Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi

Still here and on a three month check schedule. All a bit crazy. In the last year or so, new growth, left lung, currently stable, RT, now watching 2 new spots. Also thyroid/adrenal spots. In the meantime, gardening, hiking, biking, kayaking and thankful for all of it.
Seriously, thinking of moving to Minnesota, can't downsize where I am and 9 hr drive each way every 3 months is getting old. Next trip is the end of September. Glad to see some people here, and hi to anyone new!!

Hi @ranc, I'm sorry to hear that you are doing so poorly and with little support from your doctor. Might you have access to hospice or palliative care? Do you live alone?

Hello- Was there a mention of what the spots might be on your thyroid or adrenal glands? I am so glad that you have come back to the group.

I have my CT scan tomorrow to see if my 7th lesion is my 6th cancer! It changed 6 months ago. grr. It's been 5 years since my last.

xxoo

Wow, wish you only good things on the scan!!! They checked one nodule on thyroid and consider them stable. Adrenal is new to me, it just said probably benign. Sending energy!!!

Merry, Prayers for you for you ct scan. Please keep us posted.

I had a ct yesterday and whatever tumors there are on my liver are either dead or dying with the y90 treatments. No new tumors thank God.

Diane

Merry...praying your scan is "unremarkable" ..... lesion not changed..please let us all know. xoxo

Merry, what happened with your scan?? Thinking of you and wishing good outcome 😘

Meka- Just found out from my team. There are two lesions in my middle right lobe. There is one that is pure gg and they won't touch it. But the larger or the two has changed so my radiologist wants me to have a PET scan and a lung function test. I have had a lot of tests in my life, like most of us have. A lung pulmonary test is a nuisance, it's uncomfortable, long, and if there is another word that one too.

If my lungs are good for SBRT then I will have that. (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/proton-beam-therapy/)

I have asked for the tests to be put off until late August as I have a foot operation that has to be done. I've had two already and this should fix everything. Otherwise, I won't be able to exercise and help myself to heal. Also since I have multifocal adenocarcinoma the lesions are very slow growing. He agreed.

Thank you so much for asking!

Merry

Hello. My name is Elizabeth and I live in a community north of Yucca Valley, which is in the Mojave Desert, California. (Yes, it is very hot here.) I will be 79 in two weeks. My husband, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Ph.D., died in March 2022 from Aspirating Pneumonia, so I am now living alone with our Labrador Retriever. I am his Office Manager and heir, so it is my duty to close out his practice in Yucca Valley and take care of personal business. Finding help in the desert is almost impossible. For example, it took me three months to move charts, furniture, equipment, etc. to my home in my pickup truck. People just don't want to work any more.

So here I am, with no time to grieve for my husband, trying to help his distraught patients, continue with office procedures and take care of a home, the labrador, 14 chickens, and Bruce the goose.

To add to all of this, my Primary Care Doctor decided to run a CT Scan, which came back: "Impression:

1. Right upper lobe perihilar node with mildly irregular borders measuring 1.3 cm, of concern for malignancy. Recommend PET/CT correlation or biopsy.

2. Several foci of groundglass attenuation within the right lung area nonspecific."

The first thing I did was My Chart my Cardiologist and sent him the report. He immediately is referring me to a Loma Linda doctor specializing in this kind of problem with Mayo Clinic experience I had a heart attack with stent 1-1/2 years ago, am taking meds, and my cardiologist at Loma Linda is working with me to lower my blood pressure which is erratic. I have not seen the new doctor yet, as all of this has happened within the past few days.

My concern is that I have no relatives and am the "last one standing" in my family of origin. My only son died in 2013. and neighbors are few and pretty much in the same boat I am. If I have to go to the hospital for surgery on my lungs, will I be able to care for myself when I am released from the hospital?

From reading some of the comments made by others in the forums here, it appears that cancer is extremely painful. I have no pain at the moment, just a little fatigue from my constant working on closing my husband's practice. The question is: Will I be able to take care of myself?

I am very happy to have found this forum. I am an avid follower of Mayo Clinic's work.

Anyways, here I am, kinda groping in the dark as to how I will survive.

Elizabeth

Hello Elizabeth and welocm to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am sorry that you have to handle so much at once. It's a lot. I'm also dealing with a lot right now along with another cancerous lesion.

First off I will tell you that I have had lung cancer for 25 years and my only pain was recuperating from surgery. Not everyone experiences pain from cancer itself. And if you do need surgery then you will need help, at least for the first few days, or until you can stand without being dizzy and are off pain meds. You won't be able to lift anything heavy for a while., or drive.

I think that your best bet is to find a social worker at Loma Linda and see how their department recommends, or a religious organization. Is there a senior citizens organization near you?

I don't want to ask this, but have you considered downsizing everything and moving closer to your hopsital? Who will take care of the lab and Bruce, the goose?