kiams

Great news! There is nothing better than getting a positive report from your doctor.

Bill, Great news! Surgery is no fun, but it is very doable. I would also suggest talking to a couple of oncologists about adjuvant chemotherapy post surgery. Two studies came out last year that showed it significantly reduced the chance of recurrence in early stage patients. I went through four rounds after my surgery. It was very tolerable. I had a little fatigue for a couple of days after each infusion, but no nausea or vomiting. I worked throughout the chemo treatments. Don't let the fear of chemo keep you from getting the best treatment possible. You want to be as aggressive as you can be with this monster.

Congrats! I'm looking forward to hitting my one year next month.

Right on! As Lance's yellow arm band says "livestrong." Take as many trips as you are physically able to handle. Kevin

Great news!

I concur in the recommendation to get a second opinion. You have to be your own best advocate. I have a nationally recognized expert in lung cancer for an oncologist and I still sought a second opinion from the regional cancer foundation in San Francisco. While they concurred with everything my doctors were doing, it sure made me feel better. If you log on to the Richard Block Foundation website they will help you locate a multi-disciplinary tumor board in your area. Doctors are human beings, and some are better than others. Unfortunately, cancer is a deadly disease and sitting and waiting is always risky. I would aggressively seek out a second opinion. Kevin

Yesterday I had a mediastinumoscopy to biopsy a lymph node that had shown up in the center of my chest during a pet scan. When the surgeon got in there he could not locate a lymph node. Instead he found a mass of scar tissue from where he biopsied lymph nodes previously during my lung surgery. He took several tissue samples from the area that lit up and several more from the surrounding areas, and all were negative for cancer. The surgeon and the radiologist now believe the positive reading on the pet scan was nothing but inflamed scar tissue. I feel like I dodged a big bullet. While the mediastinumoscopy was no fun, I lost 600cc's of blood so they made me spend the night in the hospital, I sure was happy about the results. I want to thank all of you for sending positive thoughts. My prayers were certainly answered. Kevin

Don, I'm glad to see you are home and recovering. Also, it's good that the Cancer did not leave your lung. I was staged as IIa after my surgery because of some Lymph involvement. For me they did four rounds of chemo--cistplatin and Gemzar. Each round involved 2 infusions. On day one I would receive Cistplatin and Gemzar. I would be at the infusion center for 5-6 hours. Cistplatin is pretty rough on the kidneys so they would do a lot of irrigation on the day I got the cistplatin. On day eight I would receive the Gemzar. It only took an hour. I would then come back three weeks later to start the process all over agin. I never had any nausea, but the Cistplatin would make me very fatigued for a couple of days. The mix of anti-nausea drugs worked very well for me. Ask your doctor about Amend. It’s a new anti-nausea drug that works really well. My insurance would not cover the whole cost. I had to pay $45 each round for my share, but it was worth every penny. They started my chemo two months after my surgery. I was very nervous about the chemo, but found it to be OK. I worked throughout my treatments. I would have my infusions on Thurs, take Friday off, rest over the weekend, and then be back to work on Monday. If you have any specific questions don't hesitate to send me a PM.

I continue to have pain in my ribs and back from the surgery and its been 10 months. Unfortunately, when they use that rib spreader to get to the lung, I think it causes more damage than they want you to know.

Well it looks like I'm back on the roller coaster. My last scan revealed an enlarged lymph node in the same area of the chest were my tumor was located. I had a PET scan and there was uptake. The oncologist thinks it’s a recurrence. I'm having a bronchial scope done nest Thursday so it can be biopsied. I'm hopeful it's not a recurrence, but if it is at least its small and the CT/PET scan does not indicate activity anywhere else. Unfortunately, if it is back the oncologist wants to do chemo and radiation. I know from my last experience that I can handle the chemo but the radiation will be something new. Oh well, I guess I was getting too comfortable.

1. My Wife 2. My Son 3. Being here to tell them I love them 4. Riding my bike with a tail wind 5. Playing fetch with my dog

Don, Hopefully the insurance will approve quickly so you can get it done this weekend and start your recovery. Good luck. Hopefully there is nothing but a benign tumor in that kelp forest! Kevin

Don, Sounds like good news to me. The worst part of this ride is the ups, downs and uncertainties. Hopefully the appointment with the surgeon will go well. Kevin

I had four rounds of Gemzar and Cistplatin. My hair started to thin a bit after the second round. However, it thinned evenly so most people did not know. It took about three months after completion for my hair to get back to its previous fullness.

I'm no Dr. but that report sounds good. I'm sure your Dr. will confirm.

Don, I'm sure surgery will be an option. Also, congrats on the new grandchild! Now you have even more motivation to battle this beast. Kevin

Beth, I'm so sorry to read about your setback. Don't give up! If you battle this thing with the determination and humor you have displayed in your posts, you will definitely defeat this monster. Kevin

Great news. I have my next visit coming up in a couple of weeks. I know how nerve racking it is. I'm two months from my one year anniversary and I fret over every ache and pain. I used to always complain that life was going by too fast. Now I want it to SCREAM past until I've put a safe distance between myself and this thing. Then, I will want it to slow down! Once again great news!

Jane what an inspirational story. Your story and the countless other stories of survivors show that with the right attitude and medical help this disease can truly be tamed. Congratulations, and enjoy your trip to Europe. My experience has also taught me the importance of living your life to the fullest.

Good News! Waiting for test results is never easy, but it sure is nice when the results are good. Kevin

I'm pleased to report that I am now a proud member of the empty head club. I got the results this morning. Even though my wife and friends would probably disagree, the report says I'm normal! Now I get to relax until my next scan. Thank you all for your kind words and support. Everybody that posts on this board is great. Being able to share with others who have had similar experiences in invaluable.

I've been having mild, but continuous headaches the last couple of weeks. I called my Dr. who says it is probably nothing but ordered a MRI for Monday "just to make sure". I'm trying not to get too freaked out, but I almost never get headaches. I keep telling myself that it's probably just my sinuses do to the wet weather we've been having or stress from work. I wonder if I will ever get to a point where every little pain does not cause me to think I'm having a recurrence. Oh well, at least I'll know for sure by next week.

It has been nine months since my surgery and I still have pain in my ribcage. I tell people that I have made friends with it because it does not seem to be going away. I agrivated it last weekend playing catch with my son trying to get him ready for baseball tryouts. Cutting a rib and using a rib spreader is a pretty invasive procedure. Unfortunatly, I think there is always going to be residual soreness.

The pet scan that confirmed my lung tumor also found a small tumor in the right side of my thyroid. A subsequent biopsy confirmed it was a seperate primary thyroid cancer tumor. Two weeks after my lung surgery the right half my thyroid was removed. So far I have not needed any thyroid medication. I have also wondered about the conection betwen lung cancer and the thyroid. There was no histroy of cancer in my family but both my mother and sister had thyroid problems.

Marryanne, The infusion days for me were pretty easy. I would spend six hours at the infusion center on the days I received both drugs (cistplatin requires lots of irrigation). The biggest problem I had was boredom. I would bring my laptop computer and watch movies. I always brought comedies to take my mind off what I was doing. The fatigue always hit me on the second day. I would usually be wiped out for the first couple of days after the treatment, and then would slowly recover. After a week I usually felt pretty good. Its just important not to over do it. I learned early on it that if I pushed it, it would just make the recovery longer. Also ask the oncologist about Emend. It’s a new anti-nausea drug that worked wonders for me. I never got sick or nauseous during my treatments