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Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi
Lung Cancer | Last Active: Jan 22 8:18am | Replies (1013)Comment receiving replies
Hi Vic:
Yes, I am using our office scheduling and prioritize action items for each day. It works out really well. The problem is the list keeps growing. I have to study for my drivers license renewal. I think this is going to be the last time I renew it. California has what started out to be a pamphlet drivers manual to well over 120 pages now. Why do things have to be so danged verbose? 🙂 Computer is supposed to save time, etc. and now it is the exact opposite. I am totally frustrated. I just can't seem to calm down my anxieties.
I have been on Plavix about 1-1/2 years now. It is definitely helping me. I feel so much better on it. Yes, I bleed easily, but that's the price. My arteries have
severe calcification.
I just want to get all this done and finally retire to my gardens. I love to garden. I did manage to get some tomatoes, peppers, onions planted and have seeds for much, much more.
My Cardiologist has called in another Loma Linda doctor, a Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery with Mayo Clinic background. I have yet to see him, but have an in-person appointment on August 16.
I don't know what to expect. I don't know this field at all so people talk to me using their vernacular and none of it makes sense to me. The young folks talk so darn fast, I can't understand them, so I miss a lot of what they are trying to say. I ask them to slow down and to speak clearly, and they get insulted. I can't win. I feel like people just want to get rid of us old folks.
I try to research on the net to find answers to some of my questions. There is one type of cancers therapy that seems to draw a lot of attention ... chemo. What is it? Why is it bad? Why should I avoid it at all costs?
Vic, are you a moderator? How are you feeling? How long since you've been diagnosed? What are your issues?
Thank you for spending time with me. I truly appreciate it.
Elizabeth
Replies to "Hi Vic: Yes, I am using our office scheduling and prioritize action items for each day...."
About your driver's license. I went through that 2 years ago when I moved back to Minnesota. Thank God for multiple choice questions! Before, I was living in Florida for ten years and they actually let you renew online with no exam. They used the same picture from the earlier license so one is a lot younger in the picture if one is stopped by the Police!!!!
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Hi again Elizabeth. When it comes to knowing anything, we all start out not knowing. Knowledge is built up over time by working at it. You will become accustomed to the terminology. 1) Looking at CT scan reports, one finds a lot of good terminology to google. I am a big proponent of doing that. 2)When it comes to treatment, it will depend on the kind of cancer one has and if it is a primary lung cancer - that is the cancer originated in the lung not somewhere else. 3) Another factor in treatment is how best to preserve lung tissue for quality of life. 4) Treatment ranges from surgery to targeted radiation to immunotherapy to chemotherapy. Merry knows a lot about radiation. If they remove a cancer, they can do gene analysis and then possibly apply a drug therapy. Chemotherapy is what everyone hears about as it has been around a long time. I read that it is more for when cancer is also suspected outside the lung, but I am no expert.
So far, I have only had surgery for the largest mass. They cut it out wedge resection (smaller piece removed) and they did not take the whole lobe-lungs have total five lobes) and I did not need any other treatment since the cancer was stage 1b, lymph nodes negative, and cancer only in the lung (my PET scan did not show any activity outside my lungs). That was almost 7 months ago. I have at least four other part solid nodules/ground glass, so I am doing CT scans every three months. Surgery is a potential option for the next nodule, but I will need to finish my Plavix therapy for my stent first (duration of at least 6 months). On the last scan things were stable. I also could choose radiation. Even the doctors have to think about whether to be aggressive or not with multifocal lung cancer. It is a complex cancer. I don't get too excited as long as it can be managed. They did not do radiation yet, because I would need to have a needle biopsy of the targeted nodule. It was not worth the risk of a collapsed lung.
I don't feel sick, I do have limits on exertion as my blood oxygen levels go below 88 at a certain point.
I think if you are doing gardening and working a lot on the computer that the doctors will be pleased. Physical and mental exercise is the key to staying fit. Don't be impressed with fast-talking people - it is not a sign of knowledge. Just keep digging and it all eventually will mean something to you. I feel like I am in medical school sometimes. P.S. I love my computer - I have found so many things to do with it. It is so efficient.