This is a reply to Wayne & Karen's question about radiation following
taxol/carboplatin and other effective chemos -

My Mom was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in her right lung in June '96.
She had one taxol/carboplatin treatment and was scheduled for another 5
weeks later (I know the timing was way off the protocol), but when she
went in for her pre-chemo ct scan, it was obvious that the tumor had grown
and was threatening an immediate collapse of her lung.  So the docs
decided that radiation was required to get that tumor under control.  The
good news is that the 6 weeks of radiation did shrink the tumor (though
10% of her lung was "dead").  the not so good news is that now, 3 months
after the end of the radiation, she is exhausted, has no energy, no
appetite and is very discouraged.  Despite my having warned her that the
effects of the radiation come well after the radiation is completed, she
is finding it very difficult to cope with this now - and from what I
understand from research and letters from folks who've been through it,
these effects are likely to continue for another few months.  I'm sharing
this with you so that you know that a choice for radiation should probably
be made with the idea in mind that you will feel worse than ever for
several months - my Mom ended her radiation Oct. 18, felt great through
mid-December, then the walls came crashing down  And even if everything
else goes ok, she'll feel this bad for another couple of months.  Would
she have chosen it if she really knew how she'd feel now, also knowing
that her cancer is stage 4 and her options are limited?  I think so.  To
make matters worse, she had another round of taxol/carboplatin Jan. 3 and
is scheduled for another Feb. 4.  So we're adding insult to injury here,
and there's no way to predict the outcome.

I have a friend whose mother was diagnosed at the same time with the same
thing in Pennsylvania.  She received several rounds of navelbine/cisplatin
which seemed to work pretty well for her.  Will the end result be any
different for our Moms??  Nobody knows.  But I do know that my Mom feels a
whole lot worse than hers and it's mainly due to the radiation (which we
all agreed was necessary at the time).  It's a tough fight, and I wish you
both the best in living and loving every day.