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nsio

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Everything posted by nsio

  1. Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to respond to my questions. Surgery is tomorrow, and I'm still smoke-free, today being day 11. Quitting has been surprisingly easy. Perhaps putting it in perspective with lung cancer makes the difference. Like the other two times I've faced the cancer monster, I'll fight with everything I've got. My hair has just started to grow back after the last round of chemo, and I will be sad if I loose it again... but better than the alternative.
  2. Hello, I’m new here, frightened, and have a few questions. Background: I had breast cancer, followed by chemo and radiation in 1990. At the time, prognosis was poor, but all was good until 2015 when a I had a recurrence. This time, the cancer was in both sides, so I had a bilateral mastectomy in June. This was followed by dose-dense chemo (AC-T), which I finished in November. At 60 years old, a smoker, and aggressive chemo, I was pretty tired by the end. Nonetheless, I found I was getting stronger with each passing day post-chemo. So, four weeks post-chemo, I was referred to a thoracic surgeon because of a nodule found in the upper lobe of my right lung. This 1 CM, mixed solid/ground-glass nodule was an incidental finding on a CT scan. The radiologist noted the nodule to be suspicious for adenocarcinoma. The surgeon agrees and is certain it is primary lung cancer (vs. a met from the breast cancer). He will be performing a VATS wedge resection next week. He is hoping it in-situ, but if it is stage 1, he will need to remove the lobe in a second surgery. I was told a needle biopsy isn’t practical because of the location and composition. The surgeon also ordered a PET scan to see what “lights-up,” but that has to be conducted at another hospital about an hour away. They could not schedule it until 10 days after my surgery. The surgeon is a top surgeon in one of Ontario’s finest cancer centres. The centre is also a level 1 lung surgery centre. So, I have confidence in the approach. Questions: How will the recovery be from a VATS wedge resection? How much pain will I have? Will I be able to care for myself at home, when I’m released from hospital a day or two later? I’ll note that while I did smoke for 48 years, I quit 6 days ago, hoping it will help with surgery. I don’t plan to smoke again. I had a lung function test last week and didn’t do so well, not surprisingly, but well enough for surgery. Will I be in reasonable shape to go for a PET scan 10 days later? A relative will be driving me, but with traffic, I can count on about 3 hours in the car. Thank you for reading, and I would appreciate hearing from anyone with any experience on this. Regards, Sio
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