They found a mass: How do you cope with anxiety and all the tests etc?
I was told last Wednesday I have a mass on right lung, going to doctor today for consult and I can not stop shaking what can you do for the anxiety level with this. not sure what a consult is or what is next all I can think of is this the last day of my normal life.
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@loula; @miriam57- The main concern about getting the vaccine is not whether it’s safe for people with cancer, but about how effective it will be, especially in people with weakened immune systems. Some cancer treatments like chemotherapy (chemo), radiation, stem cell or bone marrow transplant, or immunotherapy can affect the immune system, which might make the vaccine less effective.
Cancer patients were not part of the covid-19 vaccine trials.
Although there isn't specific information yet on how effective the vaccines might be in people being treated for cancer, it’s possible that the vaccines might not be as effective in people with weakened immune systems as compared to people with healthy immune systems. Despite this, exp
For patients who have just had a stem cell transplant or received CAR T-cell therapy, who are typically receiving immunosuppressive therapy, we recommend that they delay COVID-19 vaccination until at least 3 months after they’ve completed treatment. That’s based on data that [other] vaccines have had limited efficacy during periods when these patients are their most immunosuppressed.
The data are a little less clear for patients who are getting aggressive chemotherapy, but for those who are receiving more intensive treatment regimens—for example, those starting initial therapy for leukemia—we recommend that they delay vaccination until their cell counts recover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqip68uI6S8&ab_channel=MDAndersonCancerCenter
I hope that both of you have discussed your vaccination delay with your oncologist. Have you? WHat did they say?
Thank you for this info. It is line with all the research I have done as well.
had my 2nd chemo treatment when they started the keytruda I was doing okay but towards the end of it I started having very bad pain down both of my arms and then it was going across my chest they used my port for the first time I told them to start the steroid and then it went away the rest of the carbo/taxol went fine anyone have this happen to them?
@loula How frightening for you! The pain did go away after a short time, though? Something similar happened to me when I was receiving rituxan for my autoimmune disease. The nurses sent me off to the ER and I checked out fine and it never happened again. The doctor said it was an infusion reaction—the drug was going in too fast.
We’re you monitored by the nurses during this time?
Hello Becky
It was a very scary event, there was probably 4 inches of keytruda left and my sister was there, I said omg there is unbelievable pain going down both my arms I sat up from the bed and all of a sudden it starts going across my chest my sister looked out the door a flagged the nurse she said I should of told her sooner but it happened so quickly, I said give me the steroid injection now and it went away, but they never did a ekg or nothing. now I'm scared the 21st to have this again, it did not do that the 1st time when they used my arm this was the 1st time of using this port and I am not sure I care for this port. I will be talking to the doctor before I go for the treatment. your right it may have been on to high of drip. do you still take that drug ?
@loula I’m so sorry this happened. We’re you and your sister alone in a room? Make sure the doctor is aware before you get your next infusion! Also, if you are keeping a journal, write down the whole episode so you will remember exactly what happened
I was able to get 6 more infusions of rituxan after my reaction, but then it quit working for me. I had the nurses run the infusion slowly each time after I had the reaction and all went well.
Now, you want to just relax and not think about the incident. Just make sure the doctor knows about it and can give you a good explanation. Will you try to do this?
@loula Here is a symptom tracker that may be helpful. The infusion center may have similar things to use.
Also, ask the nurses what you can expect while you are getting the infusion. Remember, you’re a strong woman and you can advocate for yourself and be good at it!
Let me know how everything goes.
https://www.keytruda.com/static/pdf/symptomtracker.pdf
@loula- I think that sometimes the flow of the drip is too fast and the needle moves and the solution gets into your tissues. This does hurt like crazy. This happened to me last year for the first time when I had the contrast for my CT. It wasn't a comfortable thing at all. It hurt and my arm swelled.
Has this stopped for you now?
@loula good morning Cynde. With the rollout of the new Connect platform I feel like I have lost track of some people and some things so I was looking for your posts. I am so sorry that catching up meant hearing you had an incident with your treatment. You have gotten some real good suggestions for going forward. I would add that you tell the nurse you would like her to stick around until you’re sure that same incident isn’t repeated. There is such a high likelihood that it was a one time event but I understand your concern about a repeat. I truthfully don’t think it is necessarily related to the port but more likely has to do with rate of flow. I am hoping you are like so many of us, have a one time event and that is the end of it. Other than that incident, can you catch me up on how you have been feeling? Nancy
Thanks to all for the info. all is going good now. hopefully it was a one time problem, I do understand now that I do not have the energy that I use to have and that I need to stop kicking myself for trying to more than I should, I take a nap or just lay down and recoup. not only do I have cancer I am a lot older now and can not do what I use to at 20 yrs old! but thanks to everyone on this site you have made my disease a lot easier to deal with.
cynde