My husband had lobectomy surgery: Mayo was wonderful!

@corgimenow, thank you for this lovely testimony to the care you received at Mayo Clinic. So good to hear that both you and Michael are doing well.

You've offered a couple of tips regarding good food and plenty of rest. I'd love to hear what other tips you might offer fellow members who may be preparing for lobectomy. What do you or Michael wish you had known?

I think one thing might be understanding the very precise schedule of care we were led through on the day of surgery it was so clear and well communicated. Receiving text updates as to his progress was awesome. I didn’t know beforehand that I would be with him until they took him off to the OR. Simple things like the hospital wasn’t freezing cold and I was comfortable- I had brought hats and sweaters because friends at other hospitals had been so cold. Listening to and trusting the skills of the surgeon and the team is the best. This is their expertise and they are just wonderful. Knowing about the “team” approach at Mayo and how that orchestrated our experience is key. The staff who care for him after surgery was wonderful. Good at communicating and instructing about what was next or what to expect. We didn’t have complications but I’m sure that would have been handled right as well. We are so grateful we could make this choice and since we live here in the Midwest and always had the idea of Mayo if we needed this kind of care we are so thankful that Mike is doing great.

Also Mike has already been out walking daily more than 2 miles and today we did a short bike ride. The type of surgery VATS really makes this type of recovery possible. Initially or until after the surgery we were really more frightened of surgery and how life would change. We both understand better now that the thing to be scared about is Cancer and finding the best way to a cure is the right way to go about it.

Best wishes. I had VATs at Mayo 6 months ago and have the same pillow!!!! I was off all pain medication in 5 days.
Don't forget the breathing/coughing exercises!!!

Hi there; my name is Tanja, if you do not mind, can I ask you a couple questions. I have been diagnosed with lung cancer on my left lower lobe. Very slow growing, but it has in invaded the pleural space and growing towards my spine. I am currently living in Ontario Canada at Princess Margaret Hospital, which is a great hospital. The problem is my team of doctors do not seem to be on the same page and now I'm at the point where I feel I need a second opinion. First was surgery, the whole lung, now not. Then radiation, now not. Had chemo, did nothing, but can't do anymore according to my doctors. No one is giving me answers, almost as if they are just coasting. 6 months ago they gave me a different song and dance. Did your husband have just a part of his lung removed or the whole lung? What tests did they do prior to surgery? What are the doctors like? Thank you

Tanja (Canadian girl)

Hi Tanja,
He had the upper R lobe removed. Not the whole lung. He had ground glass nodules that they watched for a number of years with his regular general practitioner Dr. Then one of those grew enough that the local Dr recommended a biopsy. It was a very small mass but turned out to be stage 1 cancer. He self referred to Mayo since it it’s just 6 hours away from us. We were in the system and had phone and video conversations fairly quickly and the decision for the lobectomy was to offer him as much of a cure as possible. They will continue to prescribe CT scans, the first of which is happening sooner than we expected due to something they thought was concerning on his 5 week post op ex ray.
All the people we wired with were great. There are some issues with communication. The patient portal doesn’t work that great for him. Also the order for the CT scan has to go to the local Dr and there is some kind of drop out in that chain as well. I think we have to tell him to watch for it so he can let us know he got it and alert us to schedule the appointment? Not sure on that part.
Anyway there are many people on this chat who might have more info too. I wish you well and hopefully you can get some answers soon.
Mara

I also had my lung surgery at Mayo and everyone was wonderful, It was done
Roboter.

Thank you Mara. Everything is so scary, and I am getting different versions from different doctors, especially my oncologist, she has no bed side manners. I'm Canadian, and have heard wonderful things about the Mayo clinic, not that Princess Margaret Hospital is not a great hospital, I just think it's time for a second opinion. Fingers crossed I get one. Thanks for opening up about your husbands experience.

Tanja

@tmauko, @corgimenow Hi Tanja. I only just now saw this and hopefully by now you have already gotten a second opinion. If not, I wanted to make sure you stayed the course. I am a month away from my 4 1/2-year check and that was the best move I made. I had been getting regular scans due to a couple of suspicious spots. After 3 1/2 years one was gone but the other was big enough to biopsy and was cancer. I was glad I was early in catching it until the local surgeon said he would remove half of my left lung, and I would be in the hospital for a week, with the first 2 nights in the ICU. Wow- I didn't see that coming! We decided with Mayo being a little under 8 hours away to see what they said. That surgeon said with my having some COPD he did not want to be that drastic and would opt for the lobectomy. I would be in the hospital for 4 days, and up walking the first night. And I was! The only hitch, if you could call it that, is that the cancer did spread to one of the 4 lymph nodes, which he had said in advance would cause the recommendation to be a few follow-up chemo appointments after a few weeks of recovery. We could have had the script sent locally but we asked to come back because we felt so much more confident with them. I now try to recommend to anyone I know to get a second opinion on any medical issue of importance. So often we will do it for home improvements but not our own health. I wish insurance required it, so no one missed the opportunity.
@corgimenow I'm glad Michael is doing well and that they are still giving out the pink pillows. I called mine Pinky, and it was invaluable those early weeks with helping me cough and get things moving. My surgery went in through my back and I had quite a bit of pain when coughing in the beginning and Pinky really helped!

Bless you for sharing your experience at Mayo, was that Mayo Minnesota?
Donna