Tom Galli

Martin, Welcome here. I think your treatment decision should be made after the tumor genetics are determined. There are so many advances in targeted therapies for adenocarcinoma that can have a dramatic effect on your cancer. Some of these are so effective, they've moved to first line (standard of care) treatment. Moreover, many targeted therapies are are also effective after conventional chemotherapy (carboplatin or pemetrexed) so that option remains open to you. I'd make the treatment decision after learning the genetic information about your tumors. Immunotherapy discoveries are also exciting but I'd hold the clinical trial in reserve until the genetic makeup of your adenocarcinoma is revealed. You'll have many more questions and this is a good place to ask them. We are the cancer experts, at least in terms of experience. Stay the course. Tom

Monica, Well I meant my past, my failed surgeries and treatments, the vast disappointment that for me was very hard to deal with. I had to forget those expectations of treatment success, realize that cancer was persistent, and settle in for the long treatment process. When you go one for five in treatments over 3 continuous years, one has a lot to forget. I'm not sure I agree with the idea that I created a problem myself. All that is necessary to get lung cancer is a pair of lungs. Some 15 to 18-percent of those diagnosed are never smokers and genetic research has well established that cancer is a disease of our genes. We all have every type of cancer in our genetic makeup. What remains unestablished is what triggers cancer to start. Yes, there is a strong correlation between my smoking and lung cancer but it is a strong correlation, not an absolute fact. There are no miracle drugs. Cancer or not, no one knows how much time we have in our lives. Rather that worry about that, I choose to enjoy that which I have. You have that power to choose also. Stay the course. Tom

Monica, Metastatic lung cancer beats coping to a pulp. I didn't know there was a stage 5 but no matter, if it has spread it is beyond coping. How does one live? Now that is a better question. You've identified the solution: "enjoying the gift of each day." I tried for 3 years to cope and failed miserably. Then I settled down to forgetting the past, declaring the future irrelevant and just trying to find a little joy in each day. That is the way I live. It is not a perfect life but my life before cancer wasn't perfect. It is what I have and I'm satisfied with that. This is a lot to digest so I'll keep my response short. Feel free to tells more about your type of lung cancer and treatment so we can help. Stay the course. Tom

Ellen, I can't pretend to answer your question of nodule removal vice biopsy. It is, however, a very good question for the surgeon and I'd ask it. Sloan Kettering should have some very capable folks who can answer your question. I wouldn't worry about the CT scan radiation at this stage. It is essential to determine the nature of the nodule and one or even a dozen CT scans don't involve as much risk as say metastatic cancer. Stay the course. Tom

“Squamous cell cancer offers distinct therapeutic challenges by virtue of presentation in older patients, its physical location in the chest, pattern of metastasis and association with comorbidities that can compromise treatment delivery and exacerbate toxicity.” This quote is from the article Targeted Therapy for Advanced Squamous Cell Lung Cancer. When diagnosed, almost 13 years ago, I didn’t realize lung cancer had types. Pathologists visually classify lung cancer cells seen under a microscope as small cell and non-small cell. From this simple delineation, further classification gets complicated introducing sub-type terms of adenocarcinoma, squamous cell and large cell. Large cell as a type of non-small cell? I recall dwelling on the large cell moniker and finally concluding a non-small cell can be a large cell. I remember the emergency room physician telling me I was lucky; my form of lung cancer was treatable compared to the other type. He didn’t say small cell, but I think that is what he meant. Indeed about 15-percent of us suffer from this nasty presentation that metastasizes rapidly. Adenocarcinoma sub-subtypes have morphed into an alphanumeric soup as research at the genetic level identifies biomarker profiles, mutations in an individual’s lung cancer that can serve as attack portals into the cancer cell by targeted therapy. Now adenocarcinoma survivors use terms like ALK, KRAS, EGFR and PIK3CA to further classify their disease and new targeted treatment drugs emerge to attack, like mutant Ninja Turtles! Some of these are so effective, they’ve moved to first-line therapy. Adenocarcinoma describes a type of cancer that occurs in the mucus-secreting glands throughout the body. Lungs naturally have an abundance of these glands but so do the prostrate, pancreas, and intestines. Squamous cells derive their name from the Latin squama meaning scale like those present on a fish. We have a lot of squamous cells including skin, the lining of hollow organs, and passages of digestive and respiratory tracts. The right main stem bronchus contained my squamous cell tumor. The location is what tipped-off the emergency room physician; he didn’t realize how lucky I was given the nature of my treatment and extent of survival. Speaking of treatment, the cited article reports: “therapeutic progress in squamous cell lung cancer has been relatively slow, with relative stagnation of survival numbers….Treatment for SqCC [squamous cell cancer] of the lung remains an unmet need, and novel strategies are needed including specific targeted therapies….” That’s not good. First-line therapy for many continues to be the dual recipe of some variation of taxol and carboplatin, the same drugs I was administered from 2004 through 2007. And, survival rates have not significantly changed despite chemistry changes in platinum and taxol based agents. Thankfully, these have lowered the incidence of peripheral neuropathy and this is helpful. Second and subsequent line therapies for squamous cell have benefited somewhat from research. Immunotherapy research has yielded some success in developing drugs that enhance our immune system’s ability to recognize and attack cancer cells. The alphanumeric monikers PD-1 and PD-L1 are starting to resonate with squamous cell survivors. I do like the names of these approaches ⎯ PD meaning programmed death! The idea of programming cancer cells to die is satisfying although that is not the means of attack. Nevertheless, the scientist that named this approach deserves recognition because a scheduled execution of squamous cancer cells would be well deserved payback. All squamous lung cancer cells are programmed to die tomorrow at high noon! But, progress in the genetic arena for squamous cell cancer has been slow because it is genetically more complex compared to adenocarcinoma and mutates faster. So it is a harder target to hit. When I think of hard cancer targets, I am reminded of Siddhartha Mukherjee’s superb book The Emperor of all Maladies. He aptly describes the challenge of chemotherapy as “finding some agent that will dissolve away the left ear and leave the right ear unharmed.” He also called cancer a “clonally evolving disease.” Cancer cells grow by cloning at a rate far faster than normal cells. Every new cohort creates mutants and some of these survive the assault of chemotherapy. All that need survive is one; it will rapidly grow now immune to the drugs targeted to kill it. Mukherjee said: “the genetic instability, like a perfect madness, only provides more impetus to generate mutant clones. Cancer thus exploits the fundamental logic of evolution unlike any other illness.” Cancer is pure evolutionary nastiness! “Better things for better living through chemistry” was the tagline of the DuPont Corporation. Growing up in southeastern Pennsylvania, many neighbors were chemists commuting to the company research center, just across the Delaware state line. DuPont changed our world evolving from an 1802 gunpowder maker to inventing Nylon, Mylar, Teflon, and Nomex to name a few. Squamous cell lung cancer survivors need better chemistry. The call goes out for a biochemist to step-up and shut down the perfect madness of the clonally evolving squamous cancer cell. Stay the course.

Ellen, OK, now understand your concern why a pulmonologist couldn't scope him and do the biopsy. On diagnosis, my pulmonologist tried to biopsy my tumor using a flexible bronchoscope. He couldn't and I now understand there are limitations to what can be safety biopsied with a flexible scope. Therefore, I was referred to a thoracic surgeon who performed the surgery by making a small incision at the base of my throat (procedure called a cervical mediastinoscopy) and that required general anesthesia and day surgery. Perhaps your husband's tumor is hard to access using a flexible scope. I've had flexible scope procedures performed and the type of anesthesia is minimal compared to surgical anesthesia. Perhaps this could also be a factor in seeking a surgeon and of course your point is equally valid - a difficult location. Regardless, I hope the biopsy is easily performed and returns no evidence of disease or NED as we say. Stay the course. Tom

Ellen, Are you citing millimeters (mm) or centimeters (cm) as units for your husband's nodule? I ask because a Lung Rad score of 4B equates to a 15 mm or 1.5 cm nodule. Regardless, you are still dealing with a very small nodule. If the dimensions are cm they equate to a 9/16" by 9/32" nodule; if mm 1/16" by 1/32". Either is very small and note the Lung Rad score suggests a probability of malignancy at >15% which is still low. I think removing the entire small nodule would make sense. A minimally invasive technique is likely with this small of a nodule. Then a biopsy could be performed. Read about thoracoscopy or video assisted surgery (VATS) here - https://www.lungevity.org/about-lung-cancer/lung-cancer-101/treatment-options/surgery Sloan Kettering is a fine institution. I'm sure you will attend his consultation with the surgeon. As far as insight, I'd inquire if a consultation with an oncologist might be warranted. If the nodule proves to be cancer, normally people have post surgical chemotherapy after surgery to ensure any individual cancer cells in the bloodstream are killed before they can become distant metastasis. We informally call this type of chemo "dust-up". It looks like your husband had a low dose CT scan as part of a program to find tumors when they are small and easy to deal with. I believe your husband's nodule fits that category. You'll likely have lots of questions and feel free to ask as you go through the various consultations and procedures. After all, we are the lung cancer experts, at least in terms of experience. Stay the course. Tom

Craig, I'm not sure that anyone copes with lung cancer regardless of treatment possibilities. The disease flat beats on coping. I had 4 treatment failures in 5 attempts - a 200 batting average - in the course of 3 years. I also had a 6-month timeline but somehow one treatment came along that worked and I've lived for 12 years. I think we need to know more about your disease (type - stage - past therapy) to have suggestions for you. Take some time and fill us in. We might have some ideas for you to consider. Stay the course. Tom

Caroline, A sunny island indeed! And it looks like some of that sun is shining on your treatment. CEA markers are moving in the right direction and Iressa is having a positive impact on your cancer. So, you are concerned about how long Iressa will keep working. I knew a woman who took a similar drug, Tarceva, to treat her lung cancer. It worked for about 10 years and might have worked longer but she passed from a heart attack. Your fear is completely understandable. I've felt it. But, none of us know how much time we have left in this world. More than 12 years ago, I was once told I might have 6 months to live. Moreover, none of us can control the future. It took me a long time to wrestle with my fear and you might benefit from my experience. The more I tried to wrestle with it, the more frightening my fear became. So, I just stopped thinking about it and focused instead on enjoying each day. Today, I try and find a little joy in each day and succeed most days. I let the future take care of itself. You are not ranting at all and as far as feeling unmotivated, well that's understandable. You are in cancer treatment. How could that be exciting! Stay the course. Tom

Skmcornett, Clean PET scan - wow! That is grand good news! You are clearly right about statistics not mattering. What matters is you've got clean scans, you are NED, and be will walking the park at the DFW Breathe Deep event. Almost everything else is irrelevant except for one thing - your celebration! I would be at the DFW event but for a very important life celebratory moment - the birth of my first grandchild. So take a lap for me. Stay the course. Tom

Mary, Sorry I missed your post. I'm doing that a lot lately. Too much chemotherapy! If you are looking for others that have gone through this, then you've come to the right place. Some of us here designed the tee shirt the experts wear! I must confess, I'd not heard of BAC adenocarcinoma. From what I've read, BAC tends to be sensitive to targeted therapy, now emerging from genetic testing of your tumor. Have you asked (perhaps your surgeon would be a good first place to ask) if material was retained after your lobectomy to run a molecular profile on your cancer cells. Here is some information about molecular profiling and how target therapy is effectively treating adenocarcinoma. https://www.lungevity.org/about-lung-cancer/lung-cancer-101/treatment-options/targeted-therapy Let us know about the type of chemotherapy you are receiving. Knowing the type, we might be able to offer some suggestions to avoiding side effects and other tips and tricks. When are you scheduled for your next scan? This is a hard fight Mary. My cancer recurred three times after surgery. I had a total of 4 treatment failures before the 5th treatment finally dealt with the beast. It is a long war so put on your battle rattle and prepare. Most importantly, if I can live, so can you. Stay the course. Tom

Kathleen, Sorry I missed your follow-up message. Perhaps your MRI is complete. I hope you asked him why. Surgeon, radiologist and oncologist in that order. Hopefully things will get on track. I've experienced surgical reluctance to operate on a radiated lung. My surgery, post conventional radiation, almost killed me. But, there is a type of directed radiation called stereotactic radiation (sometimes called CyberKnife) that might proves useful for addressing this recurrence. I hope you and your oncologist talked about this procedure. Let us know the results of your consultation.\ Stay the course. Tom

Welcome here! Let's start with your questions, recognizing that I'm not a doctor. "What type of scan?" Likely a low-dose computed axial tomography or CAT scan. If so, it is a 3-dimensional x-ray with much higher resolution than a normal x-ray. It enables radiologist who interpret the results to discern and measure abnormalities in the thorax cavity. These can be as small as 1 mm in size. If there is an abnormality, it is reported to the ordering physician. While the test can disclose abnormalities, it cannot diagnose them as cancerous. A biopsy or positron emission tomography or PET scan can determine active metastatic cancer. Here is more information on diagnostic scans you might find useful - https://www.lungevity.org/about-lung-cancer/lung-cancer-101/diagnosing-lung-cancer/imaging-tests "What do I think about the result she was given, that her lungs are perfect?" It happens. All that is necessary to get lung cancer is a pair of lungs. Smoking is a principal cause but 18 to 20-percent of those diagnosed are "never smokers." How long does it take for cancer to develop? Now that is a question I can answer from experience. I had an x-ray in January 2004 to diagnose 2 broken ribs. No cancer was evident. A month later, an x-ray confirmed by a CAT scan showed a tumor 2 3/4" long and 1" wide blocking the main stem bronchus of my right lung. I smoked for 33 years and tried to quit many times. I was addicted to nicotine and have since learned that nicotine is as addictive as heroin, in terms of the strength of addiction. So, I can completely understand why she continues to smoke. I also understand that nothing she reads, sees or that you say will persuade her to quit. In fact, your pleading might harden her attitude. You might pray and I will also. You might encourage, softly. You might get other loved ones to do the same. But persuasion by logical argument will get you no where. I knew smoking was bad for me. I read all the warnings, saw all the commercials and until I was diagnosed with late-stage non small cell Squamous cell lung cancer, it was a disease someone else got. She has an addiction and will need to find a reason herself for quitting. We are not sticklers for where you post. Anywhere you feel comfortable will do. You'll likely have more questions and ask away. We are the lung cancer experts, at least in terms of experience. Stay the course. Tom

Renij, I've had a lot of delays of scheduled infusions, never for kidney problems, but for low red and white cell counts. My infusions were every three weeks and I once skipped two infusion cycles. My doc told me that the two-cycle delay should not adversely affect my treatment. I was declared NED after the infusion course was complete so the delay likely had no effect on my treatment. I don't know enough about kidney function and chemotherapy to give you insight. So, I wouldn't know about a wall. Relying on old labs during a consultation seems odd. That never happened to me. It might be a problem with the practice administration not loading the labs into the medical record. Most records are computerized these days and one would think information technology would solve a problem like chronological ordering of labs. I agree with FLgirl in drinking water. That was something my chemo nurse told me - drinking lots of water 2 or 3 days prior to the infusion. I am not sure I can remember the reason but I did consume lots of water. Stay the course. Tom

Kathleen, Yes - I had 4 recurrences. One after surgery and three after chemo. Stereotactic radiation (CyberKnife) finally dealt with the hold-out tumor. Lung cancer is persistent. Stay the course. Tom

Mike, My experience matched Ruthie's almost exactly. Diagnosed in ER and oncologist took over. But I did see a pulmonologist to assess my lung function to ensure i had enough lung capacity to sustain life after removal of my right lung. I hope your Saturday consultation provides good news. Stay the course. Tom

Josh, It is sad that we need online cancer forums. Like you, I'd rather we spend time on something else. I'm glad googling got you here. You dad has a hard row to hoe as your investigation likely revealed. He'll likely receive a combination chemotherapy (two chemo drugs administered at the same time) and he may indeed have a good response. He may also have conventional radiation particularly if his knee becomes painful. Depending on his tolerance for IVs (mine was low) he may want to request a port. It is a simple, low risk, procedure done on an outpatient basis but it will eliminate the need to access veins for infusions, blood work and the like. It is good you've gathered your family to support his battle. As he gets into treatment, you'll have questions and this is a good place to ask. Stay the course. Tom

That's the girl Ruthie. Stay the course. Enjoy the life you have.

Stacy, How does one cope with a loved one's lung cancer diagnosis? If the literal meaning of cope is to deal effectively, then one doesn't. I was the patient. I didn't deal effectively with my diagnosis or treatment, particularly failed treatments. My wife was my caregiver. She didn't cope either but persisted nevertheless. There simply is no coping with manifest uncertainty and fear. So what can you do for your mother? You can stand by her, carry some of her weight, love her, and care for her. You can assist with treatment and help overcome side-effects. You can talk of pleasant family memories, or laugh about that infamous Christmas or Thanksgiving celebration that every family seems to have. You can thank her for giving you life, wisdom and courage. You can help her find something in each day to enjoy. You can help her laugh or cry or both. You can talk about family pictures, helping her to remember joyful occasions. You can talk about special memories, dreams come true, special things she did for you and your family. These are things only you can do. Despite her devastating diagnosis, treatment is providing extra life. Amid the mayhem of treatment and discomfort, try and help her find a little piece of joy everyday. You'll have more questions and we are pleased to entertain them. Stay the course. Tom

Early on, we learn Algebraic equations with only one solution. Then we encounter equations with two solutions -- Quadratic Equations. Consider: x2 + 3x – 4 = 0. This has two solutions: x = -4 or x = 1. Both are correct; one is negative and one is positive. Algebra students get very comfortable with solutions having a positive and negative outcome -- lung cancer survivors are less comfortable! The positive outcome for lung cancer is extended life. But like quadratic equations, there can be negative outcomes that are less desirable. Mine is chronic pain. So to the question, how does one fit a negative outcome into the positive? No, Algebra does not help. But, for those in treatment or surviving after treatment, preparing for life with negative outcomes is helpful. My chronic pain has two primary and many secondary causes. I have peripheral neuropathy -- numbness in fingers and toes including a burning sensation in toes and pain in the foot joints. It is a common Taxol side effect, and we informally call it “taxol toes.” Also, I have nerve damage caused by quite a few surgeries to my right chest that is chronically painful. How do I fit these negative outcomes into life? My strategy is to tolerate chronic pain until bedtime. Then something must be done or I won’t sleep. I’ve cycled through over-the-counter, then prescribed sleep medications. Both worked for a while. Doc found a study suggesting a therapeutic effect for Xanax on chronic pain. He prescribed a 0.5mg dose at bedtime, allowing an increase to a total of 1.5mg. This relaxes me and makes me drowsy. It works about 6-in-10 nights. A secondary cause sometimes drives pain above chronic levels. These are: chemotherapy induced joint pain; muscle cramps; stress, anger and excitement; sneezing and coughing; and flying on aircraft. The joint pain, an in-treatment side effect, required narcotic medication in every case to relieve. Reliance on narcotics has two downsides: an inability to think and function normally the next day and constipation. However, other secondary causes occasionally require narcotic medication to achieve relief. Because of the downside to narcotics, we’ve developed a couple of unique pain abatement procedures that may be of interest. Our first strategy is to apply prescribed lidocaine transdermal patches to incision scars and or feet in combination with Xanax. Since lidocaine dosage is limited to 2 patches, my wife cuts them into strips and fits them along my incision scars, and applies them to my feet. A pair of tight fitting socks are stretched over my feet to keep them in place. When the offending pain spike is either in my chest or feet, a full 2-patch application is used. The patches are applied in time to allow the Xanax to work and I sleep, hopefully. The next works only for feet and is a back-up strategy if lidocaine fails. My wife uses an ace bandage to wrap reusable frozen Blue Ice packs to the bottom of each foot. The cold is very uncomfortable for a couple of minutes, but in a short time my feet are numb and if I’m lucky, I sleep. Muscle cramping is a long term side effect from chemotherapy. It stems from low Magnesium blood levels. I take at least 500 mg of Magnesium supplement per day. My oncologist would rather I take 1000 mg, but I suffer digestive system revolt. I learned that almonds provide 75 mg of Magnesium per ounce so I snack in lieu of a second pill. Regardless, I still experience one to two cramping events per day. When they occur anywhere near my feet or chest, chronic pain soars. There is however, no remedy for cramps. The worst occur in the middle of the night and wake me up. Archimedes, the ancient Greek hydrologist, provided an explanation for why immersing up to my neck in a swimming pool eases incision pain. The upward buoyant force of the water offsets the gravitational pull on chest incisions thus minimizing pain. Almost every day our community pool is open, I spend hours in the water. This does not eliminate pain but reduces it noticeably. On leaving the pool, the normal level returns but it is very therapeutic. Lying in a bathroom tub, unfortunately, does not work because there is not enough water for complete submersion. A hot tub works fine, but there is no difference in pain relief from water temperature. Flying in a commercial airliner also spurs chronic incision pain. Most airlines pressurize their cabin between 6,000 and 8,000 feet pressure altitude. This lower-than-sea-level pressure expands my chest cavity increasing incision pain. All commercial flights hurt but long flights are very painful often requiring a dose of narcotic medication in flight. Not flying is the only remedy. Those having thoracic surgery have long complained of incision pain after commercial air flights and cabin pressure is the cause. Another secondary cause is extensive coughing and sneezing. Sneezing is particularly bad when it is a “surprise sneeze”. During the worst pollen events, I stay indoors and I try and avoid school age children to keep the chest colds in check, especially when school is in session. The last secondary cause I have the most control over: stress, anger and excitement. Admittedly, excitement is the easiest to control except when the Dallas Cowboys are playing my beloved Philadelphia Eagles. These two games a year are indeed stressful and since I live among cowboys, someone is going to be angry over the outcome. My wife reminds me when I complain too much that I am lucky to be alive. What’s a little pain given the alternative. She’s right. Doc reminds me to avoid scheduling things in the morning so I can sleep-in late if pain interferes. He’s right. Football season is right around the corner and it is a good thing games are scheduled in the afternoon and evening. Now if the Eagles start winning, everything will be fine! Stay the course.

Caroline, Welcome here. I've visited your country several times. It is a beautiful place and recall taking a chair lift up a mountain side with a wonderful view of the harbor and tropical jungle. I purchased a beautiful jade bracelet for my wife in Singapore and she wears it often recalling our fond memories of your island nation. I hope you are well and that treatment is not too difficult. You might share details about your treatment so people who've experienced the same therapy can offer information about their treatment journey. As Donna said, this is a good place to ask questions about treatment. Stay the course. Tom

Diana, Welcome here. No need to apologize for your post length. I completely identify with your concern. I'm sure you've discovered in your research that the symptoms you are describing could be lung cancer. They could be something else. The alpha-1 antitrypsin test will rule out emphysema, but emphysema would be an explanation for most of your symptoms, even pain which might result from your coughing. I'm not a doctor but at this stage, I'll offer this advice. Only worry about those things you can control, and then only at the time you can control them. I learned this the hard way by trying to be the ultimate control freak during treatment. All I did was add emotional burden to what was already a very troubling problem. Since then, I've learned to mentally put things into a mental box and keep the lid closed until it is time to deal with them. Your pulmonologist should be able to render a diagnosis for your problems. A clean chest X-ray is a good sign and I hope you've got a flair up of asthma. Many of my family live in Pennsylvania, and they are complaining of a truly difficult pollen season. Come back and tell us about your pulmonologist consultation, or before if you care to. Stay the course. Tom

Samantha, Welcome here. I have not taken Gilotrif or afatinib. My chemo was administered in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and targeted treatment of cancer cells had yet to be discovered. Gilotrif, I've read, is newly approved as first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer tumors that have epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or exon 21 substitution mutations. It is also used as second-line treatment for people who were first administered platinum-based chemotherapy (carboplatin and others) and experienced a recurrence. I knew a lady who took a similar classification of EGFR inhibitor drug called Tarceva and lived for 10 years. It controlled her cancer so well, she was able to live an active life until she passed from a heart attack. So targeted treatment can be very effective. Here is some information on Gilotrif - https://www.lungevity.org/about-lung-cancer/lung-cancer-101/treatment-options/targeted-therapy I'm sure someone on this site will contact you and relate their experience with targeted treatment and or Gilotrif. Stay the course. Tom

John, With respect, I disagree. I've heard and read about people trying to sell "non-conventional", "holistic methods" and the like in my 12 years of surviving this nastiness. I know people who died because they believed enough to try the non conventional. Re-reading all your posts, it appears you are positioning yourself to peddle unproven methods using this site as a sales platform. You are saying: "I know for a fact that certain fasts" (classic scam statement), citing "Dr. Valter Longo" (not a medical doctor but a PhD genetics researcher with interest in aging and has two preliminary studies on fasting that he admits are not conclusive) and the "Rife Frequency Generator"(doesn't even work when plugged in) as curative measures. I'll be frank. Are you trying to get purchase on this site to offer "non-conventional" or "holistic methods" as a viable means for effective treatment of lung cancer? I'm flagging your posts and bringing them to the attention of senior LUNGevity management for review. Tom

Hello Yovana! Stage IB, VATS, left lower lobe resection, negative nodes and recovering - priceless! Let's hope for a clean CT and that your adenocarcinoma responds to targeted therapy in case there are future discoveries. Donna says you are fortunate and I agree. Lung cancer isn't normally discovered early stage. So your's was fortuitous. I'm sure your medical team has you scheduled for recurring visits and diagnostics. Lung cancer is persistent. From what I've read, about 30% of those who have a successful Stage I treatment outcome experience a reoccurrence. So be vigilant with your medical monitoring. In the meantime, revel in that gift that all lung cancer patients desire - extra life. Stay the course. Tom