chenyu, you are a very insightfull person. I am not a cancer survivor and hope that I never have to experience the disease. But as a person who at the ripe age of 24 had to care for her grandmother (who was only 57) when she lost her second battle with the disease I want to give you another side. Nothing I am saying is meant to offend you just offer a little to your statements. I agree that it is important to strengthen the bodys immune system. I also agree that chemotherapy is not a selective treatment. It does not know the difference between healthy cells and cancerous cells and it makes you sick. Many times my grandma said she didnt know what was worse, the treatment or the cure. But doctors are learning how to pinpoint both chemo and radiation to protect the healthy cells. I do not agree that treatment is a blind experiment. While most all treatments may start out that way (or even as an accident) we learn and add to what is learned. There are some cancers that can be cured in some patients with no reaccurance. You stated that treatment cant prolong a patients life and excelerates their death. I have to disagree and I feel I have to give a summery of my experiance with my grandmother for you to understand what I am saying. Sorry if this gets long. My grandmother got her first tumor at around 35. It was benign. When another formed 10 years later she thought nothing of it. Unfortunitly, she also didnt go to the doctor till it started to bother her (about 6 months after she noticed the tumor coming back. That time it was malignent. Her cancer was sarcoma. It is a hard tissue tumor that is like bone. They did chemo to shrink the tumor and then removed it. Along with most of the bone in her arm and shoulder (It had grown into her bones and could not be seperated. That was replaced with rods and "hinges". She had 13 other small tumors that were inactive. They could only keep an eye on to see if they started growing. She was not a sickly person before the cancer or after. Cancer was the only thing she ever suffered from. When 2 of the remaining tumors started growing they could not be removed because of location (one behind each lung). She went through radiation that was designed to zero in on the tumor and protect the surrounding tissue and cells. Unfortunitly this time the sarcoma was growing so fast that they could not keep it contained. Her second battle with the disease lasted 2 years. If they could have removed those tumors she would have survived. The cancer is not what caused her death in the end, it was the inability to breath because of the compression on her lungs. If my grandmother had not had medical treatment for the 2nd tumor and had it removed she would have died within 6 months due to the aggresive growth of the tumor. Yes, the cancer got her in the end but she also got another 10 years of life and got to enjoy her first grandaughter before she got sick. So treatment did prolong her life not accelerate her death. Even if she were to stay in a protected environment free from polution (with no treatment) she would have died in 6 months, not 10 years. I believe an open mind is crucial in fighting any disease. And while I feel those that rely on doctors should be openminded about "natural" remedies, I also feel that those who rely on "natural" remedies should use that same openmindedness in regards to "medical" remedies. Each has their stronger points. Carey

Hi, Kay. Yes, she is going through all of the paperwork, and she is getting a bit overwhelmed. My dad left everything to her, and my sister-in-law, who is an accountant, is the executor of the will. She is doing most of the work, but they are waiting on the official death certificate before the house can be put in my mom's name. She can't sell until that is done. She also has to get rid of the car, since she doesn't drive, but one of my brothers needs a trade-in, and he is going to buy the car from her ( at a fair market price, of course). My dad did have his affairs in order, and all of the investments were in my mom's name anyhow, so she doesn't have too much to do. Right now she is slowly going through the house getting rid of things she won't need in an apartment. They lived in the same place for 44 years, so it's quite a big job, although in recent years they did begin to clear out a lot of junk. The biggest job is already done. My dad was into model trains, and had a huge set-up in two rooms in the basement. He had literally hundreds of cars, plus little villages, etc. He kept all of the boxes, but it still took us the better part of a week to dismantle the whole thing. The trains are going to be divided up between my brothers, and my mom didn't have to do a thing. We have been very fortunate that there have been absolutely NO arguements over money or disposing of posessions. I have heard so many stories about how a death in the family can bring out the absolute worst in people, but this is not the case for us. All of my brothers and I just want our mom to have as smooth a move as possible, and to end up with as much money as she can get. She is anxious to sell, she finds there are just too many memories in the house, and she wants a fresh start. Hopefully, she can be settled in her new place before the winter weather begins.

I think this article about Cancer pain management from http://www.themesotheliomalibrary.com may be useful for your read Most lung cancer patients fear the pain resulting from it, rather than the cancer itself. Pain management theories were developed to help patients control or minimize their pain while undergoing cancer treatments. About 80% - 90% of cancer patients control their pain through a combination of pain medicines & other exercises. In order to successfully control pain from cancer, it is important to understand where that pain originally derives from. Cancer pain occurs when malignant tumors slide or press on internal organs such as bones, nerves and the lymph nodes. The extent of pain also depends on the location of the tumor and what organ it is pressing on. For example, a small tumor pressing on a vital organ of the body such as the lungs can cause lots of pain, while a large tumor elsewhere could cause little pain. Pain also derives from cancer treatments including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Pain from these cancer treatments has more chance of occuring in patients whose immune system has been damaged as a result of these therapies. The 3rd source of cancer pain derives from other common illnesses such as headaches, pain in the kidneys, arthritis, muscle strains, etc. Types of Cancer Pain There are 3 most common types of pain resulting from Cancer. They are: i) Acute pain: Acute pain lasts a very short amount of time, but can be very severe and comes as a surprise. ii) Chronic pain: Chronic pain lasts over a long period of time and can be mild to severe. iii) Breakthrough pain: Breakthrough pain occurs in patients who have chronic pain and can be controlled via cancer medicines. Pain Control & Medicines The type of medicine & proper dose procedure given to a cancer patient depends on the extent of the cancer and its source. Below are a few types of medicines that are given to cancer patients. i) Mild to Moderate Pain: Nonopioids - Nonopioids are over-the-counter medicines that can be purchased without a prescription. They include drugs such as acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen. Be sure to consult your doctor before using these medicines, especially if you are already undergoing chemotherapy. ii) Moderate to Severe Pain: Opioids - Opioids are types of drugs that can be purchased with a prescription only. They can be used in conjunction with nonopioids to lessen pain. Examples include morphine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, oxycodone, meperidine, codeine, and methadone. iii) Breakthrough pain: Rapid-onset Opioids - These are drugs that can quickly relieve sudden pain and are available by prescription only. Examples include oral morphine. They can also be used to cure persistent pain that pops up as a surprise.

I'm writing this with tears in my eyes. We received a phone call this morning informing us that our dear, lifelong friend, died quietly in her sleep this morning. She went rapidly down hill after her diagnosis and was on morphine and had hospice care. I'm so glad George and I got to see her that Sunday before my post on the 20th. She wasn't always lucid and at one point remarked to our friend who was helping look after her that "when are Steve and George coming?" Tore my heart out when we were told that. I know she's no longer in pain and that knowing Liz she's probably looking down at me and saying something like "O.K. Steve, enough of that now." We talked to her daughter yesterday who was glad to hear from us and at that time told us she thought it was only a matter of days or even hours. Farewell dear friend. I know you're helping with a production of some show or other in a different plane now.