New and Terrified

[eullrich66]

Hi,

I'm a 48 year old that was just diagnosed with stage 3a non-small cell ... I was mis-diagnosed with pneumonia in June but knew something was still wrong with the tightness and tenderness in my left chest.  I just received the final pathology report on Thursday.  I have my first appointment with an oncologist on Tuesday, I have a needle biopsy on Wednesday, and a second oncologist appointment for a second opinion scheduled for Thursday. 

 

There are so many things to be frightened of course, but the one thing my husband and I don't talk about because I think it sounds defeatist already is my death.  My mother, grandmother, grandfather, uncle and aunt all smoked...which is why I think I have this.  I've never smoked.  Their all dead.  The most recent being my mother two years ago.  It still feels so fresh.  I am very scared of dying.  

I could write much more but I feel like I"m rambling...

[Roz]

So sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. You need to know that there are many treatments available now that perhaps were not available when your family members had lung cancer. Take it one step at a time and know that there are many of us on these forums who are surviving lung cancer. Get all the information that you can on your specific mutation and remember there will be options for you!

Stay positive.

Sending you strong vibes!

 

Ro

[BridgetO]

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but glad you found us.  Of course you're scared, Cancer is  frightening!  People do die from it. But not everybody. Some people become NED (no evidence of disease) and others live a long time with cancer as a chronic disease.

Lung cancer is my 3rd primary cancer. My first one was breast cancer, Stage 1, 10 years ago. Sometimes I think of it as my "practice cancer". 3 years later I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cervical/endometrial cancer, Stage 3. The prognosis was "dismal"- my oncologist actually used that term. My treatment was aggressive, too, and left me with some long term side effects. However I'm still here and NED! For the first couple of years after that diagnosis, I really didn't think I was going to live long, but here I am and my life is good today. My stage 1a NSCLC was found in a routine CT scan that I'd been having every 6 months due to the other cancer. It was actually sort of a relief that it was an early lung cancer rather than a metastasis from one of the others.

It can really be hard to talk about death with loved ones, partly because we don't want to worry them. I've found a lot of relief talking in support groups to others who have experienced this fear of death. 

Hang in there and let us know how we can support you.

Bridget O