Everything you need to know about lung cancer but were afraid to ask, I think
Entry posted by Sue BB in Living with lung cancer
683 views
Two weeks. That's 14 days x 24 hours before my next doctor’s appointment. Actually, not with Dr. Rocket, but once again with “Irrational” radiology. In case you haven’t figured it out, the words in quote markets in the middle of a sentence could be something I made up. Just saying.
Waiting to see what’s happening to your body isn’t easy when you can’t see inside. I was anxious to begin treatment and get it over with, but I was gently reminded that treatment plans take time and preparation.
Thus began my next adventure on Planet Cancer — circling the planet in my tiny capsule until permission to land. I had no idea where I was going to land or what was happening next. In the meantime, I did what everyone warned me NOT to do — Google lung cancer.
First, I tried to decipher the written notes from my medical doctors and technicians and tried to understand my test results.
These are a few words I learned:
Metastatic — this means cancer has spread to a different part of your body part than where it started.
Grossly normal In medical terms — means not seeing anything abnormal on an imaging test. but there is some limitation in the evaluation.
Unremarkable — describes the report as normal, which means that there is nothing to report. Nevertheless, it's a very powerful word used by radiologists that is helpful for medical experts. In the case of unremarkable meaning, there is nothing to worry about. It reflects that the patient is fine.
Then there’s the opposite of unremarkable — worrisome. These are symptoms that cause distress and concern.
Yep, distress and concern on my part, coupled with a deep and painful cough, kept me up most nights wondering if I would be gone by the end of the year. From February on, it was easier for me to breathe while sitting up on the new recliner sofa with my new fleece blanket, new aqua spa robe, and sometimes penguin pajamas. It’s the middle of the night. What else was there to do besides listening to the Calm app rainstorm and dreaming of summer, tuning into a Stephen Armstrong sermon or Googling lung cancer?
(Insert swear words here) I didn't know what cancer was or really where it came from.
This is what I learned.
Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in both men and women in the U.S. In 1987, it surpassed breast cancer to become the leading cause of cancer deaths in women.
The five-year survival rate for lung cancer is 56 percent for cases detected when the disease is still localized (within the lungs). However, only 16 percent of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage. For distant tumors (spread to other organs) the five-year survival rate is only 5 percent.
More than half of people with lung cancer die within one year of being diagnosed.
Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death in the US, accounting for about 1 in 5 of all cancer deaths. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.
According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer — and lung cancer caused by asbestos — is the number one killer, with 131,880 estimated deaths in 2022 alone, making it three times deadlier than breast cancer.
I realize that October is breast cancer awareness month, and I am not trying to negate all the good that has come from pink campaigns, however, it was a surprise to me to find out about the cancers affecting people under the radar.
Besides being the leading cause of cancer mortality, it receives far less research funding than any other cancer.
There are two types of lung cancer Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and and Small Cell Lung Cancer. Mine is NSCLC, the most common type diagnosed. It’s attributed most often to smoking. We grew up in the 60s and 70s and smoke was everywhere. We were laughing, all though it’s not funny about how the last four seats in an airplane were the designated smoking seats.
The saddest part about lung cancer is about one-third of all diagnoses happen when the cancer has reached stage 3. The five-year survival rate for advanced-stage NSCLC is 33 percent.
Everyone is different and responds differently to treatments so with the research on any cancer, survival rates continue to increase. That was good news.
It’s uncomfortable not knowing what’s going on inside my body. In my mind, I imagined I would not be alive by the end of the year after that first doctor’s visit. I began preparing for the worst which included knitting hats to cover my bare head and keep me warm. There were visions of hospital beds with IV drips. I told my family I wanted to sleep in my high tunnel when that time came.
But here I am, sharing these experiences and trying not to Google my disease anymore. Instead of focusing on dying, I am trying to focus on living. Each day, because each one of us only has the present.
My friend Shelley said, “Cancer doesn’t kill people, hopelessness does.”
This week, I leave you with this: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13
My hope begins with every sunrise, and this thought about dying, “Not today God. I got shi_ to do.” (Pardon my French).
2 Comments
Recommended Comments