Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi

Done! Thank you for doing this Teresa!

@bluelagoon- Hi! We've missed hearing from you. I agree that COPD is a formidable foe. Just keep doing what you are doing to stay healthy. I recently spoke with my oncologist and she said that not-smoking is the biggest no-no for COPD and unless there is a big change that needs a follow-up that we should concentrate on how to remain as healthy as we can and not worry about it. I know, easier said than done. I'm with you on the cancer and COPD, We can only do our best. Are you doing any inhalers?

@wally1940- Good morning. Haven't heard from you in a while. What tests have you had and what kind of cancer do you have?

@merpreb Merry- thanks for asking! Time flies- I'm almost ready to hit Mayo for my next quarterly check. And, knock wood, feel better than ever. (I recently noticed that in a yoga class just doing a basic child's pose how my lungs & I feel less "claustrophobic".) On the flip side, I can certainly relate to the fears that come up here with COPD and such after recently seeing how Leonard Nimoy's wife has reached out to get people to wake up to how it so significantly affected him. Knowing that it's there taking a nap in me is just fine on some days and then when someone mentions it I wonder how I got blessed with both it and the cancer!

I'm hanging in there! Won't know my results till Late August, early Sept!

@hopeful33250- Thank you so much for sharing this.

Hello All:

As you are all lung cancer survivors, I thought you would find this article interesting about how Katherine and her participation in clinical trials.
https://intheloop.mayoclinic.org/2019/07/09/clinical-trials-key-to-lung-cancer-patients-survival/?
If you have been involved in a clinical trial, would you please share your story as well?

@bluelagoon - hi! How are you? Are you well?

@burrkay- Excellent post. I agree, ask and ask and ask. The only acceptable answer is fact based science or I don't know. I've been known to tell doctors that their answers weren't complete enough or not good enough. Doctors are people, not gods. They are fallible and should work hard for your well being. Anything short of that should be a sign that you need another doctor, if possible. Don't you think?

Hi Carla-
Not sure what your doctors are referring to as "no interesting genes or mutations", but like others suggested ASK QUESTIONS,UNTIL THEY ARE TIRED OF HEARING FROM YOU! Tell them you want a scientific answer with true definition. Don’t hold back!
Seems like the standard answer when the oncologist immediately goes to immunotherapy...you don’t want off the shelf “canned” solutions!
Ask them about a molecular study of the biopsies...if you need a fresh biopsy, get it done. How can they treat the cancer with any level of science unless they know specifically what the mutation is?
My wife was put on immunotherapy and after months of treatments they found her cancer getting even more aggressive...they ordered a molecular study and found that hers is a HERR2, ERBB2 mutation in her lung, which does not respond to the “Off the shelf” immunotherapy drugs. Our oncologist told her that normal prognosis for her cancer would be 9 months. That was in 2016...she is still on the planet today because the molecular study led to her oncologist putting her on a clinical trial-with treatment. Her quality of life is excellent!
So...end of my epistles...ask questions and get answers!
Good luck!