Diagnosed with breast cancer & primary lung cancer: Next steps?

@lls8000 Thank you so much Lisa. I’m 1/3 of way thru lung radiation today and have 2nd chemo infusion next Monday. I truly appreciate the support here. ❤️

Thank you everyone. The latest is that I am considered Stage 3A. Mostly based on size but it scares me because it keeps getting closer to Stage 4. My doctors have all agreed that I will do 4 cycles of Carboplatin & Pem. 7 weeks of radiation at same time. Start both tomorrow. After I will do 3 years of Tagrisso and I guess they’ll address a hormone blocker for the breast cancer. All focus now on the lung. I was unable to arrange for cold capping as the hospitals here aren’t set up for it and I just couldn’t pull it together. My UCD Dr said there’s a big chance I will not lose my hair. My local oncologist disagrees and says it’s likely I will. I know I shouldn’t be so focused on that but I am. I’ve spent hours researching wigs, hats with hair, shampoos that are gentle and might prevent hair loss. My info sheet says use Johnson baby shampoo but my hair stylist said absolutely not. I’m so stressed thinking about tomorrow. On top of this I was just notified of the passing of a friend’s daughter who had Stage 4 and seemed to be doing well with chemo. I am heartbroken for them both. 3A seems so close to Stage 4 but my oncologist said it’s not. I’m sorry to be rambling but I don’t know where else to go with these overwhelming feelings. ❤️❤️

I wanted to update my previous post but I’m not sure I’m doing it correctly. Anyway I don’t know if I mentioned originally that I was diagnosed in Dec with breast cancer. It was during pre op for that that they discovered the lung cancer. I am losing my mind at this point. I just had my 15th breast radiation treatment but there is no plan for my lung. I met with surgeon this week. He said the path report I had copy of was wrong. It said cancer is in my left upper lobe but it’s actually in my left lower lobe. He said he could remove the entire tumor by removing the lower lobe. It has grown since CT scan one month earlier and is stage 2. I told him the medical oncologist said I need chemo before surgery and wrote order for chest port, and to have root canal tooth extracted. The surgeon said that I should get it removed first, then chemo. I felt relieved. He wrote referrals for pre op screening and tentatively scheduled surgery for 2 weeks after last breast radiation. He also said don’t do chest port or have tooth pulled. Nothing to delay surgery. 2 hours later the medical oncologist called and said he had great news. A test came back saying I have the EFGR mutation so there is a new targeted chemo pill I can take along with regular chemo BEFORE any surgery. I asked if it wasn’t best to have it removed while it’s contained to one lobe and operable and afterwards do any necessary chemo? He said chemo before surgery has 76% 5 yr survival. Chemo after has 66% 5 yr survival. He ordered the new pill. The pharmacy called & said there is a $2100 co-pay and should they order. I said give me a couple days because I have no actual treatment plan yet. When I went in for radiation today they told me the Doctors don’t agree on a plan yet. I’m feeling very stressed. My lung cancer was diagnosed 1st of Jan. It’s growing. They sent a phlebotomist to my home today for a blood draw for another genetic test that they didn’t even tell me about. I keep saying I want a 2nd opinion from UC Davis but no one is referring me or sending records. I don’t know what to do. I have 8 more days of breast radiation.

Is the lung & breast cancer on the same side? The reason I ask is that I had my first abnormal mammogram a few months ago in my left breast - I go back to recheck the spot in July. My lung cancer was in the right lung …?

I just had a RLL lobectomy Monday morning. I’m doing fairly well - taking all the pathology and new information in …

Welcome @lisawolub, I hope your surgical recovery continues to go well.
Mammograms aren’t perfect, especially if you have dense tissue. A follow up is a good idea. If they were overly concerned they likely would have recommended a different type of scan, ultrasound or MRI.
I was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020 (left and metastatic), and a completely separate breast cancer in 2024 (right side).
Density can make the mammogram images more difficult to read. Sometimes an ultrasound may be helpful after that second mammogram check. Have you been told that your tissue is dense?

@lls8000 Hi ✋ Thank you for the reply. Yes on both - I have dense tissue, and am having ultrasounds. I guess if we have a genetic predisposition/vulnerability to cancers, multiple diagnosis would be unrelated to one another.
My recovery from RLL lobectomy is going pretty well. My path came back EGFR (19 mutation), tumor 3.7cm, VPI, adenocarcinoma. My oncologist is of course talking about 3years on osimertinib and possibly chemo. I meet with the surgeon and oncologist on the 22nd. So glad to find this group. Any other sites for connecting with others?

@artistrose Thank you for replying. It helps to not feel so alone. I’m in Redding and UC Davis seems easier to get to than Stanford or UC San Francisco. ❤️

@bdurel - I think that's an excellent choice. I bet it will feel nice and cool this summer, too. for me, it was traumatic having my long hair come out. if I had known I would lose so much hair, I would have cut it shorter preemptively. fingers crossed you'll love your new style and that you won't lose any hair.

@mamajite
I just read this. I had long red curly hair my whole adult life. 40 years. I got Taxol/Carboplatin and my Medical oncologist suggest i just cut my haor. Cold capping does not always work. Easy for others to say that. I had asked after hoe many infusions would my hair would fall out. I had 12rounds, for 12 weeks. The 2nd week i had my hair cut to my shoulders. One week later I asked my sister to do very short. I had 2 wigs. One i just saw picture on Facebook and it looked good. Many people thought i cut my hair. I WORE HATS, IT WAS COVID TIME AND I went to headcovers.com and bought rosette hats. Beanie caps. It looks 2 years about for my hair to hit my shoulders.
Ha in Sept 2023 i was diagnosed with MDS. My hematology oncologist said i would not lose my haor. HA HA. My nurses there said yes, you will. I had a bone marrow transplant and the chemo was melphalan. For just a minute i ask God if he was kidding. Lose my hair twice? Yep, I did, but for fun, a nurse said to me 26 days past transplant i may not have red hair because of my donor's blood cells. Ha! 2 years after it is red curly to my shoulders.