Dear Donna G -
Thank you for your post! Until today, I have been unable to find anyone with a similar cancer journey. I have very supportive family, friends and community for the most part - so I am very grateful for all of them. The town I live in is very small, and their is no support group. I have been on a waiting list for over a month and half to see a therapist... I have felt very alone!
YOUR STORY - WOW! Mine is almost exactly the same! Diagnosed on July 14, 2016 with adenocarcinoma, NSCLC, with an approximate 5x5x4.5 cm tumor in my right upper lung. Butted up against the middle of my chest very high and very large. Right upper lobectomy performed on Aug 10th. In addition, they removed 6 lymph nodes from my chest and 5 of the 6 had metastatic cancer cells. Luckily, this was all caught early; it had not spread any further. I just completed (yesterday) my 3rd of 4 rounds of chemo. Then I will do five straight weeks of radiation therapy. My burning question is this... did you have targeted radiation on your center chest? What type of symptoms did you have? Did you have any permanent heart or lung damage / problems? My mother died shortly after her radiation treatments, but her cancer had spread. Unfortunately, she also had pulmonary fibrosis as well, which I do too, but mine hasn't spread too bad yet. My biggest fear is that I will have permanent damage to other organs, and my lungs are already compromised. Thank you so much for your info, this has made my day!! The prognosis they gave me is about a 28% chance of survival, but I don't let that bother me. I will fight every day, regardless of that number, for my husband, kids and grand baby, plus my sisters and friends!
