Living with Lung Cancer

Last Friday, June 18, MRIs were taken of my cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spines hoping they would point to the cause of extreme lower back pain. The expectation was that they would identify a pinched nerve or other nerve or muscle involvement that could be “fixed” simply with pain meds. Last Monday the 21 st I got my last radiation treatment for the lung cancer. At that same time Joanie got her last immunotherapy infusion for her breast cancer. It was a cause for celebration! Yesterday the 23 rd I got a phone call from my radiation oncologist’s nurse informing me that the MRI results show that the cancer has spread to my lumbar spine. The lower back pain I’ve been experiencing has been caused by those metastatic bone cancer lesions. Not much to celebrate there. This morning we met with my oncologist to discuss those results and develop a new treatment plan. That plan includes the following: Begin radiation treatments to my lumbar spine ASAP and increase the dosage of Fentan

So much has happened since my post two weeks ago that I couldn’t possibly detail it all here. So I’ll just try to summarize the situation as it is right now. The good news is that there’s no pain in my skull, head, right rib area, right elbow, or right arm. That’s probably due partially to an oral steroid (Dexamethasone 4mg twice daily to reduce brain swelling) and a strong oral narcotic (Percocet four times daily). But the main pain fighters for those areas are radiation treatments. I get two radiation treatments every Monday through Friday for ten treatments: one to my brain and skull, the other to my right upper rib area. The purpose of those treatments is strictly to relieve pain. I’ll get my fifth treatment tomorrow (Monday the 14th) and my final treatment Monday the 21 st . However, I’ve developed excruciating pain in my lower back and neither the meds nor the radiation treatments have been effective there. That pain really kicks in when I attempt to get out of bed, get into