Sorry you're going through this. I know it's scary to have the tumor and to have breathing issues. 6.5 cm is about 2.5 inches. Every situation is different. Not sure what kind of lung cancer you have or where exactly the tumor is located in the lung.

I have lung NETS (neuroendocrine cancer) and had a 2.6 cm (1 inch) tumor destroyed using microwave ablation -- not open surgery. It took two hours and I was awake. It was successful in destroying the tumor. You need expertise for sure. I went to UCLA because that's only an hour away from me. The nurse told me people travel from all over the country to see this interventional radiologist. He's wonderful. I'm sure Mayo Clinic has experts as well and possibly the closest teaching hospital to you. I wasn't a candidate for surgery because I have 50 more tumors sprinkled across both lungs that are mostly around 1 cm and was told any that hit 2 cm, we'll do ablation with those as well. Mine are slow growing.

I know another lung NETS patient who had a single but faster growing lung tumor that was 3" when they did surgery. They removed I believe only one lobe of her lung that had the tumor. No other treatment. That was 10 years ago and she had not had any other issues. She can breathe just fine. Again, that is neuroendocrine lung cancer which is more rare, not your common lung cancer. NETS is treated differently, but the important part here is that they surgically removed a 3" tumor. I believe she had that done at Cedars Sanai in Los Angeles.

Aside from that, I can say that I've known many people with various types of cancer that had tumors too large for surgery so they had chemo and/or radiation treatments to shrink the tumor down to a size that was operable. My aunt just went through that process with a pancreatic tumor and now she's in remission. I believe that's a pretty common scenario. Hopefully, one of these two scenarios will work for you.

Lastly, don't hesitate to get a second opinion if you're at all uncomfortable with what you're hearing and maybe even if you are comfortable. I just watched an lung NETS oncologist give a presentation today and he said he's a big believer in second opinions to be sure everyone is on the same page. He gives second opinions all the time. Any good doctor will have no issues with you seeking a second opinion and insurance will pay for it. I know you said this is growing fast and it's hard to breathe so time is of the essence. Be your own advocate and push hard for timely appointments. Be the squeaky wheel. I hope the oncologist presents you with a good plan on Monday. Stay hopeful. Please keep us posted.

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