Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi

Hello, just introducing myself, I am of Flemish-Belgian origin, emigrated 5 years ago to Phoenix, AZ, having met the Love of my Life here in 2006, and enjoying a LTT (Living Transatlantic Together) relationship of 11 years. Flying in from Brussels, went through airport cattlewalk fences of Immigration 35 times. Permanent resident now, Citizenship in the pipeline. In December, suspicious nodules and lesions were found in my right lung after an unexpected X-ray. Which turned out to be a “happy accident”, as I had no complaints at all. Further CT-scans, MRI and Biopsy revealed a 25 by 21 mm tumor in my middle right lung. Whilst my cancer was originally diagnosed as stage 2B, results of biopsy later changed to 3A, as a little lymph node was also discovered right next to the “mother tumor”, as my doctor described it. Testing just showed that, after 2 of my 3 rounds of chemo+immunotherapy, tumor already shrank to 18 by 10 mm. Cancerous Lymph node found resolved. No further metastasis since Biopsy. Pretty good news, I was blown away with happiness. Now awaiting surgery end April. Doctors said it would probably and most likely be “the end of my treatment”. Needless to say, I will have regular testing afterwards. Still need clearance from cardiology for surgery though. Having had 2 successful heart ablations 6 and 7 years ago, for irregular heartbeat’s atrial fibrillation, there is some concern. Hope approval will follow. Getting pretty nervous now about surgery, as removal of the middle lobe of my right lung could become a very likely scenario. Body 71 Years old but mind and soul is 16 years young. So, worried about length of healing process, recovery time, pain, most common side effects, etc…And best way to handle them…I am very happy about getting excellent info from my team of top-notch Doctors, but would like to learn from patient experiences as well…Any thoughts or advice are very welcome !!! Wally.

Just met with oncology, here’s hope amidst the diagnosis. I have a rare cancer, mesothelioma. It has been determined to be treatable, meaning battling this terminal, incurable, aggressive disease from now on, It has a 40-50 year latency, so shows up quietly at first in your later years . All caused by asbestos from earlier years, it is incurable, but I’m to start immunotherapy soon to keep it in check. If this is your experience, be advised not to despair, there is hope for quality and quantity of life!

@cornelius775, Wally, welcome. You're a lovely writer. Is English really your second (or third) language?

It's not uncommon for lung cancer to be discovered during imaging studies for something else. I'm glad they found it earlier as a result.

Mayo Clinic offers a program to address heart problems associated with cancer treatment called cardio-oncology or for people who have a pre-existing heart condition when diagnosed with cancer. The Cardio-Oncology Clinic (https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/cardio-oncology-clinic/overview/ovc-20442193) evaluates people prior to cancer treatment and patients who have experienced side effects due their treatment, and can help evaluate treatment when you have both cancer and heart conditions.

Do you have access to a similar cardio-oncology program? What type of lung surgery will you have in April?

Thanks for the cute compliment, Colleen. USA English has kind of replaced my Flemish Mother tongue as my first language during the last 5 years in my new “nest” in the Valley of the Sun. Due to extensive traveling the North America’s, English-speaking bill-paying corporate life job, and a second life as an international ceramic teacher and writer. I even dream and curse in Shakespeare’s language. My initial diagnosis started when a little metal screw ended up on my tongue during a dental procedure, and went down. The doctor was worried it had gone down the wrong pipe, and ordered X-ray to examine. That’s when some suspicious nodules were discovered, leading to other exams and biopsy. Thanks for your interesting link to the Mayo program. I am in a very similar cardio-oncology program, supported by an efficient, wonderful, and supportive multidisciplinary team. I am so happy not to have ended up in the old-style “linear system” where appointments with individual Doctors can be many weeks apart, reports take 10 days or more, and these Doctors usually do not have the same kind of direct contact. Partly because of finances, one of my close friends had to go down that path, and did not survive her 6th month. Recently a famous Oncologist voiced the unbelievable statistics that the average time in between Diagnose and Treatment of Lung Cancer would be 5 months. Not so for Mayo and other high-end Cancer hospitals where same average is counted in weeks. Hallucinating and so unworthy of the rich world we live in, where top-notch, affordable and universal healthcare should be the standard. The exact details of my surgery planning are yet still uncertain. Depending on evaluation 3 weeks after my 3rd chemo, cardiology results, and any possible complications or counter-indications that might still show up., out of the blue. But surgery should start with robotics. Exploratory first, removal of whatever can be resolved, switching to cutting if necessary, whether old-style open chest or not….Will only know how invasive it was after waking up in the recovery room. However, I do have absolute and total confidence in my surgeon and his crew. For any cancer patient, I think the feeling to be in the “best hands possible ” is so very important and crucial. And yes, despite all the fear, anguish, anxiety, tears and uncertainty, I feel so very happy and grateful to be able to say so. Hence, I’m taking this moment to look forward now, and smile. My thoughts go to all those who are fighting the same battle as I am.

Facing an incurable diagnosis is hard, many of us are fortunate enough to go on living a full life for many years. It seems you have a good outlook, and are looking forward, which is so important. Hopefully your family and support system sees that too. You are in good hands, and doing everything that you can right now. Wishing you the best with the treatment, keep us posted, Lisa

Hi @selin, what type of lung cancer do you have? How are you doing with chemotherapy and radiation?

Hello my partner has small cell lung cancer and she had surgery. She is going through the healing process. It was told to us that the tumor and the one lymph node was removed. Now she has to go through Chemo, about how long will she possibly have therapy considering it did not spread to any other lymph node. Will she even have a chance to enjoy life again? i miss her smile i think i need the counseling more than she does. Please I hope someone can help with these questions.

Sorry my name is Kira and my partner has cancer and i am trying to be the strong one

My husband of almost 50 years (omg, we are old, lol) was diagnosed with stage 4a (both lungs, nowhere else) in Sept., began treatment in Nov for NSCL adenocarcinoma with carboplatin, pemetrexed and keytruda. Those he received for 3 rounds. Then just the pemetrexed & keytruda. After an undiagnosed inflammation ( that was thought to be caused by keytruda) that did not respond to massive steroids and an 8 week hiatus from infusions he has declined physically in that his breathing is labored and his fatigue forces him to sleep up to 15 hours a day. Today, he begins back on chem & immunotherapy, has ordered an oxygen evaluation and there you have it.
Before diagnosis he was an active sailor, we traveled the world, rehabbed our home etc. We considered going to PHX where we lived at one time )and son #1 is still there) for treatment at Mayo. There’s also a Mayo clinic about 5-6 hours away from us currently. He receives treatment locally and Moffitt Cancer Hospital in Tampa is also monitoring his “progress”.

Hi Kira @kiraleesingleton43, Welcome to Connect. Each case of lung cancer can be a bit different, so her doctors may be able to offer the best information on the extent of her treatment. It sounds like they identified the cancer at an early stage, and that's a great first step! There are many people with early (and late) stage lung cancer that can recover well, enjoy life, and smile again. There have been many advances over the past decade, and there is much hope. Take care of yourself too, she needs your support, but don't be afraid to be vulnerable along with her too. It's a difficult time, but there is light and hope. Take care, Lisa