LaurenH

Steff,
Was your mother's current cancer biopsied? if so, ensure the biopsy sample is tested for biomarkers.  There have been many advances in treating certain forms of non small cell adenocarcinoma and these are the emergence of targeted therapy treatments.  Read about targeted therapy here. 
It might be time for your mom to see a medical oncologist for development of a treatment plan.
Stay the course.
Tom

Just got home from the hospital. So fortunate that they were able to do the VATS surgery. Still, hard but doable. Had to come home with a portable device for the chest tube. I have a small air leak that is taking time to close up. Glad to be home and out of the hospital. Now, it will take time to get used to being down 2 sections of lung. Will work on my breathing and losing the extra weight so it will be easy to breathe. I won't know what they staged it at for a few more days. I can wait. Thanks for all of the kind thoughts and prayers. You were all with me. 
Sarah

That's good to hear, Julie! Please keep us posted!
With gratitude,
Lauren
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Digital Community Manager
LUNGevity Foundation

Hi, Steff,
I am sorry that you and your family are going through this again. Tom is a great example of a long term survivor who has lived through recurrences. Please keep us posted on your mom's surgery and biopsy. Once we have more information, we can connect you to others with a similar diagnosis. We have many resources for patients/survivors and caregivers, so please let me know if you'd like to learn more about our support program. We are here for you.
With gratitude,
Lauren
--
Digital Community Manager
LUNGevity Foundation

Hi, Steff,
I am sorry that you and your family are going through this again. Tom is a great example of a long term survivor who has lived through recurrences. Please keep us posted on your mom's surgery and biopsy. Once we have more information, we can connect you to others with a similar diagnosis. We have many resources for patients/survivors and caregivers, so please let me know if you'd like to learn more about our support program. We are here for you.
With gratitude,
Lauren
--
Digital Community Manager
LUNGevity Foundation

Welcome Raymond! It's good that you went to Sloan Kettering when you weren't satisfied with the answers you were getting. Cancer does mean a lot of reevaluation. Hang in there! 
Bridget

Hello Raymond. Welcome here. 
We share a diagnosis and I had pre chemo and radiation to shrink my tumor and allow a pneumonectomy of my right lung. 
Sounds like you are aware of the need to be your own advocate when dealing with complex medicine and lung cancer is very complex. Your PCP's involvement is a plus. Mine was invaluable in setting up my treatment team and "nudging" them into action. 
Make sure your doctors know you are coughing up blood. 
Stay the course. 
Tom

Mally,
Right! Anxious time to next scan. 
Remember, lung cancer is persistent so keep your game face on. The 6 month scan interval is a good sign but it is just a sign. 
Most important is to be doing something you enjoy while surfing your NED. You got the promise of treatment -- extra life. Now have fun!
Stay the course. 
Tom

Hey!  Mally's got a NED scan!  Celebration time, do the dance. 
So your are on the 6 month scan program. Good for you. I can recall every other month scan frequencies. Still, that is future stuff. Celebrate now. 
Stay the course. 
Tom

Ive recently had ct scans done and no sign of cancer which im totally thrilled about but im scheduled for my next scan in 6 months time but just wondering if you all wait 6 months for your next recurrence scan after getting the all clear ?
 
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Julie,
You said it best!
Stay the course. 
Tom

A treatment plan gives peace and a place to focus, at least in my mind.  Good luck as you start your treatment!

Hi all...It's June 21, and I have an update. My oncologist took scans of my brain an lungs. The cancer tumor on my diapham has shrunk for 12 centimeters ti about 1 centimeter./ All but one of the lesions has disappeared from my brain and the radiation oncologist says my progress is further ahead for the amount of time I have been in treatment...he called me an overachiever. I have 2 more chemo treatments and will be able to see what the doctor wants to to do.
Thanks for your continued support.
Vicky
 
 
Hey everyone,
Thanks for all the support. I go for CT scans on my head and lungs on June 1st to see what, if any, good the radiation and chemo has done.  I got the markers back and do not qualify for Keytruda. They require 50 in the PD-L1 and mine came back with a 4! Figures!
Anyway. the doctor is still pretty positive. I just need some good news from the doctor like some damn procedure has worked.Thanks for listening all...hopefully I will get some good news soon.
 
Vicky

Vicky,
How about that!  Great report.  
I'm using a phone to respond.  Helping my daughter with her brain radiation so I'm struggling with this small keyboard.  But the forum format on my phone starts with one's first post.  I therefore took time to read yours. Interesting, indeed.
So you are on the NED road and what does one do with the gift of NED?
Stay the course.
Tom
 

Happy to hear the positive news, Vicky!  Way to be an overachiever!!!  I hope that this positive news will help you and your husband to look forward to the future. Best wishes!

Steff,
I am a fourth time cancer survivor. I had 4 recurrences after reaching a state of no evidence of disease (NED). So here is the hope I offer, if I can live so can your mother. 
Lung cancer is persistent. At some level, recurrences should be expected. Take some time to get acquainted with this site. Most of us were not "one and done" survivors. But we are here. 
Let us know the type of lung cancer your mom has (for example non small cell Squamous cell lung cancer). Those with a similar type can chime in and tell you of their experience. 
Stay the course. 
Tom

Thinking of you today, hope all goes well/went well. I look forward to seeing a "selfie" of you finishing the 1/2 marathon!

Hi, Raymond.  I'm glad you found us - we're great listeners because we've all been in your shoes.  Based on your post, it sounds like there is a lot of  uncertainty with a treatment plan.  Do you have a new oncologist and surgeon or are you still using those that were unclear as to how to proceed? Has your surgeon indicated if you'll have the VATS (robotic) surgery or the traditional surgery? Both are effective but VATS is less invasive than the traditional surgery.
Any questions we can answer for you?  There is a wealth of knowledge here, especially from the "old-timers".  

Tom I found out this morning that if you're 55 or older the chances of the VA changing your benefits are slim to none. I think I have that covered by at least 10 years hahaha. I woke up again to my chest and my back on the right side under my arm where they did incision swelled up quite nicely as it has been. I am wondering how long the swelling will take to go down now. I am just anxious to get this over with I know it's only been a week. To anyone who may be following or contemplating doing this it is hard but you can beat it I will

Kaly,
The symptoms you report are side effect-like (fatigue, and heartburn) and not (pain and swallowing). With this potentential mixed bag, I'd report the symptoms to the doc and wait for the scan. 
Of course, during my chemo, I had a handful of phantom pains. Is he having radiation with the chemo?  This could explain the swallowing difficulty. 
Stay the course. 
Tom

St. Michael,
Experience with tiny non metastatic nodules? Well yes, I do.  So do many others.  I also completely agree on your statement about surgery and concern over possible mets in both lungs.  It would not have happened.
I hope her scans continue to show NED.
Stay the course.
Tom

Thankyou Lauren and brenda and im so thankful to be part of this community because its full of positive feedback and it gives you hope during the treatment and on an emotional point of view thats so important and only people going through this can truly understand the under spoken fear we live with each day so its great to have somewhere to go to get some hope and courage ..

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Hey Cheryncp123,
I've been doing this cancer thing now for almost 10 years (I have another cancer life- Melanoma 3c, so I've been doing this for awhile) and it gets me every time. Scans, treatment decisions, transitions, yup all of them send me to crazy town.  So I pray and bleed my heart out to the One I know cares more than anyone.  I also intentionally plan fun things with friends.  My friends know I go crazy before scans or decisions or any transition time, so they're happy to provide a temporary distraction for awhile.  I remind myself that I have many people who I love and who love me.
I also use the "trip to crazy town" as my friends call it, it to help me figure out what I want.  Yes, I want to be healed, truly cancer free with my 23 year old body again (HAAA!), but often the crazy talk in my head is also telling me something else.  I think I'm just returning from crazy town.  Right now I'm trying to make treatment decisions and, while they're an educated guess at best, I'm complicated because of two active cancers, so figuring out the way to go is complicated (and of course seems to have taken a long long time to make this decision).  
But as I reflect on the decision making process, I've realized what I want in the treatment.  I've figured out my priorities and what I'm comfortable risking.  At the beginning of this I didn't know what priority I put on things.  I couldn't answer the question, "what do I want" with more than "to be healed".  This is a given. of course I want to be healed!  But how much quality of life am I willing to give?  If I am completely deafened (I am near deaf, now) is this ok?  If I can no longer walk because of inflammatory arthritis everywhere, is this ok.  What am I willing to trade?  
Wrestling with these questions and coming up with some kind of squishy answer has been huge.  The decision is still coming (we'll decide on Monday) but I have found peace with it.  Or at least for now, I'm not on the indefinite loop riding around crazy town in my head--off ramp found!  And this is huge.  
So I guess my strategy is to :
Acknowledge God plus nothing is enough because I was loved before I was born! (I think of this as taking God to crazy town with me). Be good, kind, and gentle with myself. Lean into my friends Listen to hear if I'm telling myself anything in the crazy and learn from it. Be good, kind and gentle with myself and tell the committee in my head that I've heard them so "thank you , you can shut up, now". Continue being good, kind and gentle with myself and love others. I wish you peace (and an appropriate off ramp)
Shalom,
Julie

Good morning, Dawn.  Quite a few of us were similar to your dad - no real symptoms or symptoms that didn't seem respiratory in nature and then all of a sudden, we're sitting here with advanced lung cancer.  Do you know if your dad's tumor was tested for any genetic markers/mutations?  There are some great targeted therapies available based on those results.
As for your other question, no, we really don't have any idea how long he can live with his cancer.  The oncologist, if asked, will give you the 5 year survival stats that are very discouraging for late stage patients.  Here's my opinion about stats: ignore them.  They're usually based on patients diagnosed 5 years ago and don't take into account your dad's overall health.  The stats also don't reflect the new treatments made available to lung cancer patients in the last 3 years.  They also don't reflect if people dropped out of treatment or chose not to pursue treatment.  There are several individuals on this forum who, statistically, should have died years ago but they're still here.
I know this is overwhelming for you, your dad, and your family.  But if I can give you one piece of advice, it's this: find a reason to smile and celebrate each day, even those crummy chemo days. None of us know when our last day is, and it would be a shame to spend each day worrying if it was the last day.  I did that last summer.  Wasn't worth my energy.
We're here for you.

Dawn,
How long can your dad live with advanced stage lung cancer? I've lived 13 and a half years.  If I can live, so can your father.
Susan's advice about statistics is good.  If you must read something about survival statistics, then read this.  And listen to the Stephen J. Gould essay cited in the document.
I, like Susan, spent at least 2 years fretting about how long I'd live.  When I look back on that time, I realize how wasteful an endeavor fretting about life span is.  Years later, I've come to the realization that my attitude about life and treatments directly affects the quality of both.  Here is an essay I posted that expands on that point of view.
Your dad will likely undergo treatment that will extend his life.  How long is the wrong question, my view.  How well is the relevant question.  Welcome here.  You'll have many questions and this is a good place to ask.
Stay the course.
Tom