I had a VATs wedge resection of my left lower lobe at Mayo, Rochester recently with Dr. Reisenauer and her fabulous Thoracic Surgical team. I have 3 small incisions that quickly healed.

My GGO (ground glass opacity) was diagnosed in 2020 and slowly grew with each annual CT scan. My lymph nodes enlarged on my scan in Sept 2023 and the GGO developed a semi-solid component. My PET scan from head to toe only lit up the semi-solid 8 mm portion in 19 mm GGO.

I decided not to do the bronchoscopy and biopsies first. I opted for the wedge resection with lymph node sampling during surgery with Pathology in the room to do the diagnosis. The semi-solid component was stage 1A adenocarcinoma. The lymph nodes were negative and my margins were clean. I was admitted in the morning, had surgery, and was discharged at noon the following day. I spent two days at a local hotel and flew home using Delta's wheelchair service to get me through the airport without any complications.

I am doing well recovering at home. It is a painful process to heal, but I take my pain medication and I try to resume normal daily activities without lifting, and rest.

I started training myself in my home before surgery by walking 3-5 miles in my house, stretching, light hand weights sitting in a chair, and leg strengthening exercises, under the guidance of Physical Therapy. This really helped with my recovery. I am starting my third week of recovery and I can drive a short distance to the store, do lightweight household chores, and garden for short periods. The pain across my chest is what bothers me the most right now.

I am also following the cancer fighting food suggestions in Dr William Li's book "Eat to Beat Disease".

Best of luck to you with your surgery. I have a friend who is a retired college football coach and he had 3 lobes of his lungs removed at different times. He is still going strong 5 years later.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.