Multifocal Adenocarcinoma of the lung, continual recurrences

Hi @jamineibs, Great that yours are all GGO. My dominent nodule is in upper left lobe 1.1 cm its a solid nodule.I also have 3 others that are too small to determine between 2mm-3mm but they are GGO right now. I think if this nodule was a GGO I would definitely go witha wedge with ample margins but its not....still not certain. Thank you for sharing!!! wish you all the best

Hi Stan , sorry it took so long for my reply. I hope you're feeling somewhat better this week. I really appreciate your input. My surgury is on hold since I had a Ct test of my heart and have to have an angiogram to be certain if there is or isnt a problem.How are you feeling? Thanks!

@lilly2 in September I had wedge resection surgery in my upper left lobe to remove 2 nodules from upper left lobe - largest 12mm x 13 mm. I still have 3 smaller nodules in 3 other lobes - all of my tumors are GGO.
My boyfriend had lobectomy of right upper lobe due to a 31mm x 34mm tumor. He also has one other small GGO in upper left.

I chose the wedge resection because I have multiple nodules and because with adenocarcinoma they can keep popping up. If/when the other nodules start to change, I obviously can’t have 5 lobectomies so I determined it would be best to preserve as much lung capacity as possible for as long as possible. I mean what if one of these other nodules starts acting more aggressive and increases rapidly to a size they don’t recommend wedge. Then I’d have to take a second lobe too? Sounded to quick and drastic at first. I figured I can always go back and have the lobectomy if I had too.
I am 50 years old and otherwise pretty healthy. I’m no fitness buff, but for health reasons fitness and being physically active is a large part of my life. The surgery went really well, I was in the hospital 1 night. I was back to exercise more than walking in about 4 weeks lower body and full weight lifting and cardio in 5 weeks. I notice my breathing is a little more labored with exercise, but not a lot and it is getting better.

Gordie chose the lobectomy at the surgeons recommendation based on tumor size. Since he did not have prior confirmation with biopsy only PET, they did wedge and check pathology - after confirm cancer, took lobe.
He is not into fitness and a lot of physical activity is not a major concern for him. Understanding that losing one lobe would not be a major change in his lifestyle, he accepted that path easily.

If you have any questions about anything, I’m happy to answer. I wish you peace as you make your decision. It is not an easy one.

Lilly. Everyone's condition and circumstances are different and your medical care team can best help you with this decision. When faced with tough discussions as this, I asked the oncologist and surgeon what their choice of care would be if this situation was part of their own family. This open dialog seemed to help me understand and decide.
You are so fortunate that your condition was found early and both of your options seem to be good.
As for me, two years ago I had a right upper lobectomy for a stage 1A Adenocarcinoma and Monday this week, had a wedge resection on a 7mm suspicious nodule in the lower left lobe, which also was an Adenocarcinoma. I feel both surgeries were selected for the right reasons.
The first day/night after my surgeries were quite uncomfortable and gradually gets better, But medication and care got me through this. For me, so far, recovery of both surgeries is similar, but would say the lobectomy set me back a bit more. If you have other questions, please let us know. Please share with us as much as you feel comfortable with. I am wishing you the best. ...and....Happy Thanksgiving.

Best of luck to you @lilly2! You have a tough decision to make. I have avoided surgery so I’m not much help (stage IV). Knowing that your team has offered both options can reassure you that each option is a good one. Wishing you good luck with your decision and the surgery, take care!, Lisa

@ Colleen Young, Hi, I think thats a great idea.Thank you! I need to decide by middle of next week. The clock is ticking

@lilly2, I'd like to bring you into this discussion with other members of the Lung Cancer group who have multifocal adenocarinoma like @jamineibs @merpreb @lls8000 @sakota @meka @linda10 and others. They may be able to share their surgical experiences and the options they had.

Lilly, When do you have to decide between a lobectomy or a wedge resection?

Hi,I recently had my biopsy at Mayo and diagnosed with NSCLC adenocarcinoma 1A peripheral nodule.Ofcourse this is shocking to me I soent months searching online for every other thing that this could possibly be and hoping it was anything but this. The surgeon suggested doing a wedge resecrion with ample margins, I think if thiks were a GGO or minimally invasive I would feel more at ease.The Dr, said we could also do lobectomy.After reseacrching Im concerned because of the OS with wedge, Has any of you been in a similar situation? If so what did you do and how did it go?
So happy to be able to share with all of you.Thanks,@lilly2

I will have to take a look at the type of KRAS I have and I did also wonder if the approval was based on staging. Now that I have surgery behind me for the nodules that we’re growing/changing, I can be armed with many questions after my next scan in Dec. thank you for comments.

Ahh, got it. There are so many variations. We certainly need more research and advances, we’ve come a long way, but have so far to go too. Hugs.