Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi

@blinken I am sorry about the unexpected passing of your husband. Remember, it takes time to grieve and heal. Please stay in touch here if it helps. We can offer support. I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer right before Christmas 2025. I had a negative biopsy in September 2025 and was feeling fine. I am on Tagrisso and had 3 rounds of chemo. I'm holding on!

@lls8000 Hello Lisa, has been about 2 months since I wrote about my husband's newly diagnosed lung cancer. There was confusion as to the type of cancer it was, due to the liver biopsy which didn't show what was expected if lung cancer was the primary. After waiting weeks for Tempus results, he developed kidney failure and sepsis and passed away January 31.
The testing has indicated that it was cholangiocarcinoma which is a rare and very aggressive cancer of the bile ducts. It is often found to have metastasized before being detected. That is what happened to my husband. The symptoms were there, but were mild and could have been caused by many other conditions. Apparently this is typical of this type of cancer. He became very weak and was on palliative care for the week that he was in the hospital. It was shocking how fast and how brutal this was.

@lls8000 Hello Lisa, has been about 2 months since I wrote about my husband's newly diagnosed lung cancer. There was confusion as to the type of cancer it was, due to the liver biopsy which didn't show what was expected if lung cancer was the primary. After waiting weeks for Tempus results, he developed kidney failure and sepsis and passed away January 31.
The testing has indicated that it was cholangiocarcinoma which is a rare and very aggressive cancer of the bile ducts. It is often found to have metastasized before being detected. That is what happened to my husband. The symptoms were there, but were mild and could have been caused by many other conditions. Apparently this is typical of this type of cancer. He became very weak and was on palliative care for the week that he was in the hospital. It was shocking how fast and how brutal this was.

@blinken, This is hard news to handle, but it's good that you saw a change in your husband and were able to get him into a doctor. It sounds like his medical team is jumping right into action. The appointment with the oncologist will help you to understand what may be next. A biopsy is helpful to identify the type of cancer, which can be matched to specific treatments. The MRI and PET scans will show where the cancer has spread.
Lung cancer treatments have improved in recent years. All treatments come with challenges, some more than others. Many of us with metastatic lung cancer are living longer 'normal' lives. There are many types of lung cancer, and even more treatments or combinations of treatments.
Try to take one day at a time and try not to get ahead things. Focus on what you know, not what might be. Do you have others that may be able to help with the longer drives? You may want to mention the help that you may need with the oncologist's office too. They may have support resources that they can offer.

Hello!
My name is Diane.
Just got a lung cancer diagnosis.
Still going through testing. Had bronchoscpy and will have PET and brain scan this week. Then on Friday willsee Dr for plan of attack.
It's all so overwhelming at this point.

@lls8000
I meet with my oncologist next week and will be discussing what kind of chemo and length of treatment. Will share once I learn.

@ohiogal8860 palliative care has been with us since he found out and they prescribe all of his medications they are such a big help they always work with us to make sure he's staying comfortable and dealing with everything. The immunotherapy he has been getting since he started chemo is keytruda...he no longer can do chemo but has continued the immunotherapy he's on his 9th round of it and she keeps saying she has to monitor to see if everything goin on are side effects..he's been sick a lot...he does take nausea meds first thing in the morning with some toast before he takes any other meds. He sweats and is freezing all night...last night he had to change shirts 4 times because he soaks right through them...his cough is out of control and this goes on for weeks at a time and the cancer Dr keeps saying he needs to let them know but when we do she gets upset because it's getting in the way of his treatments so we are confused. After his palliative care appt a few days ago they suggested that he transfer to the oncology dept they just opened at the hospital here it's affiliated with the one he currently goes to but we travel a half hour to get there so maybe a new Dr and having them try a different drug would be a good direction to go....he told palliative care that the current oncologist is the whole reason he wants to stop doing his treatments.

I believe I’m a new member of the club. I’m 66 and have smoked for 50 of them. I had a PET/CT scan yesterday and although I don’t really understand the report I think I get the gist of it. My poor primary must have thought I had already spoken with my pulmonologist and said “good luck” when he answered an unrelated Emailed question. It’s odd but after I spoke with the pulmonologist I could barely remember the conversation. I guess I was thinking ahead and not really focusing. I haven’t tried to decipher the CT but I don’t think I can resist. I don’t even really know what the story is but I don’t want to take the Google route for information quite yet. On one hand I do wish the doctor had dumbed it down a bit but on the other hand I don’t want to know. Does a PET/CT scan even provide enough information by itself to make a determination? I’ve got two good friends fighting the good fight so I’m a little ashamed that I’m thinking of me. Free venting and babbling. I appreciate it.

@bobca Hi Bob I had Right lung lower lobe lobectomy and resection by robot assisted I was SCLC early stage.. Operation was successful in that they removed the cancer and checked lmpth nodes.. I had my 6 month Ct Scan in November last year no further spread of dicease... I'm 66 was terrified of surgery I will say that robotic is less invasive but 8 months post op I'm still getting the usual stabbing pains nerve damage and pain around the incision site taking 400mg pregabalin but almost getting back to were I was I've been diagnosed with copd shortness of breath but other than that om.. Im sure your procedure will be fine sounds your in good hands hope this helps and good luck with the op.

I believe I’m a new member of the club. I’m 66 and have smoked for 50 of them. I had a PET/CT scan yesterday and although I don’t really understand the report I think I get the gist of it. My poor primary must have thought I had already spoken with my pulmonologist and said “good luck” when he answered an unrelated Emailed question. It’s odd but after I spoke with the pulmonologist I could barely remember the conversation. I guess I was thinking ahead and not really focusing. I haven’t tried to decipher the CT but I don’t think I can resist. I don’t even really know what the story is but I don’t want to take the Google route for information quite yet. On one hand I do wish the doctor had dumbed it down a bit but on the other hand I don’t want to know. Does a PET/CT scan even provide enough information by itself to make a determination? I’ve got two good friends fighting the good fight so I’m a little ashamed that I’m thinking of me. Free venting and babbling. I appreciate it.