Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi

Hi there. I know of Mayo Clinic Connect because I'm on the PMR group. Diagnosed with lung cancer after a CT scan with contrast a week ago so I'm early on. PET scan and biopsy to follow, but that all takes time. Thought I'd get started here. I'll be reading, and I'm sure I'll have more to add in the future. Thanks for all that you do. Kathy

Oh gosh, @kmeikle1, I'm just catching up with this post. I'm sorry to hear that you have lung cancer to add to your polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).

Kathy, have you had the PET scan and biospy in the meantime? How are you doing?

Good morning Kathy and welcome to the Lung Cancer group. With PMR you certainly don't need one more thing, do you? I was a heavy smoker and was not surprised at the news. However, no matter if you have suspicions or not I was definitely shocked at hearing those words. How are you dealing with this?

You do have a head start in being familiar with medical care and illness. This will help you with your journey. Two possible next steps will be a PET scan and a biopsy. Biopsies aren't always needed nor advised in some cases and there are varied reasons for this. In the 6 lung cancers that I have had, I've only had 1 biopsy as a tool for diagnosis. And I am very thankful for the caution taken with this.

But PET scans are a wonderful tool for confirming cancer suspicion. Be prepared to spend some time at the hospital when you have a PET. There is a lot of protocol surrounding the injection and wait time (usually an hour or so) paperwork, etc. You might have already had one for other reasons so this might be a moot point.

Do you have dates set for the PET scan as yet?

@colleenyoung Hi Colleen, thanks for checking in. I did have my PET scan and my biopsy is scheduled 9/28. The PET clearly showed the large lung mass and other places lit up as well. I hope to know more the week following my biopsy. Emotionally, I'm doing well. My faith provides a lot of peace. I am dealing with undiagnosed pain around my mid-section that interferes with sleep. Annoying but I guess it goes with the territory. I'll keep in touch. Kathy

@merpreb Hi Merry. I suppose I was shocked too. I had a persistent cough for months but assumed that was allergies. I do have a lot of peace, but I'm dealing with some pain issues and that's not fun. I did have a PET scan which showed the large lung mass and other areas of interest 🙂 I'll have a biopsy of my lung 9/28. Six lung cancers? You've earned your place as a mentor! I appreciate you checking in and establishing a dialogue. Thanks, Kathy

Hello, my name is Sheri Helseth from Fresno. Just got told after biopsy I have lung cancer and am having an MRI on Friday and next week Pet scan, then Oct 10 the results

Welcome to the lung cancer group, Sheri. Did you have suspicions of lung cancer? It's quite a shock to be told this, even if it's out of the blue. It kind of knocks you off your feet, right? Well, let me help you up. Monday I'll be celebrating 25 years of surviving lung cancer. I'll be glad to help you all I can.

You have now entered the world of cancer tests, lab tests, blood tests, and anything that they can find to test. But it will all help with deciding, with you, what kind of cancer you have and the best way to treat it.

Do you have the results of the biopsy yet? Have your doctors told you anything else or answered your questions?

They don’t want to tell me anything until after the next 2 tests are done however all results of test are on the web through a MyChart app. Of course I don’t understand a lot so I have to research the terms. I don’t see that they ran geo testing on the biopsy and that concerns me after reading through answers on this page. That’s one of the questions I’m going to ask on Oct 10th when I go for my results. I know from the results I have adenocarcinoma.

Looks bad

Waiting for results and appointments is so difficult. It’s likely that a lot is happening during this time, even though it feels like nothing is happening. The docs are coordinating and lab tests are being completed. The MRI and PET will be help to know if the cancer is contained to the lung. And the biopsy tissue is likely being tested to see exactly what type of cancer it is, and if it is expected to be responsive to certain therapies.
Hopefully they have good options for you at your next appointment! Take care, hang in there, Lisa