Confused & Scared

Nfitzs- First take a Deep Breath! Let it out slowly. I had left upper lobe adenocarcinoma nodule. I had it removed on March 24, 2023. Adenocarcinoma is a lung cancer, and I smoked for almost 46 years. I know this is all so scary, and all the different types of doctors involved and all the tests! Waiting for results is the scariest and sometimes longest, mind bending times! Then getting a plan going in what they can do for us. Then, the what seems the million questions we have and the ones we forget to ask. Just take one step at a time. You don’t want them to rush to diagnosis, or rush to a treatment plan, even though at this time you think you would prefer that. Unfortunately every case is different and there are no one size fits all treatments. I had to find things to keep me busy. Spent a lot more time with my family, and started researching stuff on my own. However let me STRONGLY advise do NOT USE Dr. Google! Make sure whatever you look up comes from a source that ends in .org, NOT . com! .coms are a lot of opinions and horror stories. But .orgs are peer reviewed by professionals in the field. If you don’t feel comfortable with what the doctors are saying get a second opinion. That is your right. I hope this helps, even if only a little. But I pray for your Father, and for you! Stay on this wonderful site. It helped me through my journey, and I try to stay on it and possibly help others with my experiences. God Bless you and your Family!

Hello @nfitzs, Welcome to Mayo Connect. I'm sorry that your lost your mother recently to cancer. I'm sure that makes what you are going through even more scary. I will second what @cmcguire10 mentioned, try to take a deep breath. You have time to figure a few things out and while we often want to rush into treatment, it's very important to match the treatment with the specific type of cancer. From what you described, it sounds like there is some confusion on the type of cancer. His symptoms and the lymph node enlargement may point to lung cancer, but cancer cells can spread around our bodies too. If this is cancer, and he's not a candidate for surgery, there are still other treatments available. I know this is a scary time for both of you, you've both seen first-hand how hard cancer can be. It is still very early in the process for your father. Start writing down your questions, review them with him and then with the doctors at his next appointment.
How is your father feeling? How is he dealing with the situation?

@lls8000 @cmcguire10 Thank you both for your kind words, I appreciate it a lot. The doctors have determined it's stage 3A, spread to lympnodes on the same side as the tumor. I think the scariest part is just waiting, especially because there is a fear it's spreading. He is starting on Tuesday with carboplatin, abraxane, and keytruda. His pdl1 expression is 2%, so I'm scared about it's efficacy. He is doing okay, just fatigued and coughing a bit. He is hoping if the therapy works, he can get off oxygen, which the doctor said is a big possibility. I'm hoping if the medicine does its job & tumor shrinks, he can be a candidate for surgery, but this doctor doesn't seem to think it's a possibility. Thank you for caring, it's very isolating.

@nfitzs, how is your dad doing? How are you doing?

@nfitzs, I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this. Nowadays, doctors recognize that lung cancer is not one disease, but many diseases all sharing the same name. It's important to know what type of lung cancer your father has, as that will determine his treatment options. Have the doctors told you yet?

The most common type is adenocarcinoma, which is slow-growing, so you can relax a bit while the doctors figure out the best approach. I second Colleen's question. How is your dad doing? Is he physically and mentally comfortable?

The good news is that lung cancer is more survivable than ever. I was first diagnosed almost 7 years ago and have been stage 4 for 4 1/2, and I know several people who have survived even longer, including some of the other people on this thread! I wish you and your father all the best.