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Newly diagnosed with lung cancer. Never smoked. In shock....
hi all. my name is Amy. i am 56, non smoker, former triathlete, eat healthy.. etc..
had a high heart rate working out starting over a year ago. ignored it, as i thought i was just not in normal shape and i had reduced hard workouts because of hip pain. I developed a cough about 4 months ago. finally got a chest xray in late April... fast forward to now. stage 4.
first, i had no idea there was a "non smokers" lung cancer and that is could present with little or general symptoms.
i appreciate all of the advice on here about being patient- waiting is the worst! i have an A team of docs that i trust but they encouraged a second opinion, which isnt scheduled for 4 weeks.
any ideas on how to best prepare my body for chemo/immuno treatments? i am still working out and still eat pretty healthy. are there supplements , etc?
thank you
Amy
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Hi Amy-
So sorry to hear about your diagnosis, just know there is so much newer treatments today than just a few years ago. So stay positive and ask lots of questions.
Have your doctors done a lung needle biopsy of the tumor? If so, did they do a genomics or nuclear study of the biopsy to determine the type of mutation? In view of the timeline, I assume there has been no surgery on your lung.
My wife was diagnosed with two adenocarcinomas (1) 12 cm in right middle lobe and (1) 6 cm tumor in right lower lobe in May, 2015.
The Mayo thoracic surgeon removed both lobes in a VATS procedure after stage 3a diagnosis.
She had chemo as a just in case therapy…even though our surgeon was convinced that he had gotten it all!
She has been stage 4 since 2017 and is now on enhertu chemo.
The mistake made was not having a molecular study until 2016 when her cancer continued to grow after having had treatment with Opdivo therapy for the tumors which had reappeared and continued to spread... all the time thinking hers was the typical efgr mutation.
We found with the study of a needle biopsy that her mutation was a HER2 mutation and all along she had been treated for a typical EFGR mutation.
Bottom line….get a genomics study on the biopsy before the doctors give you any chemotherapy!
Keep your chin up. Stay strong. Lots of new science every day.
We find prayers help a lot!!!
Take care!
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10 ReactionsHi @aksinspringfield, I can imagine that the news of lung cancer came as a shock to you. There are several never smoker lung cancer members in the group like @olympia @llwortman @burrkay @sjones55 @marshall8318. It is possible. Whatever the cause, smoking, quitting smoking or never smoking, there are plenty of members who can offer tips on preparing for chemo and other treatments.
While we wait for others to chime in, here are a couple of related discussions you might wish to review:
- Robotic Lobectomy: What can I expect? What is recovery like? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hello-from-the-bluegrass-state/
- Never Smokers & Lung Cancer https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/lung-cancer-never-smokers/
I agree that being a patient-in-waiting takes plenty of patience. I like that you're taking this time to focus on being as healthy as you can be. Do you know when you'll be starting treatment? What treatment?
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