Nancy, I’m 78. Robotic surgery went very well. I have a few small - 1 inch or so - incisions in my side and one slightly bigger where the chest tube was. I had a segment of my right lung removed - not an entire lobe - and my breathing is fine. I am coughing, which I think is not unusual, and my
ribs in front are tender, but I’m doing well. I walked 5 miles one day last week - 3 weeks after surgery. I had a small nodule, so oncologist and thoracic surgeon agreed surgery was the best course. I start chemo next week. My Stage is 1b, so I was lucky. My best wishes to you.

Hi Nancy- I just wanted to let you know that I am 3 1/2 weeks post op after my LUL segmentectomy and a lingular wedge for adenocarcinoma. My surgeon used the Robotic assisted method. It is easier and faster to recover from. I also read a lot about these surgeries and scared the heck out of me. I thought I was going to be in horrible pain, in bed, etc. I was also afraid of the same thing, not being able to breathe. Neither case was true! They had me up walking the second day, still with chest tube in and catheter! Moving afterward is the key. If your not very mobile now, get moving if possible. Use an inspirometer, lung exerciser. My pulmonologist told me to double what I was walking to exercise my lungs and heart.
But, for a different choice, my Aunt who was 77 at the time, had the SBRT for hers, which was in the lower lung. She said it was so easy! 5 days at 30 minutes a day, and done. She is now 82, and all of her CT and PET scans have been clear since. What my surgeon told me was that if you can have surgery to get it out, you should do it. The reason being, if another one comes up later, you may not be able to have surgery at that time because of lung function or heart condition. Hopefully this will help you.
Best wishes, Cindy

@mayocid1 Hi, Nancy! 5 years ago, I was diagnosed as a 2b. The local surgeon wanted to do a lobectomy and said I would be in the hospital for a week, with the first 2 nights in ICU. That sounded extreme since we had been following since before it was big enough to biopsy, so we sought an opinion at Mayo. A gifted surgeon said with my existing COPD that he did not want to take out that much lung. He recommended removing the wedge with the cancer and the 2 wedges around it. They went in through the back with minimal rib involvement. They had me up walking the first night and out in 4 days. It did spread to one lymph node, so I returned for 4 chemo treatments. And this week I returned for my 5-year check-up, where I remain clear! Yippee!!
The only issue I had with my lung deflating was during the initial biopsy at my local hospital where my lung partially collapsed. Since you are still not comfortable with your choices, would you consider getting another opinion? If travelling to one of the biggies isn't realistic, can you check to see which is the best facility in your area? It wasn't until this happened to me that I saw how dismal the hospital connected to my regular doctor was with lung cancer compared to another nearby hospital. And, how much more expensive it would have cost for the stay they had planned!