have a close loved one battling a severe illness. Reality is much more bitter and cruel. My father—to whom I am incredibly attached—finally went in for a chest and abdominal CT a few days ago. They found a "stellate mass." He underwent a bronchoscopy, and today I was told it’s bronchial adenocarcinoma. Does anyone here have similar or identical experiences? He’s suffering from horrific headaches, though his brain MRI came back clear for now; I searched on Google and apparently, those headaches are a side effect of this type of tumor. We are at a loss for how to help him. He has to return to Mercy Hospital on May 1st, but first, he needs further cardiology workups. Supposedly, the cancer is operable. What terrifies me—because I went through this with an uncle who was dear to me and represents my happiest childhood memories—is the fact that he died of suffocation. I am already dreading what lies ahead... I'm distraught, prone to tears, but for the last few days, I kept clinging to the hope that the doctors might have made a mistake—until today, when I heard the diagnosis. On the other hand, Dad refuses to accept he’s sick. He insists he’ll seek second opinions, claiming it's just a benign growth he's had for 15 years and that the doctors have no clue. Perhaps it’s better for him to think that way—it makes him braver—though dealing with him is exhausting right now because he refuses to stay in the hospital and complains about the conditions. We tried to arrange a private suite for him by taking on extra debt, but unfortunately, Mercy Hospital doesn't offer that. There are so many specialists there, and the conditions aren't just bad—they are abysmal. Both the staff and the patients, who are lying there in such agony, are treated so poorly 😢
restlessbadger2 said:Let me answer my own question. To my great disappointment, Dr. Rotkvić retired on March 31st. Now I'm left searching for new recommendations... 👋
Prof. Nadan Rustemović from Mayo Clinic also saw me privately at Bates. Honestly, he’s the finest gastroenterologist I’ve ever encountered—dedicated, composed, thorough with explanations, and highly skilled. He was originally recommended to me for a second opinion, and after cycling through countless other specialists... I’ve stuck with him to this day.