Hi TRT,
I'm kind of a stranger hopping in here, I've just been reading through these posts. I had horrible, horrible problems with depression following my first round of Tx. It was worst when I was in the process of getting off the pain meds (like Fentanyl, oxycontin, etc). But it persisted long after and I still struggle with it on and off. I'm on both Wellbutrin and Prozac now. Sometimes I feel ashamed that I'm on these meds, like ashamed that I have this problem of depression. But my wife reminds me that it's a legitimate medical condition caused by imbalances in the body and it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's a good thing she reminds me because I really struggle, even when I go in to the doc and they ask me to update what meds I'm on.

I'm in the middle of my second recurrence now, with cancer in both lungs. They're telling me there's not a lot they can do except try to prolong things, although I seem to be responding a little bit to the chemo Tx. I'm actually finding myself less prone to being depressed since this recurrence started because I'm so focused on getting through it and figuring out what I can do (if anything) to survive and make it through this thing.

I just wanted to encourage you. As you've seen from all these posts, the depression is something most of us have run into or struggled with at some point post Tx, and there's a lot of us that still struggle with it. It all started for me in Feb 06 and it's still a struggle today. The advice about surrounding yourself with people who lift you up and who you enjoy being around is good, good advice.

I wish you the best. Don't forget you have a lot of people here who care about you and want to help support you.
-Steve


Age 41 - Stage 2 SCC tongue Dx 2/06. Cisplatin x3, IMRT x35. Mets to neck node discovered 7/07. RND 40 nodes removed, margins not clear. Cisplatin, Taxotere, 5-FU Fall 07, then IMXT/Erbitux for 7 wks. Inoperable mets to both lungs and pleura Dx Oct'08. 4 cycles Carboplatin, Erbitux, 5-FU so far.