Mass on lung and lymph nodes

Maureen,
I keep falling asleep typing this! My day got worse and worse! I got more and more sick like the fllu? I am so tired! I start the IV ironning, so I hope I'll feel alot better since my numbers are so low!!!! I've never had a pet scan. They found the cancer in colon early before it would spread or anything, but it's just like a a CT SCAN except they put the liquid in the veins which will bind to cancer and light it up on the SCAN. I hope you had a better rest of your day!!
I am so tired I am going to bed! I hope I feel better after getting that iron tomorrow!!
Angela

All set for your PET scan tomorrow? Do you have to restrict your diet today?

Hi Angela - I don’t know why I didn’t get notification of your post until just now. I was hoping you were ok! I’m sorry to hear you’re not feeling well 😌. I became anemic many years ago and it was pretty bad. Could barely get out of bed I took iron supplements and I remember my dr telling me to eat iron fortified cereals. This was like 25 years ago. . I know you’re getting your Pet scan tomorrow- let me know how it goes. Mine is Saturday followed by biopsy Monday. By middle of next week I should know all there is to know. Just terrified to hear it. I’m already 99.9 sure it’s cancer but don’t know if it’s spread or the stage. One thing for sure is I don’t want to hear the prognosis- how much time left. I would have a nervous breakdown. I’m still trying to remain hopeful for the both of us . ❤️🙏

Angela - I didn’t get notification if this message either! I’ll have to find out what’s going on with that . Usually I get an email notification. I get what you’re saying about your moms reaction because my husband same way, I find myself trying to hide my sadness from him sometimes. I am religious and do believe in the afterlife. I was just talking to my sister today about it. My mom died on thanksgiving day a year ago - 2021. My sister was with her when she passed. She said my mom was talking to her father (my grandfather) and saying no she couldn’t go. She was speaking in Flemish - her first language - her parents were from Belgium. Then at one point near the end she opened her eyes and looked up toward the ceiling and pointed upwards. My sister asked her what she was looking at but she didn’t respond. We believe that angels were present. I know of other stories too. My first husband name was Jim. A few years after he died his grandma died and as she was transitioning, she was talking to Jim like he was in the room. So sad 😞 I almost started bawling talking about my mom but my sister assured me it’s a good thing not a bad thing. But like you, I don’t want to go yet either. I’ve been “getting my affairs in order” and it’s adding to my stress.

Hi Angela, I spoke to the communication director for this blog and apparently you need to make sure you hit review and reply to any of my posts to make sure I get your message notifications. She also said we should be able to utilize private messaging in next few days. We”ll have to check that out. Best of luck tomorrow with scan ❤️🙏

@bellsina71 @detroitmom23
Please keep the group posted on what you both find. These first few weeks of diagnosis are so difficult. It sounds like each of you are on the right track to finding the info that you need. IF it is cancer, know that there have been huge advances in treatment in recent years, and there are always more advances coming. Any prognosis statistics that you hear are lagging and outdated by the time they are published. There are many different types of lung cancer, and many of us are living fairly normal lives with the diagnosis. There is real science-based HOPE!
Wishing for a bit of peace for each of you over the next couple of weeks, take care, it’s never easy. Lisa

Hi Lisa, thank you so much for the words of encouragement. Do you have lung cancer? What has your experience been? Yes, going through these diagnostic tests and getting the results is terrifying. I think that @bellsina71 would agree. I’ll have my PET scan and biopsy done within the next 3 days. Do doctors give prognosis? I really don’t want to hear it. I’ll fall apart.

I know it’s hard, there will be support to help you through if needed. In the early days I tried to focus on what I knew TODAY and what I could do about it, if anything. That helped me to stay focused. IF it is cancer your doctors will generally only talk prognosis when a patient is ready or asks about it. Some won’t ever make a prediction. No one has an expiration date stamped on their forehead. 🙂 Myself included!
I do have stage IV lung cancer with metastasis to the lymph nodes and liver. I was diagnosed almost three years ago, and I’m doing great. I just finished a 3 mile snowshoe. I’m on a high-tech targeted therapy that stops the cancer from growing, hopefully for years to come. I know that eventually my cancer will find a way around the treatment, but until then I have a good quality of life, and I try to do what makes me happy each day.
Take care, hugs, Lisa

Thank you for sharing your story. It gives me hope. I’ve had this dreadful feeling that I’ve reached the end of life 😞. I’m very very happy for you that you’ve done so well . Is your targeted therapy radiation? How often?
Again it gives me some kind of hope ❤️🙏.

Thanks! There really is hope in the lung cancer world, there are so many new treatment options. Some are very specialized to the type of cancer. My cancer is caused by a cellular mutation (called ALK Positive). It’s very complex, and I’m glad there are really smart scientists in the world that understand it all! The targeted therapy is an oral medication that I take twice a day. It’s reduced the tumors and kept new ones from forming. I have CT scans every four months, and an MRI once a year, just to keep a close eye on things. It is very manageable.
Good luck next week, 🤞🏻🙏