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Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi
Lung Cancer | Last Active: Jan 22 8:18am | Replies (1013)Comment receiving replies
I am having surgery in Jan 2024 for a 13 mm typical neuroendocrine tumor. Dr. said will probably remove 10% of left lung. I’m female, 77, walk 30 minutes minimum at the Y on indoor track 5x a week, do another 30 minutes on rowing or elliptical. I was told it will be robotic and probably discharged two days after surgery. I live alone and am considering employing a caregiver. I understand we are all different, but am interested in a guesstimate of how many days I may need someone to stay with me.
Replies to "I am having surgery in Jan 2024 for a 13 mm typical neuroendocrine tumor. Dr. said..."
I’m not sure if my experience is typical but I really didn’t need any assistance at home. A friend and fellow nurse insisted on staying for a few days but she actually had to do very little. I had the surgery on 11/14 and was able to host Thanksgiving. (Someone else did the turkey but I was able
to do sides. ) I needed assistance with errands, appointments as not able to drive until first post-op visit.
I was 72 at time of surgery and otherwise healthy.
Jessica, you got some helpful responses from @pb50 and @spikeb1. You may also appreciate the tips shared in this related discussion:
- Robotic Lobectomy: What can I expect? What is recovery like https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hello-from-the-bluegrass-state/
At Mayo Clinic, they give lung surgery patients lung pillows that are really helpful. Micheal, @corgimenow's husband is showing off his pillow post surgery here:
- My husband had lobectomy surgery: Mayo was wonderful! https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-was-wonderful/
@jessicamc- I'm unsure if you received my message as my computer acted up when I hit print- of course. I meant to share these links with you.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/neuroendocrine-tumors/symptoms-causes/syc-20354132https://www.netcancerawareness.org/what-is-net-cancer/To answer your question concerning home care, I bet you would need someone to help out for a week. You can then decide if you want to keep that person on or not.
One of my closest friends just celebrated her fifth anniversary from surgery. She is our age and doing extremely well. She takes care of a needy son and a needy husband.
Merry
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If it’s helpful I had surgery end of May this year. I am 73 and live alone. I had a lobectomy of my left lower lobe. So more tissue loss than it sounds like you expect. My only initial issue was some drama around unexpected copious drainage from where chest tube had been. I couldn’t easily reach the area to change the bandage, so before I left the hospital, I insisted on a case mgr and a brief period of home health to change the bandage. They dropped by for a few days to do that and otherwise it was fine. I don’t do narcotics and have a high pain threshold so I didn’t need to worry about being unsteady on my feet. Yes it hurts the first few days but I’ve had worse 🙂
Good luck!!