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Just scared
My name is Heather, I am 38 years old. I had surgery/diagnosed on 10/9/24 with NSCLC adenoidcarcinoma EGFR 19. Non smoker. I have had multiple lung nodules for 15 years. We followed them for a few years, but due to how young I was and no smoking history, I was told they were benign, and follow up was stopped, unless I started having symptoms. I had bad chest pain before my surgery, which is how we found the cancer. During my surgery my largest nodule was 2.3cm with Visceral Pleural Invasion. I also had 3 tiny tumors around it, but all considered primary tumors. Therefore stage2b multifocal, I did not have lymph node involvement, no lymphovascular invasion, or airspace invasion. They believe the other nodules that have been stable for 15years are atypical adenomatous Hyperplasia. I am scared beyond belief. I have a 8year old daughter who is beautiful and she is autistic that I am scared of leaving behind. Chemo was not recommended. I went straight to Tagrisso. I don’t know what I am looking for my writing this.
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Hi Heather, I’m sorry you’re feeling scared, it’s perfectly understandable when dealing with cancer, young or old we are all struggling with fear. It’s sounds like you’re well under way with treatments and that’s good, now you can get back to living your best life with obvious changes inside especially mental health, the fear will eventually calm down as your life gets back to its normal routine. It might help you to look for support and talking to people with similar needs, the Mayo connection is a good start where you will get advice from people like yourself and good tips on what they tried, everyone is different in how they cope but you will know what works best for you. There’s lots of great advice out there and I find that the more you learn the better you will understand what you’re going through, ask questions when in doubt about your health. One thing that helped me was researching lung cancer and learning about new treatments that showed great results, people are living longer now due to earlier detection plus more options for us, some people here are still alive after more than twenty years after diagnosis so this will give you more hope for longevity. I hope that you will get all the help you need and help you to move forward with your life, best wishes.
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6 ReactionsThank you! It’s the constant fear it will come back. Mentally I am a mess, they have put me on something for that I will see psych in a couple weeks! I appreciate your words!
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3 ReactionsHi Heather, @hnreinhart12, I'm sorry that you are facing this disease. Cancer isn't fair, and I especially feel for young mothers and their children. I'm glad that you've reached out to your care team and asked for help. You may want to inquire about a group for parents with cancer in your area too. Sometimes an in-person group can be helpful too. For your daughter, depending on her level of understanding, I have heard great things about Pickels Group (https://www.picklesgroup.org/news).
It sounds like you are stable now and settling in with Tagrisso post-surgery. There is real science-based hope for lung cancer now more than ever. There are new advancements being studied and rolled out as each year passes. I was diagnosed (ALK positive, at 49 years old) five years ago, and there are treatments available today that weren't even thought of five years ago. I know of many people that didn't think they would see their kids grow up, and they are attending graduation ceremonies and even weddings. Try to focus on one day at a time and what's right in front of you. Pile that daughter of yours with love and relish in the love that she gives back. Hugs.
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4 ReactionsHi, I'm able to relate. I'm 39, non-smoker, found out last October as well. I'm stage 4 adenocarcinoma EGFR mutation. Caught my cancer pretty late, I dealt with headaches for a year and got diagnosed with chronic migraine until I went and saw a neurologist at Mayo in Rochester for a second opinion. So far the Tagrisso is working for me and seems to work for most people. They also have me on chemo with the Tagrisso, Carboplatin for 4 cycles and now just pemetrexed. A recent study showed that the Tagrisso worked longer with this chemo taken at the same time. Not sure if that would be overkill for you since hopefully they removed all of your cancer? For the stress management and being scared out of my mind, I recently started taking Prozac and that has helped a great deal in dealing with this. It doesn't make you numb or anything like that, which was my concern, but just seems to make dealing with all of this seem easier...
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8 ReactionsThank you so much! I am praying for you!
Thank you so much!
I’m so sorry. Very frightening. But it will be watched. I am very glad you are taking care of your mental health, often goes hand-in-hand with a physical condition. Pls keep us posted on how you are doing, this forum is helpful.