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Greekgirl3

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  1. Hi again, Tom! I do trust the surgeon, she seems very knowledgeable and matter-of-fact, which I can appreciate. I was retreading your story, and I realize each patient is different, but out of curiosity, which factor of the neoadjuvant therapy brought you most complications-the chemo or radiation? Also, did you need post-surgery therapy? Do others? Just trying to decide which therapy route to go with.
  2. Hi Tom. Thank you for all the info. Well, we met with the surgeon again today and she strongly recommended neo-adjuvant therapy before surgery. Clearly, there was miscommunication between the surgeon and the oncologist. Seems like they sorted it out. Surgeon suggested chemotherapy and then possibly a low-dose radiation together depending what the scans show as we progress. Surgeon said tumor size isn't her concern, it is the location. And prefers to get the surgery as minimally invasive as possible. Surgeon also recommended the immunotherapy, again. But we decided as a family to do chemo with the possibility of radiation.
  3. Hi Tom! Thanks so much for the response. Do you have any idea why they would have decide to move straight to surgery after first telling us to get chemo or Nivolumab first? Also, a second opinion has a conflicting course of Treatment suggested. Recommends chemo first because it might make he surgery less invasive and feels my k would definitely get he chemo as it is intended bc after survey she might be too weak. Thoughts on that? First opinion is too fearful of disease progression and rather do it now before she possibly becomes unresectable.
  4. Good morning Members, For some of you that have followed my last post or not, here is the background info. My mom was diagnosed Stage 3A NSCLC. Her tumor is 6cm, 4.1x 3.8 x 5.8, located in the central upper left lobe and beginning to invade left main pulmonary artery. I was told that resection is possible following neoadjuvant therapy. I was given a choice of standard chemotherapy for three months OR 2 infusions of nivolumab as a trial for 4 weeks. I contemplated which first line therapy choice I would use for the last five days. However, I received a call and now was told that upon further review of the case, the team wants to move forward straight to surgery and do adjuvant chemotherapy afterwards due to fear of disease progression leaving my mom unresectable. I was not informed of what kind of resection is planned just yet. I’d like to know the risks/recovery expected with a resection of this size and location. How quickly must chemotherapy be initiated after a surgery? Is there a strong chance of hidden disease spreading as a result of surgery without having systemic chemo first? If members can weigh in with their thoughts and experiences, that would be great!
  5. Tom!!! Thanks so much and I'm sorry for bothering you on your vacation, which I'm sure you sooooo deserve. Have fun! The pathology also says favors Adenocarcinoma but questions the possibility of squamous cell as well because less than ten percent of rare cells tested positive for P40. Hmmmmm. I'm also so curious why they are pushing two infusions with Opdivo on the trial? If anyone else can weigh in, that would be great! Thanks so so much!!!!!!!!
  6. Hi Tom!!!! I'm not sure how to find out about tumor markers. Not much was explained to me at my visit. Ugh! The pathology note says: histology ally the tumor shows small areas of squamous and glandular differentiation. The tumor us positive for TTF-1 with rare cells, less than ten percent positive for P40 which raises the question of possible squamous differentiation. Can you explain this, eeeeeeek!!!!!!
  7. Hi everyone. Unfortunately, my 65 year old mother was just diagnosed with stage 3A Nonsmall cell lung cancer with evidence of mostly Adenocarcinoma and less than ten percent of squamous cells. Her tumor is 6cm in diameter and beginning to invade the main pulmonary artery. She tested negative for mutations. The surgeon claims the tumor is potentially respectable if we can shrink it. So we were given two neoadjuvant therapy choices: Option one: The oncologist offered us the standard of care which is a chemo cocktail of cisplatin and alimata for three months and then reevaluation for surgery. OR Option Two: to participate in a clinical trial using Opdivo for two infusions over a 28 day period for the first time in patients that are not yet stage IV. Then reevaluation for surgery. We don't know what to do? Can fellow members weigh in on knowledge and personal experiences on side effects and effectiveness for both the cisplatin and alimata vs Opdivo. Is Opdivo too much of a gamble for a potentially respectable tumor? Likelihood of cancer progression in four weeks (add another two for routine tests). Which is "safer" route to go? We were not given as much feedback and reassurance as we would have liked on either option and feeling very afraid and frustrated in what already was a high stress situation with the new diagnosis. Where can we go to seek additional sound oncologist advice in a speedy manner? The trial for Opdivo is coming to a close, so time is of the essence for decision making. Thank you to all!!!!!!!
  8. Hi everyone. Unfortunately, my 65 year old mother was just diagnosed with stage 3A Nonsmall cell lung cancer with evidence of mostly Adenocarcinoma and less than ten percent of squamous cells. Her tumor is 6cm in diameter and beginning to invade the main pulmonary artery. She tested negative for mutations. The surgeon claims the tumor is potentially respectable if we can shrink it. So we were given two neoadjuvant therapy choices: Option one: The oncologist offered us the standard of care which is a chemo cocktail of cisplatin and alimata for three months and then reevaluation for surgery. OR Option Two: to participate in a clinical trial using Opdivo for two infusions over a 28 day period for the first time in patients that are not yet stage IV. Then reevaluation for surgery. We don't know what to do? Can fellow members weigh in on knowledge and personal experiences on side effects and effectiveness for both the cisplatin and alimata vs Opdivo. Is Opdivo too much of a gamble for a potentially respectable tumor? Likelihood of cancer progression in four weeks (add another two for routine tests). Which is "safer" route to go? We were not given as much feedback and reassurance as we would have liked on either option and feeling very afraid and frustrated in what already was a high stress situation with the new diagnosis. Where can we go to seek additional sound oncologist advice in a speedy manner? The trial for Opdivo is coming to a close, so time is of the essence for decision making. Thank you to all!!!!!!!
  9. Hi everyone. Unfortunately, my 65 year old mother was just diagnosed with stage 3A Nonsmall cell lung cancer with evidence of mostly Adenocarcinoma and less than ten percent of squamous cells. Her tumor is 6cm in diameter and beginning to invade the main pulmonary artery. She tested negative for mutations. The surgeon claims the tumor is potentially respectable if we can shrink it. So we were given two neoadjuvant therapy choices: Option one: The oncologist offered us the standard of care which is a chemo cocktail of cisplatin and alimata for three months and then reevaluation for surgery. OR Option Two: to participate in a clinical trial using Opdivo for two infusions over a 28 day period for the first time in patients that are not yet stage IV. Then reevaluation for surgery. We don't know what to do? Can fellow members weigh in on knowledge and personal experiences on side effects and effectiveness for both the cisplatin and alimata vs Opdivo. Is Opdivo too much of a gamble for a potentially respectable tumor? Likelihood of cancer progression in four weeks (add another two for routine tests). Which is "safer" route to go? We were not given as much feedback and reassurance as we would have liked on either option and feeling very afraid and frustrated in what already was a high stress situation with the new diagnosis. Where can we go to seek additional sound oncologist advice in a speedy manner? The trial for Opdivo is coming to a close, so time is of the essence for decision making. Thank you to all!!!!!!! REPLY REPORT POST
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