Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi

So very, very sorry for your loss. Prayers for strength to you now and over time as you grieve the loss of your husband.

Welcome to Connect, @pc2018. I invite you to share your experience with lung cancer and recent surgery with the members of the Lung Cancer group here.

I'd also like to invite @marylou705 to join this discussion. She just had a lobectomy recently as well. I hope you connect with each other and the other members of the group.

Many of you have met volunteer Mentor, Linda @llwortman. Recently, she was featured in our Member Spotlight. Enjoy getting to know more about Linda and what inspires her to help others on Connect.

Passionate About Saving Lungs and Lives: Meet @llwortman https://connect.mayoclinic.org/newsfeed-post/passionate-about-saving-lungs-and-lives-meet-llwortman/

See all the member spotlights here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/tab/newsfeed/

Colleen, I posted on the lung cancer group this morning. Did I get it right? I’m not sure what I’m doing on my computer!

Nancy, I have been here lurking for a month or so but your post on losing your husband gave me the bump I needed to reply. I too lost my husband almost 8 months ago after spending almost a year in and out of the hospital with him. I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer August 2013 and given the 6-12 months to live. My story is long but I just wanted to let you know that I am walking your steps right ahead of you. I am glad you have family and support. The fog, confusion and amount of phone calls/paper work is enough to make you crazy. Reach out to me anytime...Karen

shortshot80) Hi Colleen, I haven't been here for the last several weeks. The celebration of life for my husband was on June 2, have been trying to get a firm hold on my feelings these days. It is lonely here at my house even though one of my son's is here. My little dog Abbi, is lonely also. It has been hard (really) hard for the past month. I haven't been here to visit with Teresa, you, or anyone else. Now It's time to talk. For some reason when I tried to get on here this evening, my password didn't work, so did another so I can get back here among the living. Thanks for listening! Nancy

Hello everyone, I am (shortshot80) Nancy. I have been here since (I think) January 2016. I have two kinds of cancer. Left lung is "mesothelioma, right is just plain old lung cancer. One year ago I had radiation on my right lung,, which shattered instead of killing the cancer. Started with a chemo in November/December 2016. Had two or three chemo's and In Feb 2017 I had a severe reaction to the chemo. Was off till last of March. Since then I am doing better with Immune therapy every three weeks. I have to get a blood test tomorrow for the treatment on the 21'st of June. Emotions are sorta off the wall since my husband of 67 years passed away May 4.
Then this past week a friend that used to live in this area, came back to see her granddaughter graduate and stopped by. Then she told me she had been sick. I asked her what was wrong, she thought she had some sort of lung disease. Well, damn, I told her that I can't have any sickness here and she had better leave. I was not really very pleasant either. Not my month for a lot of "kindness", especially with what I have. I do not need anything more in my house.
I will be here more now and be able to talk and visit with everyone.
I am going to a graduation party for my granddaughter who will receive her Master's Degree in "Speech Pathology" on Saturday. She is 28 years old, and I am really proud of her. Total grand kids is 8. Total great grandkids is 6 and one is 24. Hmmmm I must be getting older! More later! Nancy

Nancy, I can't tell you how much my heart goes out to you. My husband died when I was 57 really sudden. 2 years later I had colon cancer ..surgery, chemo and all that. When I went for my 10 year final checkup, I found out the colon cancer was still gone but I had lung cancer. They removed a lobe and hit a nerve and now I have a frozen diaphram and am on oxygen and the pulmonary doctors thinks its permanent.. I had surgery in Jan 2018. In March, my son (52 years old=only child) was diagnosed with stage iV pancreatic cancer. I now take care of him so his wife can work and I take him to chemo etc. Not much hope for recovery unless something new is discovered. I try to enjoy him while I can and accept life as it hits me but some days I am just overwhelmed. I am 70 now.
Its pretty hard to hide from other peoples sickness and often people just don't think. I try to go to the gym or at least walk every few days. I know it builds your immune system. Some days I just can't find the energy.

I have two adult granddaughters that I am very proud of and 5 siblings who try to help me as me as they can. I feel very thankful for those things. I live alone so it is always hardest when I think too much.
Pat

Hello everyone (shortshot80)Nancy. It has been a very stressful month since my husband passed away. Service for him was just wonderful. I had immune therapy chemo on June 21. Have had no problems with the chemo. Just trying to get through the days as best as I can. I have four grown children. One of who thinks he should be in charge of everything. The other three do not trust him. So I'm in the middle and am going to see a attorney on Tuesday to have him help me sort all the kinks that have been aroused. Some times I'm at my wits end with .....whatever. Will see how far this goes and put a end to it. I know I'm not the only one with this type of problems, who have to have someone with some smarts to help. Yes, the house is still a little lonely, I know this will take some time to clear the air!. Now on to another subject. I had a phone call from my friend who has brain cancer and is helping me with my book. "I was one of five ladies who fished commercial with my husband in 1971 off the coast of Oregon. I have been on this project perhaps 35-40 years. I want to finish, and let the grand-kids see what we did "back in the day". My husband Bob and I fished every weekend during the summer and vacations from 1971 to 1987. I purchased our property in 1986, and we moved here in 1987. I continued to fish with Bob, till 1990 and then found a job working with "medical & physical disabled adults for a year. That job taught me how and why to help those people. That let me to have Bob's mom to live with us, for about 10 years. After that I went to work in grocery stores (2) in different city's 25 miles each way from my home. I worked for about five or six years, between the two. I finally retired from working and started to volunteer for the chamber of commerce, and various other things. Also I used to write a weekly column in the local newspaper for 11 years. I have let a full and productive life . I also was a offset printer for over 18 years before we moved here. The most fun job I had for four years was a school bus driver in the city. I dressed for all the holidays and kids decorated my "hats" of which I still have two. Now I have about 42 hats that I wear. Don't have much hair since the cancer arrived in 2016. Hey, I needed this, so thanks for listening. Nancy

I'm truly sorry to hear about your loss @shortshot, but I so enjoyed reading about your life experiences. Embracing pain in any form, especially grief, loss is difficult for us. I can only imagine that you are probably experiencing the most intensely emotional period of your life right now. And though, as the saying goes, "Death brings out the best and the worst in families,” it's up to you to decide how this loss will affect your life. A friend shared this when I lost my grandmother, who was very dear to me, and I thought I'd share it with you...
"Choose to be thankful for the past, but choose to be resourceful in the present, and most importantly choose to be hopeful for the future."