Looking forward to 2012

It's 30th Dec 2011 today , feel great ! Two days to 2012 .
Things goes well for last couple of days.
Have another visit o Chinese doctor therapy on Tuesday and get another week of medicine .
Can feel body system getting better each day, looks like the treatment and medicine is working .
Not sleeping too well yesterday, could be due to little over stress myself yesterday. Lunch with friend and follow by visiting a friend back from Europe , stage 4 lung cancer , like me . Then, rush to KL for dinner and reach home already over 11 pm. Very tired.
Anyway, after my light exercise , brisk walking and medicine , still feel okay for the morning .
Kind of relieve today when read the blog of CT Chang and get to know that he is doing fine with the HIFU treatment for cancer in China for his kidney and lung and have a good recovery.
Praying Lord to bless him with good and fast recovery , and looking forward to see him back in KL for New Year .

2012 , I am looking forward to it . It will be a Good year .
No matter what happen, as long we take things easy , live simple and with Lord's blessing , everyday is a great day , good day , joyful day ...

Happy 2012 !!!

Cheers !

MERRY CHRISTMAS ... Joy to the world .

Merry Christmas and Good Day to everyone .
Thanks Lord for his blessing and healing , I am here today with a thankful/grateful heart to celebrate Christmas with my family and wishing all of you a JOYFUL Christmas days .

Yesterday mark the 3 1/2 years for me and today is the 4th Christmas , Lord is great . Praise the Lord .

Have a nice dinner with my family yesterday and sleep early .
Today mornng I feel fresh and have a good walk and light exercise, body system feel good and pray Lord will bless me to have good recovery .
A short nap after lunch recharge my body energy and looking forward to join a dinner in my sister in-law house.

The stable scan result is the best Christmas gift I have , thanks Lord .
Meantime, Siew Wai have send me a message about friend decided to quit smoking after following my blog and he make it . Feel great for him and wish he will keep it up . It is such a good Chistmas news for me .
I wish more smoker will quite smoking in coming days . Save our lung and appreciate our lung when it function well . It is so nice when we can walk fast , run , carry thing without short breath . Take care of it and enjoy our life .

Once again , Merry Christmas and have a good day.

God Bless .

What a good news for this Christmas , GREAT !

My wife been asking me when to go for my scan and I just can not make up my mind .
Especially the keep changing condition for the last couple of weeks .
It is my practice that I will not go for my CT scan or any test when my body condition is weak or when I have kind of funny feeling to face the result . It is the reason that I prefer to do it after Christmas, so that whatever is the result , it may not spoil my Christmas mood .

Then, on Tuesday this week, before I went to the Chinese doctor therapy , I just feel that I should do it this week .
Right after the treatment and my lunch , while on the way, something come into my mind that I should delay it.
God bless , before I turn and enter KL-Putrajaya expressway, I decided to keep to my plan and call up hospital and drive over to get scan appointment done and have my form for yesterday appoitment.

All well arrange and drive home. Suddenly it is a sudden change to my condition on Tuesday evening . My stomach start upset again and I got the pulling pain in my armpit area for the night . Not sleeping well and it then cause my back and shoulder pain .

Thanks Lord, finally pain go away and have a better sleep on Wednesday night .

Yesterday is actually very tired, but, since I have make up my mind, I decided to proceed with it .

While on the way to hospital, Chris ask me, what will be the plan after the scan and test report ? My answer is that I have not think about it at all and I actually think about how to deal with the daily or weekly condition changes I am facing now.
But, in a way, I feel odd , because I am so calm yesterday and what I want is just get it done soonest , so that , I can eat my breakfast and get my report in the afternoon . No more have the worry of What will happen , IF .... , and no more the excitement to look forward to some positive result .

Anyway, all goes well with the scan and blood test procedure . Feel tired and no appetite to eat . Maybe it is the side effect of the contrast agent injected to my body for the CT Scan. Just want to get the result, meet up with doctor and go home for a good rest .

Finally , I got my report after lunch. Overall , it show not much changes from the previous scan in end Sept. '11 , or after the last chemo on early Oct '11, means STABLE . Anyway, the biggest tumor now has a new number ... 12 cm , and previous scan is 11.9 cm . The changes is minimum . As for CEA tumor marker, it raise from 2400+ to 2600+ , less then 10%

STABLE is GOOD !
Praise the Lord !

Feel great ! Feel good !
Joy to the world .
Joy to everyone .

God bless .

Just notice I have not update my blog for so many days.
Been busy dealing with my keep changing condition and I start visiting Treatment Diaries support forum recently.
My condition is good for the last few days , feel good .
Christmas tree already set up by my lovely daughter and after some fine tune , it looks great .
Thanks , Natalie , you are great .
Feel tired every few hours, need rest and a nice nap ... :)
With the rest and nap along the day, I end up start waking up midnight or very early in the morning .
No worry ! Can deal with it and it will back to normal soon .
Some pain in armpit and lower chest bone on my right , strike me yesterday night . Not a bad one , thanks Lord,
I manage to sleep without problem . Go to bed at 10am and wake up about 4.30am , not bad , should not complain.
Once I wake up, pain start to strike again.
Decided to log in to Treatment Diaries forum to read some posting and share my thought.
It's amazing that while I am putting up some positive sharing , I notice the pain start going away and finally it's like
taking away by Lord , like what I pray in my posting . Feel great ! Praise the Lord .
Looking forward to family dinner tonight for early celebration of winter festival .

December again

Back home on Thursday , the flight journey all fine , except bad landing in KLIA . Not sure it's because of the pilot or weather.
Anyway, been sometime not taking MAS flight for HCM visit and find that they did make some good improvement . Airplane condition improve and for the return journey, it's new plane with LCD panel for movie , not sure is it just for this trip . Food also improve , great , keep it up . Air fare for last minute booking still a few hundred ringgit higher than Air Asia , so, the fly can not afford to join the flight ... LOL .
Last month trip to HCM with Air Asia , still flying with some fly ... Everyone can FLY , some what's wrong , FLY can fly ... :)
Went for the Abdominal traditional therapy yesterday noon, reach home in late afternoon , take a nap at 4 pm and wake up at 6.30pm , good nap , feel good .
Go to bed about 10pm and as expected wake up midnight , too much sleep in the afternoon .
Overall feel good .
Kind of tired on Thursday morning, before leaving HCM , but, fortunately manage to sleep well .
Christmas is coming and follow by New Year , 2012 . Looking forward , but, do not have the feeling of looking forward for celebration, it's more of looking forward to make it for another Christmas and New Year .
Bad, this is not good , this is not positive thinking , but .................. , it's okay ! It's fine ! I will overcome it and adjust in next couple of days . Maybe , it's time to spend some time outdoor to have a feel of the festival atmosphere , or start listening to Christmas song .
Well , next CT scan should be few days before Christmas , wish that scan result is good and show my condition remain stable, so that, I can hold on my next chemo therapy to after Chinese New Year . Just don't feel good if I have to deal with all the side effect and stay at home during Chinese New Year and I am sure parent will feel worry .
Lord , please bless me to have a good scan result and continue to touch me with your healing power , so that I can have a good time , joyful Chinese New Year celebration with my family .
May Lord blessing for all of you and wish everyone to have Joy , Happiness and Good Health .
Thank you Lord .
Amen.

I am flying again ... GREAT !

Feel great !
I am flying again , safe arrival in HCM this afternoon and all goes well .
Lord is Great . Praise the LORD .
After weeks not feeling well, I been wondering whether can make it for this month visit. Thanks God , thing goes well since last Tuesday visit to the Chinese doctor and I have the second treatment yesterday .
They call it Abdominal Traditional Therapy .
Discuss with the doctor, I can have 2 treatment a week , most likely I will start for 2 weekly by this week .
Meantime, will also continue with the chinese medicine ( powder ) .
My overall condition after the treatment and medicine since last Tuesday.
- Overall feel good
- Less cough ; less phlegm
- Seldom have fresh blood in phlegm
- Daily clearing of clot blood , normally mid night or early morning
- Back pain getting better.
- Pain around Armpit area. No change. hopefully can see some improvement in coming week
- Stomach upset, it back again on last Saturday . yesterday after treatment and new medicine, feel better .
and ... I feel confidence to travel.
GREAT ! GREAT ! GREAT !
Looking forward to better recovery and hopefully can go ahead for a family vacation before end of the year .
God Bless .
SK

Mistake ...

Make a mistake last week.
Because of the pain in armpit area not going off, I thought it may due to inflammation and therefore decided to take some steroid drug , after 4 times of steroid ( low dosage with 3 times a day ) there's no sign of improvement, so I stop it immediate.
The drug cause me side effect of hiccup for two days and totally upset my stomach. ( same type of side effect for the first few days of chemo treatment ).
Because of stomach problem, I got backache .
I took pain killer ( this time I took one tablet only ) and unfortunately pain killer not working after hours and worst , I end up tired for the next two days.
Not sure whether it is good or bad, but, it is a matter of fact that It help me to have very good rest and sleep for two days. Just eat, sleep , wake up , sit for two hours, go back to bed again for couple of hours.
Finally , side effect over on Tuesday and I decided to visit a Chinese doctor in KL.
He listen to my problem and check my pulse, that suggested me to take up a simple treatment and medication for a week to boost my immune system for recovery from the weak body system.
It is very simple treatment, he put some ointment around belly button area , stomach and chest, that use an instrument ( kind of instrument to generate some heat ) to warm the belly button area.
Treatment took an hour and it is quite comfortable , as long as the adjustment of heat is right .
I start the medication on Tuesday afternoon and feel tired and body is warm. But, not really can sleep well . On Wednesday , I continue with it and after a good afternoon nap , I feel so much better .
Yesterday ( Thursday ) I am back in atleast 70% of my energy level , I drove to airport to pickup friend, then meet up with others in Klang couple of hours .
I feel tired towards evening and get a good sleep from 9 pm to about 2 am .
I should rest more for the next few days to ensure a good and full recovery .
Praise the Lord . Thanks so much for blessing and healing .
Looking forward to next week treatment and a good recovery .
Good nite ! Time to sleep , wish me have a good rest .
God bless .

Space Mountain - Roller coaster

My first experience with roller coaster ride is in Genting Highland , the small and mini size roller coaster, ride with so much of excitment. Well ! It is a good experience and challenge.
The second ride is in Tokyo Disneyland . They call it Space Mountain , an indoor roller coaster, quite a big one.
It should be sometime in 1987 , when I am in training for a year in Japan. Went with all my Malaysian friends during new year eve, it's a good buy, enter on 31st Dec morning and out on 1st Jan , pay for one day fare . Very good experience , we have to wait for atleast 2 hours for every ride and the weather is so cold , we sleep at the road side ( eveyone in the park did so ) when we are too tired. Anyway, when you're young, you do all crazy things, enjoy what you like to do when you are young , go fot it ... :) .
I have no experience for the big outdoor roller coaster and I do not think I will. After the space mountain, I told myself, well , my heart not really can take another roller coaster challenge .
Our life just like riding on roller coaster, it give us challenge , excitement , satisfaction , pride ... Isn't this most of us looking for in life , atleast when we are young .
When you are riding the indoor roller coaster in space mountain, the feeling and experience is more , as you have no idea when is the peak and when is the fall. When the car start moving, it is really full of challenge and you will be very excited and enjoy after the first fall, cause it is just a very short fall. Then, you are looking forward for more, as you have no idea how deep is the deepest fall, inside the space mountain, it's dark and you only can see the litter star light , very nice view, just like you are sitting in the space ship and enjoying and view of the space, NICE ! .... But, sorry , no more space mountain in Tokyo Disneyland whe I revisited few years ago.
Well, beside of all the excitement , challenge .... , it did bring fear and worry to many of us , maybe UNCERTAINTY is the proper word, as we are in darkness , we do not what is infront of us , we have no idea when is the peak , we DO know it will fall, but, when and how deep will it fall ? Answer is " No Idea " .
When this happen in a ride , we experience the challenge, excitement and we enjoy it.
When this happen in LIFE , we still feel the challenge , excitement and we enjoy it, but , it also bring us the feel of worry and uncertainty.
But, this call LIFE and everyone of us have to go through it .
So, what happen when this roller coaster is for patient going thro' life living with cancer ? It give patient great SURPRISE and UNCERTAINTY, but, it did bring challenge .
My condition over the last couple of weeks is just like riding on roller coaster inside the Space Mountain . GREAT challenge , full of UNCERTAINTY and not much of Surprise yet .
Start with not feeling well , follow by increase of bleeding . Once under control , start with back pain , follow by pain in waist , then, pulling and poking pain in my chest.
One settle another start , it is tirIng .
But, it did give me little surprise, as I manage to fly to Ho Chi Minh without problem and very well control condition. Then, most of the time during weekend , my condition allow me to drive and have lunch with my parent .
I should be thankful and no complaint .
God is great !
Thanks God .
Praise the Lord .
With healing, blessing and wisdom from Lord, I manage to overcome it one by one , day by day . Pain on my waist subside ; pain on back well under conrol ; bleeding is very very minimum now , kind of back to normal .
Except some pain in my right arm and armpit, all are well under control .
The pulling and poking pain in my chest did happen on and off, it strike me for few second only, not like the two night, one of the night, last for almost two hours . This is the worst pain I have ever experienced since diagnosed in mid 2008 and I can really understand now what is the meaning of chest pain , other patient talk about in cancer forum.
Well , this is an alert to me that my living with cancer is entering the next NEW LEVEL and I really have to get ready with lots of knowledge of pain managament from now on , the next level of challenge start .
No worry , I am prepare and ready to face it .
With healing , blessing from Lord .
With love , care and support from all of you .
I have the strength , I am ready , Go, Go , Go and I will make it to update my sharing in this blog for many many more years, to tell you how miracle is it the power of healing from Lord .
God bless.

Tired ...

Just feel tired .
Could be due to the weather .
Could be due to the bleeding yet to stop .
Could be due to the Chinese medicine .
Just looking for some reason to make me feel better .
Anyway, will overcome it , Lord is with me , he will lead me back to light .

Meet up with chest physician last week and she told me , my lung airway is still quite clear, not to worry . As for the drug " Transamin " , I can continue to use it until bleeding stop .

I also visited the Chinese medicine doctor and was told my liver ; kidney ; heart is weak . In short, overall body condition is weak . Anyway, this is as expected .
Given me 7 days medicine to rebuild my body system and detoxic ( same medicine that he given me last time, but, it is stringer now ).

After 2 days of the medicine, I feel it it too strong and decide to stop it for a day , next day feel better and I decided to take 2 times a day, instead of 3 times a day .

Feel better .

Some pain in my chest is bothering me . Not sure what is it . The pain is terrible when I sneeze . Monitor very closely on it and should consult doctor if pain not going away by this week .

Pray all well by end this week and body system recover .

Don't worry , be HAPPY !

Back home safely .

Back home safely on Tuesday night . I make it , feel great !
Eat a lot during my stay in Ho Chi Minh and enjoy food that I hv missed for the last few months.
Overall, it is a good trip .
Most important is my condition not giving me problem during the flight , thanks Lord .
Feel tire yesterday and start to have sore throat . It is quite normal, most of the time after
a short oversea trip, will have sore throat after back home . It could be due to I drink less water
when travelling? Will rest more and drink a lot of water , eat fruits and so on to boost up my immune system,
hopefully can settle down within next two days.

Call up chest specialist for an appointment yesterday and was informed she is only available in
Sunway Medical in the morning, have fixed up appointment for today morning .
Need Dr Usha to advise me the use of TRANSAMIN , as I have not take this drug for more than two
weeks in the past and I am on it for about three weeks now.
For the last two days, it works well, as there is less fresh and clot blood.
Next thing I need to know is how to find out the actual cause of the bleeding and how is my overall lung performance.

Then, call up the TCM ( Traditional Chinese Medicine ) doctor, was told he is now in Puchong branch,
will only available in Subang for Friday only. Plan to have the visit to check my overall body system and may get the
few days medicine to boost up my body system and detoxic .

Finally decide to take a good rest and end up with two hours rest , wake up is already evening .

Sleep again about 10pm and wake up at 1am. Hopefully, I can back in bed with a good rest before 3 am .

Anyway, I wish to have a good chat with doctor for morning appointment and hopefully check up with report of overall lung
condition still good and I am fit for a long distance fligh travelling .

It is a happy and joyful day and with Lord everyday will be .

Wake up so early ... :).

Reading some of my old posting.
My posting in April 2010 :

Quote ...
Have learn to live with cancer in my lung and I know one day it will disappear, as the 'C' will find that it is no fun staying around when this guy have so much of support and have no fear & worry about lossing life to cancer.
I pray and wish all of us here will get well soon with the blessing & healing from Lord Jesus and the support to each other and continue to figth the 'C' without fear and worry .
It is a happy and joyful day and with Lord everyday will be .
-----
Unquote

Just feel GREAT ! ...... It is a happy and joyful day and with Lord everyday will be .
Praise the Lord . Thank you Lord . Pray for Lord be with us every moment , guide us , lead us , it is the best moment in life .

Yes ! The small 'c' will find it no fun and leave us . We just need to have faith and continue to live our every JOYFUL day .

Don't worry , be happy ... :)

God bless and have a good day .

Welcome back to Ho Chi Minh

Yes ! I am back in Ho Chi Minh today after stop travelling since August '11 .

Kind of worry this morning, whether taking flight will affect my lung bleeding.

Thanks Lord for healing and blessing, all goes well and landed in HCM without problem.

Going to stay here for two nights and pray for continue healing and blessing.

Feel great and hopefully I am ready for a longer flight jouney after this trip .

Good nite ... :)

God bless.

Convetional or Alternative treatment for 4th stage cancer

Debate of whether should go for conventional or alternative treatment never end .
So, the best is leave it to the patient to make the decison , as patient should have the right to decide and they know best of what they want .
We, as family member or friend, should do is to share information we gather and support the final decision of the patient .
There is no right or wrong in the decision of treatment , since no one can assure the patient for cure , be it conventional or alternative.
For me, I choose conventional treatment with special monitoring that allow me to watch and wait, once condition stable .
What I want is a stable condition and quality of life .
But, I will not insist on other patient to follow what I am doing , as every patient health condition is different .
Some are with fast growing cancer cell, so, they need to continue with the tretament without stop.
Some are dealing very well with the chemo and do not have serious side effect, so, they are living with quality of life, even on treatment.
Some react badly and with serious side effect, so, they loss quality of life, thefore, they choose to stop treatment and look for alternative treatment.
Some have very bad impression of conventional treatment and since there is no assurance of curing , they decide to only use alternative treatment.
Some been told by doctor that even with conventional treatment , they only can live for less than 6 months, or , if they are lucky, maybe a year, so , they decided not to go ahead and just live their life and enjoy the rest of the days with their family, then, they take some supplement or alternative treatment as support.
What we can do is pray for them, support them, show them our love ; care , be their listener , help to gather information to share with them ( but, not insist or forcing them to accept our thoughts)
May Lord bless us with wisdom in helping patient who need our support , care and love .
God bless .

Happy Birthday to ME

Good morning !

What a great day to be here to wish all of you good morning and like to wish everyone in the world a JOYFUL day .

Today is my birthday and Siew Loon birthday ( My twins brother ) .

Siew Loon ... " Happy Birthday to you and me "

Friends arrange a small party for me and Mr Chua yesterday night, a nice gathering with old and new friends from our industry ( Shipping and freight forwarding ).

Feel great ! Praise the Lord !

Thankful for all the sms ; msn ; facebook birthday wishes receive today .
Thankful for birthday wishes and a good hug from Chris and Natalie ... :) .
Thankful for Lord's blessing and healing , so that I can be here celebrating my birthday.
Thankful for all the care , love , support from my family , friends to keep me continue to look forward for a good day .
Thankful for everything I have .

What is my birthday wish ?

I wish Joy , Happiness , Good Health be with my family and all of you everyday.
I wish to be here to inform every year on 3rd Nov that It is my BIRTHDAY ... :)
I wish my sharing can assist others who is going thro' their journey with cancer.
I wish Lord's healing will touch upon all the cancer patient/survivor to keep us healthy and recover soonest .
I wish my wish will come true .

Happy Birthday to ME.

Cheers !

God Bless .

Hopefully not sleep disorder start again . Wake up about 3 am this morning and can't sleep again.
Finally decide to finish this drawing .

Bleeding in lung stop last week and back again on Sunday evening, but, not as serious as last week , with Transamin ( just one tablet for Sunday , Monday and today ) looks like it is under control ( but, no 100% stop yet ) .

Last week I read news about a 65 years old man diagnose with cancer and need money for treatment. So, family member arrange for full withdraw of his EPF saving . ( looks like he did't withdraw after retirement at 55 years old ) .

To their surprise, about forty over thousand of his saving missing , after investigation, it's recorded that the money was withdraw some years ago.

They have make report and it is now under investigation.

Feel sorry for him and it is sad to know that fund can missing from our saving without our knowledge. EPF management should seriously look into it and to avoid same incident to happen again, meantime, should workout something to assist him .

I would suggest all EPF member to ensure they receive the yearly statement from EPF without fail and meantime, should check is all the figures are correct , i.e. your monthly contribution , your withdraw amount for healthcare ; unit trust and so on ...

If you not receive it , you should immediately contact with EPF office or you can go to EPF office to get your statement print from the kiosk machine . just slot in your I/C and scan your thumb , then, follow some simple instruction .

Or you can register with EPF for online monitoring of your accounts.

Last week I notice that EPF have put up a kiosk machine in Sunway Pyramic AEON office ( right in front of Jusco supermarket ) .

If you have not check on your statement for sometime or you have not check on it all the time. I would suggest you do it immediate and start regular monitoring.

Good Luck !

Stay calm and don't panic

Feel good today !
Bleeding not 100% stop, but, it's well under control .
Stop taking TRANSAMIN today and so far doing well.
Thanks Adelin and her church prayer .
Thanks Lord for answering our prayer.
Actually toothache have subside too and stomach / digestion getting better also.
In this long journey of living wih cancer, stay calm and don't panic with whatever
situation is very important .
Never allow panic , fear , worry to attack us .
May Lord bless us with wisdom and guide us how to stay calm , when panic, fear, worry
attack us .
I wish in coming weeks, my body system will get better ... better ... better and fully recover,
so that I can have a enjoyable vacation with my family .
God bless.

Solve one and have to deal with another

After 3 days with transamin , this morning getting better, less cough and phlegm with less fresh blood.
Looks like transamin works and bleeding under control.
As transamin make me feel tire ( I actually sleep or nap a lot for yesterday and this mornng after brisk
walking ) , I decided to reduce it to one tablet for 3 times a day , insted of two tablets .

Well, looks like bleeding problem going to solve soon, but, toothache is now distubing me . Can't figure out what's wrong,
but, I suspect it could be gum infection. Took panadol this morning, hopefully it will goes off, if not, have to
make appointment with dentist to get it solve soonest.

Is it something not right ?

Since last Thursday not feeling so good, kind of going to fall sick, headache by afternoon, feel tire .
Went for chinese traditional massage and feel a little better.
I think one of the reason is because not sleeping well for many days, always wake up by 2 to 3 am , then, not manage to have sound sleep again until morning .
With close monitoring, drink lot of water, increase intake of fruits/vege and some help from Panadol, finally feel much better.
Last few days did have better sleep, atlease can sleep thro' until 5 to 6 am .
Then, next thing happen . Blood start to show up in phlegm and it getting worst since Sunday, more fresh blood and blood show up in phlegm everytime I cough. But, it is not really very serious.
Start taking Transamin ( Transamin® helps to prevent and reduce bleeding )since Sunday night . Hopefully it will help .
Wonder is it because of the of pressure on my back when having chinese traditional massage is the cause of the bleeding .
Whatever is it, I should not take the risk of having massage with pressure on my back anymore .
Suppose to have 4th cycle of chemo yesterday and decided to take a rest, so that can have a good recovery of body system for holiday with my family by end of next month.
Anyway, with the body condition for last few days, I do not think my body is fit for yesterday chemo also.
Will monitor and have good rest for this week and make a decision by early next week .
May healing from Lord will stop the bleeding .
Thanks Lord .
Amen.

Almost all well now with the recovery from 3rd cycle

14 days , doctor have told me that it will take 14 days for me to recover from the side effect and the next 7 days to rest , then, start the next cycle.

It is quite true , last week did feel better , but, not really recover from it .

This round have some new experience with side effect.

Since 2008, I always have chemo side effect with metallic taste , it is like, whatever you eat, you get kind of metal taste.

But, last week , some new experience with taste , it is worse than metallic taste.

It is kind of weird taste , do not know how to describe it .

Anything with salt or seasoning, it will give me this weird taste . So, end up have to eat something plain and deal with the fully natural taste of vegetable .

I loss weight for 1 over KGs because of this problem.

Anyway, taste is back to normal and I am eating well now and start to regain my weight .

Thanks Lord .

Body is ready for the next cycle, but, I am not plan to proceed with it. I think it is time for me to take a rest and get my body system/immune system recover.

Will arrange for blood test this week and discuss with doctor my plan.

Feel great !

Lung Disorders: Can E-Cigarettes Help You Quit?

Have received my regular update from Johns Hopkins Health Alerts today and I think it is a good subject to share .

+++++++++++++++++
Johns Hopkins Health Alerts: Lung Disorders

* E-cigarettes: Another Option to Help You Quit Smoking?

If you have lung disease and you're a smoker, you undoubtedly know the
importance of breaking the cigarette habit. You may even have tried to
quit smoking before but to no avail. Could electronic cigarettes --
also known as e-cigarettes -- be the answer?

These battery-powered devices look like real cigarettes, have a
light-emitting diode (LED) on the tip that lights up when you inhale
and even produce fake smoke in the form of water vapor. They also
deliver nicotine via cartridges, but spare you the tar, carbon
monoxide, formaldehyde and other toxins found in tobacco smoke.

If e-cigarettes sound too good to be true, that's because they
probably are. With a dearth of rigorous studies on their safety and
effectiveness, experts are increasingly concerned that e-cigarettes
may do little to help you stop smoking -- and may actually do more
harm than good.

Some manufacturers of e-cigarettes tout their products as an effective
form of nicotine replacement therapy. And, in theory, they could work,
since the principle is the same. The e-cigarette's cartridges are
available in progressively lower concentrations of nicotine, so you
can wean yourself off nicotine over time just like with traditional
nicotine replacement products.

So what's the problem? For one thing, some e-cigarettes may not
deliver enough nicotine to the bloodstream to effectively suppress
cravings. In one study, published in Tobacco Control, the investigator
compared levels of nicotine in the blood of 16 smokers after they
smoked two of their usual brand of cigarettes, puffed on two unlit
cigarettes or "smoked" two brands of e-cigarettes, each containing a
16 mg (high) cartridge of nicotine.

After smoking the e-cigarettes, participants had blood nicotine levels
virtually the same as they did after puffing on an unlit cigarette and
significantly lower than the blood nicotine levels detected after they
smoked a conventional cigarette. In addition, the smokers' heart rate
increased after smoking tobacco but not after using the e-cigarette or
unlit cigarette, again suggesting a negligible delivery of nicotine to
the bloodstream with the e-cigarette. Another problem: Some cartridges
may contain more or less nicotine than noted on the label.

Our advice: Some manufacturers and retailers of e-cigarettes claim
these products are healthier than normal cigarettes and can help you
quit smoking. But in the absence of scientific evidence to support
those contentions, it's best to avoid e-cigarettes until more research
has been done. For now, if you're trying to quit smoking, stick with
proven, FDA-approved stop-smoking strategies.

********** JOHNS HOPKINS PUBLICATIONS **********

* 2011 Lung Disorders White Paper
This comprehensive report provides the latest research on the
prevention and treatment of the most common lung diseases, including
asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sleep apnea,
interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, bronchitis and pneumonia.

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FREE ..... cancer free !

I wake up at 5 am this morning, good sleep ... :) , great ! sweet sleep for 6 hours .

Finish this drawing ... " FREE ... cancer free "

To all cancer warrior , we will win the war and FREE from cancer .

Lord will lead us , walk with us , bring us out from darkness to light .

Praise the Lord .

Thank you Lord .

LIVE everyday with LOVE and stay happy and Lord will guide us thro' everyday

The first posting in my blog dated December 2nd 2009 start with the heading " Living with Lung Cancer ...... What is ahead of us ? ,
Quote
-----
So, what is ahead of us ...." Living with Lung Cancer " .... ?
Be frank , I am not so sure and I am seaching for the answer .
One of the answer I hv is to share our experience in LIFE
( be it our experience in living with cancer ; our experience in our career or profession ;
our experience in how to hv a happy family life ; our experience in walking with Lord ....... ) with others.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I told myself , it is God's will for me to go thro' it and to share what I'm going to experience ,
with people who need the information
But, whatever is the answer ..... what is most important is to LIVE everyday with LOVE and stay happy , and Lord will guide us thro' everyday .
----
Unquoted

Something bother me for the last few days. I am start asking myself the question .

What is ahead of me ?
What actually I looking forward everyday ?

I am not sure is others who is living with cancer will have the same thought or question from time to time .

Sometime, I ask myself a very direct question ,
" Am I still living because I want to show that I can fight it off ? "
It is depressing when this thought come in and this thought will grow strong, especially when I receive news about end of the journey of inspiring cancer survivor .

It is not easy to deal with it, especially when I am on treatment, when I am trying hard to focus in managing the side effect and get myself recover
from it , then , this thought keep coming .

I am glad that Lord is with me , bless me with wisdom and show me the way , walk me out from darkness to light .

This morning, the same thought come to me again, I decided to continue my reading of book of Romans and Lord guide me to go back to my first blog posting ,,,
what is most important is to LIVE everyday with LOVE and stay happy , and Lord will guide us thro' everyday .

Thank you Lord Jesus , I am thankful for your daily guidance .

Praise the Lord !

Amen.

".... , ..we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and charater, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God
has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. "
ROMANS 5 : 3-5 (NIV)

Longer life or healthy life?

Good morning !
Praise the Lord !
Lord's healing and blessing is great .
I am dealing with very very very minimum side effect in comparing with the last two cycles for 5th and
6th day .
Feel so great !
Wake up at 5 am , it is a good sleep and rest.
Pray for healing continue and side effect to go away soonest.

Read the medical book about how to strengthen our self immune system to keep us stay healthy and
one chapter is talking about longer life against healthty life.

Isn't this the subject that we always ask ? But, how often are we seriouslly look into it ?
Our normal response is , Yes ! Healthy life is more important .
It's very true that what is the point to live a longer life when we are bed ridden , sick and no quality
of life.
But, are we taking any action ?
Are we start to make a change to our lifestyle ?
Or are we continue to live with it and continue rely on doctor to give us fast-fix drug to keep us moving.

We all know what is the right action .
Wake up and start the first step , if you have not .
God bless you will make it and you will live healthy .

HAPPY life >>>> Healthy life ........... :) ........... Have a good day !

5th day of 3rd cycle chemotherapy with drug Taxotere

Problem with sleep is back.
Yesterday night, decided to change my way of resting. Just jump on bed as when feel tire. So, end up in bed before 9pm and wake up abt 1+ am. Not bad, feel fresh then.
Decided to watch movie and end up back to bed at 4 am. not really sleep, but, did have a good nap and wake up 7+ am, to get myself prepare for early visit to hospital for my 3rd ( last ) white blood cell booster injection for this chemo cycle.
All goes well and back home by 1 pm , jump on bed again to rest. good nap for until 4 pm and have my early dinner before 6 pm, very good and happy that the hard strike side effect not yet start ... :) . hope it'll not strike me too hard this time . ( Note : Steroid drug finish yesterday, so, the hard side effect should start by today, as per experience of 1st and 2nd cycle ) .

Sharing on how I deal with my chemo treatment everyday :-
> Prayer and thanks Lord for Healing and Blessing
> Pray for Lord blessing to my family , relatives, friends to have Joy , Happiness and Good Health . Thanks so much for all their Love , Care and Support .
> Rest/Sleep as when I feel tire
> Eat as when I feel hungry
> Do something to extract my focus from pain, body ache, i.e. listen to music , read jokes, watch movie , drawing , or anything that can get me relax .
> Light exercise and brisk walking for atleast 1/2 hour , as long as my body condition allow .
> Drink sufficient amount of water/fluid to ensure I am not dehydrated, meantime, monitor closely to ensure there is no sign of water retention.
> Take record of my daily weight and blood pressure reading for a good monitoring of my body condition changes.
> Take medicine on time as per doctor advice to ensure side effect under control .
> Listen to my body and take note and record any body changes. It is important information for next doctor appointment.
> Share and update my conditions to my wife, so that she know how I am doing and this will keep her away from worry .

Be happy and appreciate each day we have with our family ... :)

God Bless !

What give us hope is having a plan

No complain of sleep yesterday night, 10 pm to 4 am, 6 hours , not bad. Catch with short nap this afternoon, feel okay.

Back to hospital today for the booster injection, this time feel some slight pain at my back , not serious, should be ok .

Best news is that this morning problem with constipation solve , feel so great !

Read some Blog this morning and I like one of the comment " What give us hope is having a plan ".

It is so true that without a plan on how to plan for the treatment , how to get ready wih plan B , plan C and ... , how to
live happily , means we are living wihout hope and soon we will feel depress , give up when things happen during treatment.

After 3 years , I learn alot from the sharing from cancer forum , cancer blog , books and articles about cancer and all the inspiring story from
cancer survival / patient.

And I want to thanks God for his mercy and grace , thanks the support and love from my wife, daughter, my family , relative, friends .

I love you all ! Thanks .

All goes well as normal with good management of the side effect

Doctor meet up with me this morning for a brief consultation, everything looks fine and just check for the lung airway , according to him, it works well .
Finally, insurance companty approved payment and discharge about 12 noon.
As normal, feel great to be home for a good shower, lunch and have a good nap for few hours.
Yesterday night very tire , but, can not sleep and finally rest at about 2 to 3 am and wake up by 6+ am . So tire this morning. lucky can have a good nap this afternoon.
Constipation still my main problem, I should take medication yesterday to prevent constipation, anyway, have it two times today and hope problem solve latest by tomorrow morning .
Normal side effect, stomach very gassy , hiccup , tire , metalic taste start since yesterday and not serious .
What I sum up is that good management of the side effect for chemotherapy all depends on how much we understand about the drug and how the side effect affect us for the 1st cycle , then, make a good study and manage it with medication and so on.
Wish all well for this cycle of treatment and I can recover faster than last cycle , as I plan to have the 4th cycle on schedule , 3 week from now , instead of the 4 weeks like last two cycles.

3rd cycle Chemotherapy with Taxotere

It's Oct 2011 , 8 weeks since I start chemotherapy with Taxotere.
After 2 cycles, things look good, last week is the best week since start with Taxotere. This time do not encounter with low blood pressure on 4th week, feel great and manage to move around with driving to Klang for submitting my application for EPF and Socso , to KL for insurance matter and also attending gathering with friends .
Well, time to get back to treatment after a week of quality life with stable condition ... STABLE is good , Lord is great !
This morning chemotherapy procedure start about 11 am with the anti allergy medicine and Taxotere start at 12 noon and finished by 1 pm .
As usual, I will stay a night for observation, if all well, will dischage and go home tomorrow.
For until now, all well , just wish to have a good night rest and hopefully no constipation by tomorrow.
Did find that stomach not feeling good today, compare with the last two cycle, it happen only 2nd or 3rd day.
The other thing I notice is that since the 2nd cycle, I cough out minimum phlegm and no blood stain or fresh blood show up in phlegm, but, today, after the I.V. Of Taxotere, some fresh blood show up in phlegm . Will monitor closely and see what happen the next two days.
Thanks for all your prayer .
May Lord bless all of us have a joyful day .
God less .
/SK

Living with cancer is challenging

Living with cancer is challenging .
Why ?
Because living with cancer is full of possibility and uncertainty .
Sometime when things looks very wrong and make you worry, looks like there is nothing is possible to help .
Then, some good news happen and bring you OUT OF DARKNESS to LIGHT, bring you JOY , bring you HOPE and let you feel that everything is possible .
But, at times, when things going so well and you have forget about all the negative feel ,
then, out of a sudden, things went wrong and you just do not know how to deal with it .
This happen especially during chemotherapy and make you feel life is so uncertain .
Anyway, it is the possibility and uncertainty make our life of living with cancer more challenging and not so boring .
Let's enjoy our day and live a happy life.
Cheers !

What is the priority , Life insurance or Medical insurance

I am not promoting insurance for any insurance company, but, I think it is important for us to know what is the priority when decided to start invest into insurance plan for ourself or for family , and I wish my sharing is helpful .

My first insurance policy is Life Insurance and follow by Term Insurance.

Thereafter, when I am better financially, agent introduce me to Hospitalisation insurance policy and Hospital income policy .

Reason that I go for Term insurance is basically to get a good coverage amount for Life with minimum yearly premium. The policy give no return to premium paid and it's cover for a period of time, say 10 ; 15 or 20 years, depend on your age and the policy terms and onlycover for death.

The hospitalisation insurance policy help me to settle most of my expenses for my cancer treatment and the hospital income insurance policy compensate me for lost of income when I am admit to hospital .

Then, the critical illness rider to my life insurance policy, pay me a lumpsum amount once insurance company accepted my diagnosis report .

Today, with the escalating healthcare expenses, my suggestion is to have hospitalisation insurance policy as first priority . As this will keep us from the main worry ...
" medical expenses ", when something happen and we need to be hospitalise for treatment.

It may not cover everything ( depends on the sum insured and type of policy your purchase ) , but, it'll be a good assistance .

If my information is correct, for a person at age between 20 to 30 years old, the premium for maximum coverage upto about Rm 500k to a million life time coverage, should be between Rm 1 to 2 K yearly, or Rm 100+ per month. But, please take note that when you have Rm 500K to a million coverage per life time , do not mean that you will be paid for full amount if your expenses when hospitalise is less then the maximum coverage ( say Rm 500 K)

The policy normally come with terms n conditions for limit per year or per confinement . Most of the policy also with condition of 10 to 20 or 30% of co-insured amount, where , the policy holder have to pay the co-insured amount as per policy term .

The other issue to take note is the maximum per day hospital room expenses. Some policy work this way ; example ... if the maximum room per night allow is Rm 300.00 , please ensure you stay in a room not exceeding Rm 300.00 per night, or you have to pay for the differences of the room charge, then, you also have to pay for the purata of the total expenses. Example , maximum room per night Rm 150 and you stay in room for Rm 300.00, you may have to pay for 50% of the total expenses.

So, it is very very important to read and understand all the terms and conditions of the policy before you sign up and also to read the terms and condition printed in your original policy once you have it from Insurance agent , any discrepancy, should check and verify immediately.

Next is the proper declaration of your previous health record and declare your record properly, to avoid any dispute when you submit claim against insurance company, as insurance company have the right to search and check your record with all clinic and hospital to confirm whether you have made false declaration to them.

Last is to take note of the grace period , most policy have grace period for some illness for 3 months to one year from the policy effective date . It is important to understand the policy terms.

Note : Some of you may say that your company have arranged medical/hospitalisation insurance
policy for you . Yes ! You are lucky and some also extend the cover for your family . But, you have to take note that when you are working there, you are under the protection of the cover , when you leave the company, you are no more under the cover. So, it is important to have your own cover and take the company cover as bonus . When there is claim, you should first claim against the company cover, for any amount exceed the maximum claim amount, you can claim the balance against your own insurance cover. Also should take note that most of the company work on group cover insurance and the insurance company will review the policy before the yearly renewal . Some of the policy come with terms that insurance company may not accept renewal for employee already have claim for critical illness in previous year, or they will charge heavy loading for premium and not accepted any further claim for the same illness.

Next question will be " I would like to have something for my family, if something happen ? But, financially I can not afford the high premium of Life insurance . "

What you can do is to go for term insurance. I agreed that there is no saving return , but, what we want is the coverage and some fund for our immediate family . I am not sure what is the premium now. The premium for my first term insurance for Rm 100,000.00 , when I am before 30 years old, is something less than Rm 400 per year and it cover for 15 years.

You may go for life insurance with saving plan when you are financially okay and do not forget to
look into the rider for critical illness ( it is normally cover for 36 illness ) , cover for critical illness will pay you the lumpsum amount once diagnose and confirm . Just take note that Insurance company will arrange to verify the report , upon confirmation, you will receive the lumpsum amount.

What I am sharing is just base on my experience and suggest you to contact your insurance agent to have better understanding of the product they offer and you may have policy product from different insurance company to make comparison , then, choose the one suite to your requirement.

Always take up insurance policy cover when you are healthy , not, when you suspect something is wrong .

Chemotherapy Selection for 1st line Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer ( NSCLC )

Today, I read this posting in Cancer GRACE and feel that it is good to share with you.
It's posted by Dr Weiss on April 16th , 2011 .

Chemotherapy selection for 1st line Non Small Cell Lung Cancer ( NSCLC ) , The importance of getting it right the first time.

Introduction: Why Chemotherapy?

Every cancer therapy has two purposes:
to improve duration of life, and to improve quality of life.
Every other measure of chemotherapy success, such as response rate or
progression-free-survival, is a surrogate to these two true goals.
I am using the broken record as my pseudo-apology for repeating this mantra repeatedly on GRACE, to my colleagues, and in my mind every time I make a treatment decision.
Chemotherapy is the most important treatment for achieving these two goals in stage IV disease.
Stage IV means that the cancer has spread and is no longer curable.
Incurable is not the same as untreatable.
Cure means eliminating every last cancer cell.
Treatment means providing real benefit, in the form of achieving these two goals.
Cancer cells are microscopic. The tip of a pen is the size of more than ten billion cells.
So, if a single cell has spread to a site, say, the liver, you won’t be able to see that cell on a CT or even the most sophisticated PET/CT.
So, once you see the cancer having spread to distant sites, it becomes systemic-in more sites than you can see; we call this “metastatic” or stage IV disease.
To achieve our two key goals, you need to knock down the cancer everywhere-the places that you can see and those you can’t.
Chemo gets almost everywhere in the body and is therefore the best and most important way to do this for most patients with metastatic disease.
Chemotherapy’s effect on the quality of life question really is a balance.
Chemotherapy can cause side effects, including nausea and fatigue.
However, on the flip side, in addition to prolonging duration of life, chemotherapy also provides a quality of life benefit when successful.
That’s because cancer causes symptoms that chemotherapy can delay or prevent.
For example, when cancer spreads to bone, it can cause pain and fractures.
When it presses on airways, it can cause shortness of breath and pneumonia.
Cancer causes fatigue, organ failure, blood clots, and numerous other problems.
When chemotherapy prevents more symptoms than it causes there is a net gain of quality of life.

....... to continue , please click the below link to the original posting in Cancer GRACE
http://cancergrace.org:80/lung/2010/04/16/introduction-to-first-line-therapy-for-advanced-nsclc/

Wish this sharing will help you to undertand more about chemotherapy and type of drug for treatment of Lung Cancer .

SK

More younger age cancer patient

When I was diagnosed with lung cancer , the pathologist decided to make a second test of the tissue to ensure the result is correct . As he feel that lung cancer for my age 45+ is too young, as lung cancer normally detected around the age of 60 .
Then, when I meet up with the visiting lung cancer specialist in Singapore, he told me it is true that lung cancer is normally detected about or after 60 years old, but, the sad news is that more younger patient now.
Recently, I notice that most of the new cancer patient I get to know is all between 30 to 50 years old , be it in Malaysia or in USA cancer support forum .
Feel sad of the trend and just wonder what is happening .
Another sad news is that many young lung patient is non smoker, especially lady patient.
Also there is some cases where the patient is between 20 to 30 years old only.

It is time for everyone to seriously look into the matter and take steps to change lifestyle with healthy living , healthly food , less stress , regular exercise and say " TAK NAK " ( " NO " ) to smoking .

It is never too late to make changes to our lifestyle and give opportunity to our body to detox , to recover and regain our health .

Let's start work on it , for yourself , for your family , for your love one , no more delay .

Lord, I pray for your blessing for all of us, please bless us to have wisdom and guide us to live our life the way you want us to live . And guide us to change our lifestyle.
In Jesus name I pray . Amen.

CT Scan today 21st Sept 2011

It is a long wait today .

Blood test at 9.30 am . Doctor advise , Blood count all in order . Liver ; Kidney function is okay , CEA not much changes, still about 2400.

CT Scan at 10 + am and finish by 10.30 am. Result finally ready by 3 pm .
Result with Radiologist summary as follows :
Ca lung on chemotherapy with mixed response.

1) Previously noted mass in right upper lobe is almost similar in size 11.9 x 6.9 cm ( compare to previous scan 11.3 x 7 cm ) .
Large metastasis, the largest is at the mediastinal border measuring 5.1 x 4.1 cm ( previously 5.4 x 3.3 cm )
Another large subpleural nodule is seen abutting the right transverse fissure measuring 3.3 x 3.3 cm ( previously 4 cm )
There are multiple lung nodules in both lungs.
These nodules appear unchanged compared to the previous scan.There are several new nodules seen in left lungr ( Note : after going thro' my scan with oncologist, we found that there is no differences as those so call new nodules did show up in previous scan )

2) Mediastinal lymph nodes are smaller and fewer

3) Right paratracheal node ( now measure 1.1 cm , previously 1.7 cm )

4) Anterior carinal node now measures 1.0cm ( previously 0.9 cm )

5) Liver , the previously noted in segment II lesion, now measures 0.6cm ( previously 0.6 cm) , segment VII measures 0.6cm ( previously 0.7 cm )
The previously noted segment IV cycts are unchanges.

6) The adrenal metastases are smaller.
Right adrenal metastasis measures 1.3 x 1.6cm ( previously 2 x 1.5 cm )
Left adrenal metastasis is also smaller measuring 1.8 x 1.6cm ( previously 2 x 1.6 cm )

7) The sclerotic bony metastasis to the spine, ribs and scapula are unchanged.

Oncologist say the result show my condition is stable , as there is no major changes after the 2 cycles of Taxotere.

Suggest to have another two cycles before making any decision .

As next week he is not available, I suggest to schedule the 3rd cycle on 3rd Oct .
Means it is like the 1st cycle , 4 weeks between each cycle ( instead of the 3 weeks ) ,
it is also for me to see whether I have the same problem like 1st cycle, where my blood pressure suddenly become low for 3 to 4 days on the 4th week .

After two cycle, as of today , I have less cough and less phlegm ( and sinec 2nd cycle chemo until today, no more phlegm with blood )
Overall body energy is not as good as before chemo , I accept it, as during chemo I normally feel tire and start recover once I take a rest from chemo .
Breathing is not as good as before chemo, a fast walk will make me breathless , unless is after some light exercise and have a brisk walk for 30 minutes, then, I feel better with fast walk It is something like I need to warm up, before any fast walk . I think it is because I feel weak during chemo and should get better once my body recover.

Well ! I accepted the result without much complain, since condition remain stable . As this is the usual result I get for the last 3 years , for all the previous chemo I did .

Thanks Lord for his blessing and healing that keep my condition stable and better . Praise the Lord .

SK

Praise the Lord ! Feel great !

Praise the Lord ! Lord is great .
The management of side effect for this cycle is great , thanks Lord .
Feel so much better and start to be have better sleep thro' the night for until atleast 4 or 5 a.m.

Rash ( all over my bald head , hahahaaha ) and some over my face , start to subside since yesterday. Actually not so bad in comparing to the rash I have when I am on the targeted drug " Tarceva " . This time, it is more like pimple over my face and head .

Stomach feel much better also, with the experience of 1st cycle side effect and well prepare ahead of the chemo, I manage to cope well with it and manage to stop the back pain . ( Because of very bad stomach upset , the pain in stomach extended to my back and end up need to use pain killer to stop stomach pain , then, go for traditional massage for my back to relieve pain) . Small serving per meal and do some light stretching exercise and brisk walking in living hall about 15 minutes after food , it help . Meantime, gastric and anti acid reflux medicine help me too .

Constipation happen as expected, right after the 1st day of chemo. Try my best to deal with it and fail . On the fifth day , decided to ask doctor for some medicine , as my piles is giving problem and already start bleeding . After two round of the medicine, the next day feel better and now resolve. Piles is still giving me problem, but, under control. For next chemo, I should start taking the constipation medicine on 2nd day .

Bone pain take effect on 5th day and getting worst on 6th and 7th day . This is expected, because steroid finish on 4th day . It happen the same for 1st cycle chemo, bone pain and all kind of pain strike on 5th day . Worst pain in my neck area . Because of good management of stomach problem, so, the bone pain not really big issue for me .

Fatigue , yes ! very very tire on 5th ; 6th and 7th day . Just want to sleep , rest . getting much better since yesterday . But, have to close monitoring, as during the 1st cycle, on 4th week after chemo, I just suddenly feel very weak and blood pressure getting low for about 3 days . So, seriously need to monitor and hopefully it will not happen again. I am now taking boiled red date
water ; boiled red beans and also black bean soup , to help in increasing my Red Blood Cell .

Taste change . Yes ! it's a problem with taste change. But, it is normal side effect for chemo treatment, so, have learn to deal with it .

Dehydration . Yes ! quite bad, same as the 1st cycle . Have to drink a lot of water everyday. As when I wake up during mid night, I will drink atleast one bottle of water, watch TV for a while , before back to bed . Actually, it is quite difficult to drink so much of water, as the taste is flat or weird ,but, to stop body from dehydrate, have it take it without fail. Actually, I am lucky that do not have problem with water retention , so, should not complain about it , hahahahaha .

Nausea , very light nausea , not an issue .

Appetite -- not bad , thanks my wife for cooking food that I request with taste suit to me .

Overall -- Not so bad .

Chemo drug . 1st cycle : Taxotere (Docetaxel ) + Zometa , 2nd cycle : Taxotere ( Docetaxel )only

Wish my sharing can be a good guide to other cancer patient .

God bless
SK

Overall seems better than the 1st cycle

I have the 3rd booster for white blood cell as per schedule on last Friday .
Then, start to deal with side effect without the support of Dexamethasone ( a type of steroid drug ) .
Bone pain/ tire / dehydration / gastric / gassy stomach , as expected start to strike .
With the experience of last cycle , I am better prepare myself to deal with it .
Not really have a good night rest , every 3 hours have to wake up to drink water and have some snack. Then, back to sleep again. But, overall not so bad .
Right till now , Sunday afternoon , overall control of the side effect is much better than last cycle.
I wish side effect will go away within the next two days and also wish that I can continue to eat well .
God Bless
SK

UF Lung Cancer Center unites experts for patient-focused care

How nice is it , if we have such a well organise cancer centre in Malaysia
==================================================

UF Lung Cancer Center unites experts for patient-focused care


Patient Gary Love with daughter Katie Love Hobbs (left) and wife Susan Love.
Gary Love had been retired two years when he first noticed the strange, draining feeling in his head. He went to the doctor, thinking it was a sinus infection. It wasn’t.
An MRI revealed a brain tumor, which doctors eventually traced back to a type of lung cancer called adenocarcinoma. The news was shocking for Love and his family, said his daughter, Katie Love Hobbs. He’d never smoked. He didn’t drink. The former sheriff’s deputy had never even been in the hospital before.
Already being treated at Shands at UF for his brain tumor, Love met with the University of Florida Lung Cancer Center team, who devised a plan of attack. Between August and November of 2010, he went through 37 lung radiation treatments, as well as chemotherapy.
“I never thought I would be going through this with my dad,” Hobbs said. “They gave us hope. There was never a doctor we had who did not act like they would do everything they could to help us. They all work together and they are amazing every day.”
No patient ever wants to hear a doctor utter the word “cancer,” and a diagnosis of lung cancer is particularly scary. Lung cancer is responsible for more than one-quarter of all cancer deaths, has a five-year survival rate of about 15 percent — for patients with stage 4 disease survival hovers at just 2 percent — and has few symptoms, often going undetected in the early stages. Quick, efficient care for these patients is a necessity.
Established in July 2010, the UF Lung Cancer Center is a multidisciplinary clinic that brings together all the experts involved in caring for a patient with the disease. Each week, pulmonologists, surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, a social worker and other experts meet in one location to see patients, relieving the need for families to trek from office to office for appointments. And every Friday, these experts gather with a radiologist and pathologist at 7 a.m. in a conference room to discuss patients together. As they look over pathology reports, X-rays and CT scans, they agree on treatment plans, talk over concerns and weigh in on different patients’ conditions.
“For cancer patients in general, the two most important concerns is a lack of communication among doctors and a lack of streamlined process and timeliness,” said Frederic Kaye, M.D., medical director of the Lung Cancer Center. “What the multidisciplinary clinic strives to do, and we think it is doing a good job so far, is giving us direct lines of communication and streamlining the process.”
Michael Jantz, M.D., director of interventional pulmonology, said patients also feel more confident having seen a multidisciplinary team.
“They know their case has been reviewed by multiple disciplines with a cohesive plan formulated amongst us,” he said.
A key part of the team, Kaye said, is nurse-coordinator Andrea Penley, R.N., who works closely with every family, setting their appointments, referring them to resources and giving them a familiar person to call anytime they have questions.
“These people need an informed voice, someone they can call up who can help them,” Penley said. “Patients are starting to expect a higher level of coordination. I think all cancer care is headed in this direction.”
In addition to the clinical care the center provides, researchers are working diligently to find better ways to detect, treat and cure lung cancer, specifically looking into the genetics and molecular basis of tumors and developing better ways to screen at-risk patients for the first signs of lung cancer. In Love’s case, a specific genetic mutation could not be identified, but the lung cancer team hopes more effective and less toxic treatments based on new genetic biomarkers will be available for all patients in the near future.
Almost two years after doctors first found his brain tumor, Gary Love is feeling about 75 percent back to normal. He’s traveling again with his wife and spending time with his family. The couple just got back from a trip to Las Vegas, said their daughter.
“Cancer is never fair. It never happens to someone who deserves it,” Hobbs said. “But I cannot say enough about UF and Shands and what they have done for my dad.”
— April Frawley Birdwell
http://cure.cancer.ufl.edu/2011/09/01/uf-lung-cancer-center-unites-experts-for-patient-focused-care/

GRACE - Global Resource for Advancing Cencer Education

Share with you the following from GRACE :-

Dr West's TEDxOverlake Talk on Self-Educated Patients and the future of cancer
care .
http://www.youtube.com/embed/oDXWd1scZyE


Meantime, the link to GRACE as below :-
http://cancergrace.org

Weather is bad with haze coming back

Not having very good sleep yesterday night also, Wake up by 3 to 4 am . But, still can cope with it.
Have my white blood cell first booster today and until now all goes well.
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With the haze coming back, looks like have to stay indoor for time being for my light exercise .
Anyway, will continue to maintain my daily exercise to keep my body fit and have good blood circulation .

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Feel good yesterday to read about sharing of 4th stage Lung Cancer patient with good recovery and now 11 years free of cancer .
And few days ago, read about Lung cancer survivor for over 5 years .
All this good news and sharing give us hope and move on with our life .
Just great !

May Lord bless all of us good health and continue to touch us with his healing power for full recovery.

SK

Home sweet home

Discharge and back home this morning, feel great to be home .
Have a nice 2 hours sleep after lunch , feel much better .
Last night not sleep well, I think about two hours only from 3+ am to 5+ am, so , quite tire.
Metalic taste quite bad today, but, still manage to eat as much as I can .
Constipation start and hopefully can settle done by tomorrow .
In general, all under control for until now and overall feel more tire in comparing with the first cycle .
Pray for good night rest tonight and wish all well to start the white bood cell booster tomorrow .
-------------
Always feel good when reach home after away for hospital stay or travelling.
My bed is the best , hahahahaha , even the best hotel bed can not compare .
After business travelling for so many years, I am still not really get use to hotel room, maybe , it is because of when you finish your work , back to room, basically you are facing the 4 walls , so, the feeling is not good. This year, I try the hotel apartment with two rooms and living hall, feel much better . But, the pricing is consider a bit high against the facilities, for one person staying .
But, certainly feel better, as can stay in the hall and have my light exercise in the balcony or living hall , with fresh air ( not like in hotel, where I hv to exercise in aircon room be in my room or the gym ).
Whatever is it , back home is sweet , feel good !

/ SK

Second cycle with Taxotere ( Docetaxel ) 5/9/11

After a good rest for 4 weeks from the 1st cycle ( on 8th August '11 ) , my body is more or less ready for it for today chemo.

Basically feeling not so bad for the last one over weeks , except feel tire most of the time and some days feel good and can drive . But, towards late afternoon, will feel very tire .

Blood pressure is on the low side , most of the time is Below 100 ( 90+ )/ Below 60 ( 50+ ) , I think this is the reason why i am feel weak and tire.

Been taking boiled red dates and black bean soup to help in increase my red blood cell.

Last Friday, I took blood test and have good result for Total WBC - 9.8 ( very good , as normal is between 4 - 11 ) and Platelets - 434 ( normal is between 150-450).
But, RBC is on the lower side , Total RBC - 3.8 ( normal between 4.7 - 6.1 ) and Haemoglobin - 11.8 ( normal between 13.5 - 18 )

One good news is tumor marker reading for CEA hv reduce .
CEA - 2407.10 ( previous 2948.20 )
CA 125 - 895 ( previous 887 )
CA 15.3 - 55 ( pevious 63 )
CA 19.9 - 6 ( previous 4 )

After discussion with doctor about the side effect for the 1st cycle, we decided to drop Zometa for 2nd cycle and just concentrate on Taxotere . Since I can have Zometa anytime after I complete chemo with Taxotere. I think this should be a good decision, as I am now not sure the bad side effect is due to which drug . By dropping Zometa for time being, the side effect will be either from Taxotere or the booster for white blood cell .

Like the 1st cycle, I am doing well on 1st day ( today ), can eat well and feel okay , except feeling a bit tire ( quite normal )

Pray for Lord's blessing for me to have a good nite rest and all goes well .

If all well, will discharge by tomorrow afternoon and back on 3rd / 4th and 5th day for the injection for white blood cell booster.

With the experience for 1st cycle in dealing with side effect, just wish that I can cope well and manage it better for this time and have a faster recovery .

I am bald about 1 1/2 week ago, when hair start to drop . But, just few days ago, hair start growing again ... :).

I think it will drop again, so, shaving it everyday to maintain bald for time being .

Less phlegm cough out after 1st cycle, but, some blood still show up in phlegm, not everytime and not serious, it is less in compare to before chemo treatment .

God bless.
SK

All well now

Good news !
Went for another round of foot and back massage yesterday . Feel good .
Today, I take a drive to office ( 30 minutes drive ) with Chris beside me and it all goes well .
Thanks for all the prayer and God's blessing .
Will have good rest in coming days to make sure my body recover better and ready for the next chemo on 5th Sept.
One more good news is that the lymph lobe lump in my neck now have reduce in size and hopefully i will goes off in next couple of days.
Good nite .
God Bless
SK

It is cooling today and the feel is good

Today is the best morning I have after the many roller coaster day .
Kind of relief and feel peace.
Sit on my reclining chair next to window with the cool breeze . It is nice and it make me feel great . Weather is cooling today.
Hope that the same feeling will last for the day and many many more days .
Yesterday I went for a round of massage. looks like it did help .
Some little changes to my body system, I start to sweat ( when cover by blanket ) after I took panadol or any painkiller . Then, yesterday night, even without the the panadol, it happen the same .
Good thing is that I will feel good after the sweat . Bad is that I do not think it is good to have such a way to sweat .
Another concern that I am having now is on last Friday, there is some small seeds show up under the skin of my neck , not really disturb me, but, a little of pain .
Then, I try to rub it , as it happen in my waist before and I manage to rub it off with ointment, but, it not works for this time.
Next morning, it swollen and become a lump. Looks like it is lymph lobe lump .
So far, it is not disturbing, will monitor for another day, if no improvement, will consult with doctor .

The solution can be simple

Yesterday morning feeling very bad and decided to take blood test ( to check my blood count ) and ultra sound for my heart ( as I feel very weak ).
Meet up with doctor, he did some checking on my chest , pulse rate and stomach.
His conclusion is that heart is working okay , not a need for ultra sound, Blood test not necessary as my overall appearance looks okay, Lung is functioning very well with very clear air flow .
The problem that I have is gastric , so , he prescribe medicine to solve my gastric , Gaviscon Liquid ( to relief heartburn & acid indigestion ) , Ultracet ( to manage pain ) and Controloc ( for gastric ) .
After taking the medicine and rest for one over hour, I am feeling good and start to have appetite to eat ... GREAT !
Another round of medication in the evening and back to bed , have quite a good rest thro' the night .
So, moral of the story is that the solution can be simple , if we don't complicate it .
Looks like I hv think too much about the side effect and forgotten that I should consult my doctor .
Anyway, all fine and it is a great relief .
This morning, wake up at 4 + am, feel headache and very cold . Off aircon and add clothing, have a drink and biscuit , took panadol and back to bed .
After a while start sweating and feel very good .
By 6 + am, I took the gastric medicine Controloc ( to be taken 1 hour before food ) and back to sleep again. Still sweating .
All seems okay ! Then, I start to feel weak , as body keep sweating . By 8 + am, my blood pressure reading is 92/56 and feel very dizzy .
I am now feeling better after drink some hot boil Red date with ginger and blood pressure is now back to 100/63 . Still tire, but, should be okay .

Day 11 of first cycle

Never expected until now, Day 11, I am not fully recover yet. Normally by now, I am driving around to buy groceries or lunch with friends.
Stomach still upset , everytime after food feel very uneasy.
Meantime, can not really sleep , continue to nap as when I feel tire.
For me, it looks like when the side effect is very minimum at the first few days, it will strike me hard with something , hahahahaha , so , maybe shud bargain for earlier side effect to take place , so that , can recover faster .
This morning decided to take chinese medicine to ease the gas , " So Hup " pills 蘇合丸, praying it will works .
Looking forward to have some nice Dim Sum in coming days " Yummy "
Yes ! Good sign after chemo is that I cough less ( not sure is it because I have no strength to cough ) and the colour of phlegm back to normal with no blood stain
( means bleeding stop ) ... Praise the Lord !

Mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the lining of the lungs or abdomen ...

Mr Ben Leer of www.asbestos.com introduce me to this site for more information of Mesothelioma . I think it is good information to share with you .

http://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma>http://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that primarily affects the lining of the lungs, but can also affect the heart, abdomen and other organs. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 cases of mesothelioma cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, comprising around .3 percent of all cancer diagnoses. The average age at diagnosis is 62 years of age, occurs about four times more frequently in men than in women and is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos.

The life expectancy for mesothelioma patients is generally reported as less than one year following diagnosis, however, a patient's prognosis can be positively affected by numerous factors including how early the cancer is diagnosed and how aggressively it is treated.

Mesothelioma Types
The type of mesothelioma you are diagnosed with effects what treatment you will receive, as well as your prognosis.

Pleural Mesothelioma Developing in the lining of the lungs, pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of the cancer. Approximately 75 percent of cases involve the pleura.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Developing in the lining of the abdominal cavity, peritoneal mesothelioma represents about 20 percent of all mesothelioma cases.

Pericardial Mesothelioma Representing about 5 percent of mesothelioma cases, pericardial mesothelioma is a very rare form of the cancer that develops in the lining of the heart.

Mesothelioma Causes
Exposure to asbestos is the leading cause of mesothelioma cancer. Exposure can occur by either inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibers, which typically become airborne after asbestos-containing products have been damaged. When these microscopic fibers are inhaled, they can become lodged in the lining of the lungs and cause pleural mesothelioma. When ingested, the fibers can become lodged in the lining of the abdomen and lead to peritoneal mesothelioma.

Occupational exposure to asbestos presents the greatest risk of developing mesothelioma later in life since workers were exposed to asbestos through the products they used regularly. Secondary exposure to asbestos - which occurs when someone occupationally exposed to asbestos brings home the toxic fibers on their clothing, skin and hair - can also lead to mesothelioma. Environmental exposure to asbestos is another cause of mesothelioma cancer, and one of the most prominent examples is the city-wide exposure that has taken place in Libby, Montana.

..... continue ..... http://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma>
http://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma

On Sunday afternoon, things getting better with less bone/muscle/body aching .
Feel so much better and ask Chris to order me double boil chicken soup noddle for dinner .
I am too happy with my condition and finish the whole bowl of noddle and the soup with chicken meat.
Problem start just less than 1/2 hour, gassy stomach get worst and whole night suffering.
Yesterday morning , gassy stomach continue and feel very very tire .
By afternoon, took gastric medicine and it did help to release gas in the evening .
Just feel tire and want to sleep , Thks God that finally I have quite a good night rest .
Today morning feel better with gassy stomach, but, bone ; muscle/body aching all back and it is like the side effect start to happen again.
Forcing myself to drink a lot of water and move as much as I can ( actually this is the first day that I am really do not feel like moving too much because of body aching) .
After breakfast, back to bed and rest until 11 am . Feel much better and my parent and sister visited me .
After lunch , back to bed, rest and take double boil cordyceps .
Praying for better recovery by tonight with good night rest .

It is a "hard" , "hard" day to deal with ... :)
Since yesterday midnight, the side effect strike .
Muscle pain , bone pain . Whole body aching , right from neck down and very dyhydrate .
Wake up every 1 to 2 hours to drink water .
Anyway, I decided not to just sleep or sit or resting, where the muscle may get stiff and I may have more pain to deal with later.
So, yesterday, I am trying my very best to move around slowly with light exercise , brisk walking , stretching my body, to ensure have very good blood circulation.
It is hard , but, still manage to cope with it and the hard day continue today ...
God bless ! Can eat well ( cooking from Chris is just nice to my taste and it did help so much ) .
Please join me to sing this song today ... " Pain , Pain , go away ... ! "
SK

Finally settle down with the 3rd booster today afternoon.
Dehydration start this morning and the normal side effect, minor nausea, gastric , bone pain and so on continue .
But, overall is very much better than expectation .
Drink a lot of water today to counter dehydration and since yesterday start with small input per meal to counter the hiccup and gassy stomach. So far, works very well with it .
The 3 days medication with Dexamethasone completed yesterday, so, today have to start dealing with side effect without Dexamethasone.
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How does this drug work?
Dexamethasone is a type of steroid drug known as a glucocorticosteroid. It is a man-made version of a natural hormone produced by the adrenal glands. Glucocorticosteroids have a wide range of actions on many parts of the body. The ways in which they cause these many different effects aren't exactly clear.

The main effects of dexamethasone and steroids like it seem to be due to their anti-inflammatory properties and their ability to alter immune system responses. For example, dexamethasone helps prevent white blood cells from traveling to areas of the body where they might add to swelling problems (such as around tumors). It also seems to help with the treatment of certain blood cancers (such as leukemias) by causing some cancerous white blood cells to commit suicide.

The reasons for some of its other actions, such as increasing appetite and reducing nausea, aren't as clear.
+++
.
Anyway, for until now, everything is well and with Lord's blessing, I will cope well in coming days.

Good nite ... :)

Feel great !
God is great ! Fighting the battle with Lord by my side is great and amazing !
Upto now with very minimum side effect, manage to have motion today and feel so much better.
Also have about 6 hours good night rest yesterday .
Today start with my first booster and it works well for until now, without the expected side effect to take place .
Praying to Lord blessing for me to have the 2nd and 3rd booster works well for tomorrow and Friday .
Good nite !
May Lord bless all of you to have a good good day too ... :)

SK

Today reaction to the drug remind me of the first chemo I went thro' in 2008 with Taxol + Carboplatin .
Hiccup ; Nausea ; Tire ; Metallic taste ; not sleeping well, but, it is all very minor and manage to cope with it .
The only side effect concern me most is constipation , hopefully can over come it by tomorrow .
Thanks Lord , all goes well and looking forward to the injection of booster by tomorrow.

Good day !

Start treatment this morning with the Chemo drug Taxotere ( Docetaxel ) and Zometa (Zoledronic Acid) after the premedication drug Dexamethasone and Kytril .

Docetaxel is a type of chemotherapy drug known as a taxane. It interferes with microtubules, which are part of the internal structure cells need when they are dividing. This leads to cell death. Because cancer cells divide faster than normal cells, they are more likely than normal cells to be affected by this drug.

Zoledronic acid is a type of drug known as a bisphosphonate. It is used to help treat cancer that has spread to the bones, usually along with other treatments such as chemotherapy. It lowers the risk of fractures and other bone problems. It is also used to lower high blood calcium levels in people who have cancer in the bones.

All goes well and coping well with it for until now .

Since about 8 pm , start to have some very slight back bone pain ( not serious ) and
about 10 pm, start to have metallic taste , anyway, this is the expected side effect.

Manage to have workout ( light exercise ) in the evening for about an hour to sweat out and feel better .

Thanks for Chris accompany me the whole day and visit by Fook Wai with snacks ... :) .

Wish the side effect by tomorrow and coming days will be minimum .

Main concern for me is the booster to take on 3rd / 4th and 5th day , with doctor suggested to use Granocyte , as Taxotere can lower our white blood cell count, especially in the weeks after the drug is given. This can increase our chance of getting a serious, or even life-threatening, infection.

Pray for God's grace and blessing for me to continue cope well with the chemo drug side effect .

Wish to have a good night sleep tonight in Pantai Medical KL and discharge tomorrow after a night of observation .

Good nite .

Time for treatment

Last week X Ray show no big changes , but, Tumor marker CEA go up to near 3000 .
Early this week, on Tuesday, proceed for CT scan and the result show progression . The biggest tumor now increase to 11.3 cm from 8.5 cm ( last CT scan on early May ) . Means the progession is very fast for last 3 months.
So, there is no reason to wait and watch anymore .
Disucssed with doctor and decided to start the treatment by next Monday with different drug from the previous chemo treatment.
These few days is busy in getting things organise, so that I can focus in my treatment for the coming 18 weeks ( 6 cycles with 3 weeks once )
Well , time to have my good rest at home ,enjoy my colour pencil drawing again.
Am I ready ?
Yes ! I am ready for it .

I feel glad for cancer patient for their good response to chemo treatment when I read their posting and be glad that I can join them for the kind of JOY and HAPPINESS they have with the success of the treatment.
But, at times, after reading all the good news posting, I will have kind of feeling of loss , feeling of upset ... because of my treatment not responding and the tumor still sitting inside my lung , like a time bomb .
It is not easy to deal with it .
It is depressing to think about it .
And sometime, it is hard to accept it .
Anyway, I think it is not wrong or rather to say it is normal for me to have this kind of feeling.
What is important is how fast can I be out of this kind of upset feeling .
How fast can I recover and face it .
With Lord and with support of family member and friends , I make it , and I know that I can overcome all the bad feeling , upset , fear , worry , be it yesterday , today or tomorrow , because Lord is with me and all of your are with me .
I feel grateful because Lord is with me .
I feel grateful because of the love and support of Chris and Natalie is with me .
I feel grateful because of the love and support of my family is with me .
I feel grateful because of the love and support of friends is with me .
I feel grateful because I manage to have such good quality of life for the last 3 years .
And I feel so grateful that I am still here writing my blog and share with you .
Thks God .
May God blessing reach all of us and bless us to have Joy, Happiness and Good health.

Can patient make their own decision of not proceed with treatment ?

Many people ask me ....
" Your doctor allow you to make your own decision ? "
" You can make your own decision to watch and wait ? "
" Your doctor allow you to delay the treatment ? "

My answer is " YES "

Yes ! Everyone have their own right to make their own decision for any treatment.
Doctor will recommend the best treatment option to us and the ultimate decision is on the patient.

But, I would like to clarify that I am not here to promote or encourage anyone to follow my approach . Please discuss with your doctor and know about your treatment benefit , treatment side effect and equip yourself with knowledge before you make any decision to watch and wait.

Meantime, not all patient can delay their treatment or take up the watch and wait approach, it is all depends on how serious is their condition and how aggressive is the cancer cell .

Before making own decision to delay treatment , one have to :-
- Discuss and have the full understanding with doctor
- Know what is the possibility affecting your health and condition
- Spend time to reseach and discuss with doctor to know what is the pro & con of doing so.
- Ready to accept full liabilities and risk , if something happen
- Continue reseach and study in order to have the knowledge of making wise decision
- Know your body well and be ready to spend time monitor and listen to your body everyday and be ready to proceed discussion with doctor and start immediate treatment without fail, if something happen or not well.
- Keep yourself feel good , feel great .
- Discipline in exercise , diet , resting and ...

Wish my sharing is useful and helpful .

SK

Will watch and wait further .

It's 1 1/2 month now from the last CT scan.
Been think a lot and study, analyse my situation after two discussion with doctor .
Finally , I decided to continue my watch and wait approach for time being and will monitor very closely .
Doctor have given me suggestion for chemo drug options and also his opinion . Thanks so much for Dr John advice and assistance .
Thanks Lord for his continue healing for me to be strong and healthy .
Looking forward to next week , my 3rd year is around the corner , feel GREAT !

Great news for liver cancer patient in Malaysia . How about lung cancer ? Is Lung foundation Of Malaysia working on it too ?

The article in The Star Fit4life today ( 19th June 2011 ) about The NexPAP programme is such a good news to liver cancer patient
http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2011/6/19/health/8926005&sec=health

Thanks to Bayer HealthCare and Malaysian Liver Foundation (MLF).

Meantime, looking forward to Lung foundation of Malaysia to start working on some programme to assist lung cancer patient in Malaysia .

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Sunday June 19, 2011
The NexPAP programme


NexPAP is a programme designed to assist Malaysian patients who have been diagnosed with liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC), and have been prescribed by their doctors to use sorafenib.

The programme aims to provide drug assistance to help patients in continuing with drug treatment for as long as medically required.

This programme is part of Bayer HealthCare Malaysia’s initiatives to provide drug assistance to Malaysian patients.

Bayer HealthCare is working in partnership with the Malaysian Liver Foundation (MLF) to run NexPAP.

As part of NexPAP, patients will purchase the first two months of sorafenib, after which Bayer HealthCare will donate free sorafenib for up to the next 12 months to patients, as long as medically required as determined by the prescribing physician.

How Does NexPAP Work?

1. The patient has been diagnosed with HCC by a medical professional.

2. The patient fulfils the eligibility criteria for NexPAP, such as:

·Malaysian citizenship or permanent residency

·Satisfactory income level based on certain criteria (subject to MLF approval).

·Ability to purchase the first two months’ treatment of sorafenib.

3. The patient to apply for NexPAP to MLF with prescribing doctor’s recommendation.

4. The application will be assessed by MLF based on entry criteria with supporting documentation.

5. The patient will receive application results from MLF via the prescribing doctor.

6. The patient needs to follow up with his/her prescribing doctor monthly for treatment of the disease, but collection of the monthly donation sorafenib will be from MLF.

According to Janice Chow, senior public relations manager with Bayer HealthCare, “We have a long and ongoing commitment to contribute to medical progress and to improve the quality of human health. Each NexPAP beneficiary has a truly heart-warming story to share and we are pleased to be able to help make a difference in their lives. We will continue to work with the Malaysian Liver Foundation on NexPAP to see more liver cancer patients benefit from treatment.”

Since the launch of the progarmme, more than 50 patients have benefited from it.

Patients can apply to the MLF for the NexPAP patient assistance programme with their prescribing doctor’s recommendation. For more information about liver cancer and NexPAP, please contact the foundation at 03-7842 6101.

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