gracie6804

Hello, I am a newbie to the site and to LC. I received my dx the second week of May 2015, following lobectomy July 7, 2015 it is determined the dx is adenocarcinoma stage IIIA. I am 47 yrs old F married with a blended family of 7 children ages 29 to 15, and 5 grandchildren. The only thoughts I can allow myself to have are HOPE, FIGHT, SURVIVE, STRENGHT. Oh I forgot to mention I am a hospice RN for the past 10 years. So I understand the journey and the direction it may take me. But until there is a turn in my road I will KEEP up my STRENGHT, FIGHT to SURVIVE, and remain HOPEFUL. Words, even made up, have meaning. Words can make us laugh, cry, hurt, become angry, etc. So, if silly words or expressions can make me smile bring them on. [emoji4] I look forward to reading everyone's stories & struggles. Hopefully we can help strengthen one another and encourage each other to fight to survive. God bless to all.

Bob,
 
Yours is a hard case.  Thought a lot on how to respond.  I conclude a treatment or no treatment decision is very personal.  I did not make a no treatment decision and that achieved two outcomes: extended life at the price of debilitation during treatment and chronic pain after.  Yet, for me the outcome of extra life was worth the cost.  Some I've known decline treatment and their quality of short life avoids the cost of treatment induced debilitation.  Unfortunately we share a disease with few available treatment options for late stage diagnosis.
 
If you choose treatment, then I'm sure the professionals at MD Anderson will help you choose between conventional chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
 
Having said all that, I've figured out my meaning of life since my diagnosis and extended treatment.  It is joy.  When I experience joy I am happy.  Before diagnosis, I can't recall many times in my life where I experienced joy.  After diagnosis, there are many.  So my purpose for living is to experience joy.  I spent 54 years living with few joyful experiences and more than 11 years living with many.  Cancer changed my outlook on life.  Find joy in living for either a treatment or no treatment decision.
 
Stay the course.
 
Tom 

Hi Sam, 
It sounds like you have a great support team. That's fantastic! We are here for you too. How are you feeling? 
 
I want to share this video with you about someone who has a similar diagnosis 
 
LUNGevity also has the LifeLine service available to you as well. We can connect you with a mentor with a similar diagnosis for you or your caregiver to communicate with. Here is the link for more information: http://www.lungevity.org/support-survivorship/get-connected/lungevity-lifeline
 
Also, If you have any questions about navigating the message boards please feel free to send me a message. 

Hi all, I've been to 2 DC Hope Summits and 2 regional Summits so I've met many of you. So I'm joining in here to share my story and, I hope, to help others find answers and HOPE.
In 10/10, I was diagnosed with stage 4, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. After treatment with concurrent chemo (cisplatin/etopicide) and radiation I am stable and now NED. I've had no maintenance therapy and have no clue what my driving mutation is (not enough genetic material taken to test). I'm considered a complete responder- they got it all. 4 yrs, 9mos with no progression. It can happen!

Pessimism doesn't cure any disease.  It either makes it more difficult or impossible to get over or cure.
 
Stress is bad for you.  All of us should do what we can to reduce stress, as --- go for a walk, talk about what is going on, get it off your chest.
 
Lung cancer is horrible.  I lost my father in law and my husband to it.  Some how I survived. Some of us do survive.
 
Donna G

Living with Lung Cancer
Sherry Guarneri suffered a multitude of physical effects from her lung cancer treatments including hoarseness in her voice from the chemo, losing her balance, losing her hair, migraines, nausea, dizziness, suffering from anticipatory sickness, losing thirty lbs., thrush and the list goes on and on of the things that she lost; except for her sense of humor and her love for her family.
Sherry was diagnosed with stage IV Adenocarcinoma with metastasis to the brain, on February 9, 2013. She was an Emergency Room Technician at a local hospital and had hurt her back helping a patient. The pain in her cervical bones would not subside and finally an emergency room doctor encouraged her to have an MRI.
She was stunned by the diagnosis. Sherry was under forty-five with a 1 and a half year old and two older children and was thought to be in great health. How could this happen? She learned that lung cancer can happen to anyone with lungs, whether or not they had a smoking history.
She remembers feeling ashamed at first after her diagnosis. At first she cried, then she got angry at the prognosis she was given. Eventually, she became empowered.
“I wished there were people like me I could talk to. There wasn’t anyone like me; I was in great health; I was young. The Sociologist said the only support group was for breast cancer, which was clearly ‘a different cancer than mine.’ But I could call someone. That wasn’t a help. I needed more – a book, perhaps. So, I wrote my own. For people like me, who were young, never thought this would happen. It changed the course of my life.”
She wants to encourage other survivors to become advocates to help raise awareness about this disease.
“Write a book about your experience (I had SHuzie published regarding my lung cancer experience for free on Amazon and a portion of Amazon Smiles will be targeted for LUNGevity); write an article for your local newspaper; run marathons; share information about lung cancer via Facebook or run a lung cancer support group.” Sherry is also trying to get legislation passed to approve lung cancer awareness license plates in her state.
When asked what advice she would give to someone newly diagnosed, Sherry says to be an empowered and educated patient. Ask questions about your treatments and your care. Confide in your doctors and nurses and have a loved one advocate on your behalf.
“I want people to know that having any kind of cancer is not an automatic death sentence. The best thing about this cancer is I get to take care of me for a change. I get to literally slow down and smell the roses. I could die tomorrow; but so could my neighbor or my husband. We should appreciate the moment. I am LIVING with lung cancer.”
Feeling supported is also very important in the lung cancer journey. Sherry didn’t find a support group in her local community but she did find a national lung cancer community this May at the LUNGevity HOPE Summit in Washington DC.
“When I left the 2014 LUNGevity HOPE Summit my thought process had changed. I was happier and I was mesmerized. I felt accepted. I felt loved. The HOPE Summit is a room of my people. They are my people. I have never felt so understood by patients and my husband never felt so understood by caretakers of the LUNGevity HOPE Summit.”
For more information about LUNGevity, please visit www.lungevity.org