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Why did you have a lobectomy? Were you told you'd be cured?
Lung Cancer | Last Active: Sep 17 11:22pm | Replies (37)Comment receiving replies
I was diagnosed with NSCLC back in February, stage II. Treatment plan was neoadjuvant chemo & immunotherapy, then a lobectomy. As mentioned, the surgery was unsuccessful due to scarring, but the Dr did take 4 lymph nodes as well as a wedge of the tumor. All came back from pathology negative for cancer. But still they're proposing radiation along with chemo again, which is how they would treat inoperable cancer...even though labs were all negative now.
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@ponytail, Cancer can certainly be sneaky, and tests and scans aren't perfect, but pathology generally doesn't lie. Are they thinking that the neoadjuvant treatments cleared up the cancer, and that's why it's not showing in the tissue and nodes that were removed? If yes, that's a good thing. The treatments did their job and did it so well that they can't find any cancer cells. That MAY not mean that there are no cancer cells somewhere else in your body. I wonder if that's why they want to stay with the plan and continue on with radiation and more chemo. I'm not saying that this is wrong for a stage II patient (I'm not a clinician, just a patient like you). Ultimately your treatment is your choice, and it's difficult to make these decisions without good information. I feel for you, as these decisions can be so complicated, and we don't have medical degrees. Relying on our doctors to guide us, includes explaining why they recommend certain treatments and procedures. Are you in a position to seek a second opinion at all?