Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi

@bentrivercarla- Oh dear, I must have misread your post. I thought that it was just discovered. I'm sorry that you had to make this choice but I can certainly understand it. It's all about the quality of life-choices that we want to make for what we see in our own personal future. I'm 72 now and since my cancer is likely to return I might have to, at some point make this this same decision. I just hope that I will be as brave as you. Will you let me know after your appointment what the doctor said?

Reasonable response thanks. Appreciate help not getting ahead of myself. I have had proton beam therapy and it is awesome indeed (for my liver cancer). I am fairly weakened at 77 and two cancers (lung and liver) and other health issues also. Since if this is cancer it is probably fair widely disseminated (many lesions) my docs always change the subject to traditional chemo when I tell them targeted or immuno would be acceptable. If chemo is offered I will likely decline and move to a state where medically assisted dying is legal. That will take some time. I should know more about what is happening next week and hopefully the news will be all good. Thank you

@bentrivercarla - Good morning and welcome to Mayo Connect. It's extremely disconcerting to have a cancer recurrence. My lung cancers began 22 years ago. I have multifocal adenocarcinoma of the lungs. It's a form of NSCLC. My last one was almost 2 years ago. Ten years after my first lung cancer, a stage 1A, and no treatment either I had my second one. And I was given a choice as to whether or not to have chemo. I did. It was rough and I was also in my early 60's. Sixty-one to be exact. Most chemo's are pretty rough but survivable and tolerable. It's best not to rule out any options before you know more about what is going on. I have not had traditional radiation but SBRT's. This is using "outer space" atoms, like photons and protons as beams and are carefully targeted with less damage to other organs. There are also many less side effects.

I have no idea what your doctors mean by uninteresting markers or mutations or a wild type. You need to question your doctors until they are sick of you and then keep asking questions. I'm uncertain if you have had your dreaded PET scan and biopsy as yet. Let's take this one step at a time and see where there leads you. Does this sound like a reasonable thing in an unreasonable time?

@bentrivercarla DOn't have an answer for you, but it certainly is an interesting question and I'd like to find out as well. In the meantime, I am sure there are newerways to fight the cancer IF it has returned. I haven't even come up to six months since having a VATS and lobectomy for adenocarcinoma. It was Stage 1 when found andso small they didn't do anything else after the surgery either. Just waiting for a CT scan in September. I know things change in treatment now faster than it seems one can keep up. I will be thinking of you and praying for you. Do NOT give up hope

Hi I am CArla - a 6-year survivor of NSCLC and more recently of hepatocellular carcinoma. Now confronted with what may be a recurrence of my lung cancer, maybe a new one, may be nothing. Scary however to go back to the world of PET scans and biopsies. I am curious - six years ago my lung cancer was I think they called it wild type - no interesting mutations/markers. I had surgery but no other treatment. Curious now if there are better systemic treatments for "no interesting genes". My doctor had mentioned immunotherapy but does that work only if there are specific genes involved. I would not want old fashioned chemo - at my age I don't know if I could survive it with any quality of life at all. Thanks

Hi @lady1lake, We haven't heard from you for a bit. How are you?

@reibur1951

I so appreciate the time you took to provide updates for your friend's treatment as well as how you are doing. You are just doing a remarkable job juggling so many activities!

It really is incredible to consider the cost of medical care. The figures you provided were a real eye-opener. Wishing you well with the property division. I hope all goes reasonably well with the family members, etc.

Yes he had one May 24th; Friday - seen radiologist yesterday says it got smaller but did not say by how much. Does not see radiologist for 6 months Dec. 17. Ct-Scans Neck & Chest to catch all on Jul 1st and then on July 5th Labs/Dr/ I assume infusion tho not scheduled as he want to keep him on the Prembo KEYTRUDA® treatments for now the clinical was paying for them but since kicked off of it till another clinical is found if ever.... but he intendes to keep him on it as long as it is working the scans Jul 1st should tells us that if working he only missed one Prembo KEYTRUDA® treatment since Dec. 2017 he got it along with the 2 treatments of chemo Feb. Mar.

Me last week was rough woke up with should bothering me and could not lift move it most of week because was so sore - finally was able to get it above on my head and right palm on left ear lat Friday night after got home... still sore not sure what caused it go t idea i done to much on computer cleaning up files....

Survey went through for dividing off 5a to the sister but had to have variance it passed on Wed. last week; now awaiting to hear back from appraiser as to when he can do that so maybe things are on the right track.... all that will be left there is to have deeds made splitting the property- - and deeding off the 5a

Van still holding out but has vibration in it out of alignment thanks to the wonderful Indiana roads, tires are wearing and trying to hang on till October.... putting feelers out since that date is getting close

Just wish this rain would stop.

Got the Billing from IU the Infusion is $26 thousand plus (it was paid for by the clinical study) does not include the dr. & labs.... the radiation drs. and all so far is $83 thousand plus all pending the insurance. to think that the combined is a cost of a mediocre house! has hit $583 thousand so far for the about 1 1 /2 year that's a shack on Lake Maxinkuckee did not see any billing for the Genomic testing tho it probably is not billed by IU that only have suite in the Simon Cancer center i assuming

Hi @reibur1951,

Just thinking about you and wondering how you are doing and how your friend is doing with his cancer treatment. Has your friend had any more of the Prembo KEYTRUDA® treatments?

I will - Yes thus far vehicle has held up thus far its developed a vibration but with all the potholes (sometimes a solid row) or you jog to miss and still hit because its a whopper in width and 6+ inches deep and now the milling of the roads for re-paving it will be a toss-up... so far safer from all the high winds and Tornadoes in our general area... areas to the north and east and east have been hit really bad... have had the high winds but no tree damage so far but the ground is beyond soggy...