Thanks all for your encouragement, advice and prayers!
I got my second opinion from Rocky Mountain Cancer Center. It was pretty much in line with what Kaiser has been telling me.
Although everytime I talk to a doctor I learn more and more about what I'm dealing with and how to cope. Also Kaiser is being much more responsive now. I think I'll stick with the 2nd Kaiser ONC that I talked to because we seem to communicate better with each talk.
I went to Kaiser after my consultation over at RMCC on 6/4. I was scheduled for a chemo session: carboplatin and Etoposide. I talked with Kaiser's social worker and said that I didn't want to do the chemo. The SW was concerned so he arranged my meeting for the ONC to occur not after chemo but right then and there. The ONC thought that I had only 4 cycles of that chemo but I actually had 5. We both thought that it would be better to start treating me with a second line chemo, Topotecane. It seems that the previous chemo has eliminated 1/2 the metastises.
I have a very tricky cancer. It is small cell which accounts for somewhere around 30% of cancers. Small cell tends to metastisize quickly. This can also be it's weakness because it responds to chemo and radiation better than large cell cancers. The doctor doesn't know if the cancer originated in my lungs or uterus but the main focus is to treat it with chemos that deal with both or just small cell lung cancer. I was exposed to a lot of 2nd hand smoke as a child. My mom tried to quit but never could. I also smoked but not much the last year of college but quit as soon as I graduated. I suspect this cancer came from my lungs. Small cell lung cancer can metastisize all over the body. If this was caught early enough with a CAT scan then I would have had a lung resectioned (sounds horrible!) or some radiation and a very low change for recurrance or mets. If any of you have been exposed to second hand smoke then I would highly recommend a yearly chest CT scan. There's no telling how much cigarette smoke it takes to predispose someone to cancer. Also I didn't have any symptoms like a persistant cough, etc.
There are trials for small cell lung cancer that I am looking into. There are very few to no trials that I qualify for that deal with small cell uterine cancer.
The doctor's at RMCC gave me my records. I looked at my prognosis. It said that it was poor and that I had months to live. They also mentioned Hospice or Palliative care but I haven't given up yet! Yikes!
As I was getting chemo this past Friday I started up a conversation with a man sitting in the recliner next to me. He's been battling lymphoma for 10 years. This was his 4th recurrance and the doctor was trying a new medication that just got FDA approval. He said that he's gotten the poor prognosis as well as the "months to live" statement several times. His wife was there but she was kind enough to let us share "war" stories for 1/2 hour. He was quite inspiring in his will to keep going on and hope in the meantime for research to catch up. Looks like this new drug might be the one for him. I hope so!
I also hope that research catches up with small cell, lung and uterine cancers and will carry on in the meantime. I still can not believe that my life has changed so much. I was so active: climbing mountains and running and lifting weights. Just 2 weeks ago I hiked up an 8K foothill and met an awesome breast cancer survivor that I've been chatting with ever since. She was amazed that I was up there! She was the picture of health and had her husbands and 2 little blond haired angels with her. It had been about a year since her last treatment. I wished I looked like her!
In the meantime I pray for a long-lived remission so I can have many years to be a part of my beloved Hystersister family!
s
Linda
Too many metastases means terminal.
and 
for your determination and for living up to your name. I was appalled at your first post but had tears from the second. You go girl!
