Second opinion?

Hello and welcome- We all have felt this way. I am still so angry at myself and I quit just before my first cancer 21 years ago this October. Hang there. What options have been givin to you?

Welcome to Connect .
Scary, I know. I am a 10 year lung cancer survivor. Proper diagnosis & Proper treatment are what saved my life. See a pulmonologist, who works with a thorasic and oncologist team, preferably at a research hospital, Lung cancer diagnosis and treatment has come light years in the past 5 years. There is hope with quality of life. Get the second opinion.
Let’s stay connected.

My husband and I are both ex-smokers and yes, we regret ever starting that habit but you've quit now and you are not alone in your regrets on this one but forgive yourself and move forward with care now and don't look back. My husband has COPD from smoking and a nodule in his lung which is cancer and cancer in a lymph node near the lung. His cancer is undiagnosed at this point. Possibly lung or possibly something else that has spread to the lung. We're still working on that diagnosis. There are multiple things that can cause lung nodules. Have your doctors suggested a biopsy of the growth? Or do they feel it might be something else? It is possible to get issues in the lung that come and go. If you're uncomfortable you should get a second opinion. My husband and I just went for a second opinion and although the second set of doctors at a different hospital can't determine the cancer type either, at least we know there is consistency between two institutions. It's hard not knowing but..............we are trying everything to get the answers we need to move forward. The worry from now knowing is too hard. Get all the information you can.

I commend you for seeking another opinion! Is it at a well known lung cancer & research center?
Education is desperately lagging with lung cancer! Yes, we all know smoking is bad and Yes nicotine is the most addictive substance on the planet! It takes 7-9 attempts with huge support to Quit! Congratulation on Quiting!
I know the stigma and unfair blame that hits lung cancer victims and doctors and research...I am a 10 year 6 month lung cancer survivor! And the kicker is, I never smoked!
Lung Cancer diagnosis & therapies have seen HUGE changes in the past 5 years! Please please seek Proper medical Diagnosis & Treatment.
Isn’t it truly about Quality Of Life?

Thanks for your reply! Support and sharing your story is needed as much as proper diagnosis and proper treatment of any disease.
With voices talking about lung cancer we can help sooth the pain and anger associated with unfair blame and stigma!
I referred a woman to my amazing lung cancer team. She was from a foreign country that told her when, where and what to do in her country for lung cancer!
Doctors at Mayo discovered her lung cancer was from mutated genes, but it took two weeks to properly diagnosis her lung cancer.
The proper treatment would have given a chance for a Quality of Life!
Out of pressure and fear she returned to her foreign country and started radiation and chemo, that was not a proper treatment plan for her lung cancer. She suffered greatly and died in three months.
Our entire world needs an education about proper diagnosis and proper treatment
for lung cancer. I have a long list of women, men and even children who have a good quality of life because of proper treatments for their lung cancer! Be a voice!

Thanks for your post 'lwortman'. The problem my husband is facing that even with the second opinion (and yes it is with our largest cancer hospital and teaching center in Colorado) is that they still don't actually know it's a lung cancer. We continue on the journey to determine the cancer type. At present it's a 'cancer of unknown primary' or CUP. It may be lung cancer, it may be something else.....the pathology isn't clear and his symptoms are not indicative of any certain type. It's challenging to say the least. We soldier on now with more tests.