Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi

I have recently had a CT scan of lung and found 3 adenocarcinomas had grown - unfortunately my previous CT scan was 7 years prior - no one informed me that I was to have annual CT scans! Anyway, met with thoracic surgeon who does not want to do surgery or anything yet. I am not sure I am all right with that. we have scheduled a next CT scan for 6 months from now. Three of the nodules are fairly large - 9mm, 11, 13mm. I know that some docs recommend targeted radiation at this point. I do plan to have a 2nd opinion. and i have a follow-up call with the thoracic surgeon this morning. I will admit i am quite fearful about lung surgery for resection or whatever.....if anyone has thoughts on this, i would love to hear them. it feels so alone & frightening.
s michaels

In December of 2022, I had a 2 cm tumor and an upper lobectomy was done. All lymph nodes were negative for spread. 6 month later CT was fine. Then in November 2023, I had a suspicious CT then a brain MRI, PET and Breast ultrasound. Also of which revealed stage 4 lung cancer spread to lymph nodes and breast. Treatable but not curable.
A MET marker was discovered and I am about to start taking Tabrecta. I am hoping this will prolong my life at least for a couple of years. Anyone else taking targeted therapy?

Hi @shirleyod, I look forward to your update when you get the results of your scan. How have you been doing on Infinzi?

Spike- It's up to you. Usually, DNA will stay the same if you have the same type of cancer again. I do not know if it changes with a different kind of cancer. I've had two types of lung cancer, and there wasn't a DNA test for the first. I don't know if they were doing them in 1981.

Have you been told if you will need any treatment?

I would like to give hope to lung cancer patients. I was diagnosed in 2017 and am still here and plan Christmas with my family. I was given first Tarceva and now taking Tagrisso. Thank you.

I was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer in October of 2022. I have had 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 30 radiation treatments that ended in December of 22. I have been on immunotherapy (Infinzi) starting in January 2023 and should complete it at the end of the year. I have a CT scan 12/15/2023 and so far the previous scans have shown no symptoms of cancer.

I did have a biopsy but not sure if they did genetic testing. Is it possible that they wait for staging to do that. I had nothing show up in PET Scan and all nodes removed during surgery were negative. So how important is it that it be done now? If I ever have a reoccurrence, I suppose it could be done then?

Hi Bernadette (@bernl), The diagnosis is usually quite a shock for all of us. I'm glad you were proactive and asked for the chest x-ray. If you didn't qualify for CT lung screening, the x-ray was a blessing that caught the tumor early. I hope your surgery recovery is manageable, and that you have the physical assistance that you need. The emotional support can be difficult. There are many people here on Mayo Connect who have been through similar circumstances, so feel safe to share what you are going through. Your primary care provider or oncologist may have some good suggestions on resources for dealing with the mental health side of the diagnosis too. Is your oncology appointment coming up?