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Autophagy and 2 cm nodule on wall of lung

Posted by crisatl @crisatl, 3 days ago

4 years ago I had tonsillar cancer which was resolved by excision, followed by proton radiation. PET scan 3 months later showed I was cancer-free.

Recently I went back for my 4-year CT scan which showed a 2 cm nodule near or on the wall of my lung's right upper lobe. A blood test showed that there was NO metastasis from the tonsillor cancer. The thoracic surgeon scheduled me for surgery July 10th to remove either a section of my lung or remove the entire upper right lobe, depending on what is found at that time. To be very honest, I do not want to have any surgery because "Been there! Done that!" in relation to my throat surgery. (At the time, I thought they would do the surgery, and I would be back to life as normal. I lost 2 years of my life being so tired, and even now, though much better, I am not back to where I was before the tonsillar surgery and radiation.)

I am scheduled for a PET scan on June 30th

The first thing I did after the CT scan, is go to church and according to James 5: 13-15, I received prayer and anointing for healing.

I am on day 5 of a 10-day total, fast other than water and a little lemon juice to induce autophagy. I have come to recognize that my food and health choices have not necessarily been healthy, so I think this is a wake up call to change things!

I am also wondering what supplements I can take while I'm fasting that should have no effect on the autophagy, but also afterwards.

Does anyone have experience, or can comment on what I am currently doing? Tks in advance!

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Mentor
Lisa, Volunteer Mentor | @lls8000 | 2 days ago

@crisatl , sorry to hear that you are dealing with the possibility of a second cancer. When I picked up my second cancer diagnosis my oncologist noted that no one deserves one, let alone two. I wholeheartedly agree!
Try to take a deep breath, and maybe a step back, as most lung nodules are not cancerous. The PET scan is a good next step. Have your doctors considered a biopsy, or is the location too risky?
I don’t have experience with fasting. Are you working with, or have access to, a functional medicine doctor? They can work in conjunction with your medical oncologist too.

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crisatl | @crisatl | 2 days ago

Thank you! Regarding the Functional Medicine doctor, I accessed Dr Josh Axe, but even at the lowest level, his 4 month course, which I think would be very good, is too expensive for me at this time. But I am using his material, and the material of others who have beaten cancer, and am starting to put them into practice. Maybe this was all a wake up call to take better care of my body rather than just taking it for granted. Look up autophagy. It is the body's way of getting ride of damaged cells. I know for many years I have filled my body with empty calories, so it is time to wake up and start feeding my body things that nourish it! I will update this as things progress. Thank you for the encouragement that many lung modules are not cancerous. I will investigate that to learn what they are and how they got there. Thank you again for the encouragement.

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mamajite | @mamajite | 2 days ago

hi @crisatl - I can understand not wanting to delve into another major surgery. I think it's wise to do your PET scan as planned and that will give you more insight into the likelihood that the nodule is malignant. The rule of thumb is that the bigger the nodule is, the higher chance it's cancer. Perhaps a liquid biopsy would also be a less invasive option for you? I have multifocal lung cancer, so I can't treat it with surgery. But my aunt just had a lobectomy a couple months ago and she's feeling great (better than before surgery bc the tumor was causing other symptoms like high blood pressure.) I would encourage you to keep all of the treatment options on the table, until you can say for sure that it's not cancer.

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1 reply
crisatl | @crisatl | 2 days ago
In reply to @mamajite "hi @crisatl - I can understand not wanting to delve into another major surgery. I think..." + (show)
@mamajite

hi @crisatl - I can understand not wanting to delve into another major surgery. I think it's wise to do your PET scan as planned and that will give you more insight into the likelihood that the nodule is malignant. The rule of thumb is that the bigger the nodule is, the higher chance it's cancer. Perhaps a liquid biopsy would also be a less invasive option for you? I have multifocal lung cancer, so I can't treat it with surgery. But my aunt just had a lobectomy a couple months ago and she's feeling great (better than before surgery bc the tumor was causing other symptoms like high blood pressure.) I would encourage you to keep all of the treatment options on the table, until you can say for sure that it's not cancer.

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Thank you. What is a liquid biopsy??

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1 reply
crisatl | @crisatl | 2 days ago
In reply to @crisatl "Thank you. What is a liquid biopsy??" + (show)
@crisatl

Thank you. What is a liquid biopsy??

Jump to this post

I just looked it up! I should have done that before I responded. 😁 That sounds like a great alternative. I will wait until after the PET scan to see how that comes out! Thank you so much for the suggestion!!! 😊

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1 reply
mamajite | @mamajite | 2 days ago
In reply to @crisatl "I just looked it up! I should have done that before I responded. 😁 That sounds..." + (show)
@crisatl

I just looked it up! I should have done that before I responded. 😁 That sounds like a great alternative. I will wait until after the PET scan to see how that comes out! Thank you so much for the suggestion!!! 😊

Jump to this post

You're very welcome! It's something I wish I would have been offered sooner. I think sometimes they don't lead with it due to cost/insurance issues. But worth checking, because it's a wonderful non-invasive diagnostic tool - just a blood test. Let us know how things go. 🙂

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