Hi,

As far as I have read, chimp is never necessary for Stage 1. Do you know what stage you are?

My tumour was very small (1(.7 cm x 1.6 cm, so about 3/4 inch). It was located in a very inaccessible place so they could not do a broncoscopy before surgery. However, my surgeon was convinced it was cancer and he recommended removing the entire lobe. You absolutely MUST have this done robotically even if it means travelling somewhere. The pain after the old method is excruciating and the recovery far longer. But it is essential to find a highly experienced robotic surgeon. Mine does 4 of these surgeries every day.

I left hospital after 3 days. This was longer than normal because I had an air leak. I went home with the drainage tube still in and that cause a lot of pain till it was removed 4 days later. My incisions did not hur t at all and healed very fast. One was 2 inches long and the other 4 were 1/2 inch.

I am 76, am very fit and have never smoked. I started walking 5 x 5 minutes per day immediately after surgery, eve n in the hospital. I now can walk 3 miles a day but still get a little. breathless. I started working out in the gym 1 month after surgery and can now do virtually everything I did before. I was very fatigued for about 8 weeks after surgery.

Good luck to you.