BridgetO

I love your attitude and wish you all the best.

I agree with Tom about the need for laxatives with narcotic meds. If you wonder about what to take, give your doctor a call. As to the shortness of breath, has it gotten worse in the weeks since your surgery? If so, or if it does get worse, talking to your surgeon or pulmonologist would be a good idea.

I agree with Lou and Karen that a pulmonologist (or two) would be a good idea. You might also consider consulting withta palliative care doctor since you have had such a an array of diagnoses and procedures, and now so many lingering effects. They might help you and the other medical professionals sort this out and improve your quality of life.

I agree with Karen that a second opinion would be a good idea for this surgery. If given a choice, I'd want a surgeon who is experienced with VATs or robotic to do this.

Hurray for Tagrisso and Emily's mom! And Emily, too!

Hi Kimmiann, I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Has radiation been considered? It is sometimes used in early stage cancers when surgery isn't possible.

Hi Shauna, I'm sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis. You've gotten some good input from other forum members. There's just one thing I wanted to add. There's a medication called Neulasta that is given by injection after each infusion of chemotherapy infusion to help keep white blood cells up. Neopogen is another form of it and I think there are now some generic or biosimilar forms also. I wonder if your mother is getting anything like this?

Hello and welcome, I agree with Tom's advice to ask for a CT scan. I don't want to alarm you, but there is a type of lung cancer called a pancoast tumor, which causes shoulder and arm pain. It is rare in that most lung cancers don't cause any symptoms in early stages. A CT scan could rule this out. Best of luck to you and keep us posted.

Here's where you can find some info about targeted therapy for EFGR mutations: https://www.lungevity.org/for-patients-caregivers/navigating-your-diagnosis/treatment-options/targeted-therapy.

Hi Walfredo, Tumor board review is pretty common, especially where there's something unusual, which you certainly have! My surgeon took my case to tumor board to see if anyone thought my small tumor could be biopsied short of surgery. Noone thought it could be done because of its unusual location. I didn't get a written report, but just a verbal one. Not sure if this is the general practice. I would suspect they'll be talking about challenges due to your tumor's location. But they may need to know what the Mayo clinic says before making recommendations Seems like it will be hard to know what questions to ask, or for the surgeon to suggest a course of action until they hear from Mayo. Waiting is the hardest part! I don't have any great ideas about stress relief. When I was waiting for surgery for another non-lung cancer, the doctor offered to prescribe some calming meds. That might be a possibility for you,

People have different experiences after lobectomy, so I can't say whether this is normal or not. I suggest you talk to your doctor, preferably your pulmonologist if you have one.

I don't know anything about exparel block. After my surgery, I had a couple of doses of toradol, an extremely strong NSAID that can only be used short term. It was very effective. I was discharged the day after my VATS lobectomy with a chest tube still in place. My lung was still leaking air. I think it's pretty unusual both to be discharged so quickly and to be sent home with the tube in place. I was glad to go home, though, and it worked out fine. The pain I had was mostly from the chest tube, and I had oxycodone PRN. Once the chest tube was out, I used only tylenol and ibuprofen. I found that the VATS lobectomy was pretty easy as surgeries go.

Lizzy, I'm so sorry to hear about this development. Your decision for hospice seens like a good one. I wish you and your family comfort and peace.

I found that acupuncture helped with side effects of chemo.

Really helpful, Lily!

hi Aus and welcome here. I'm sorry to hear about your dad's diagnosis and problems with treatments. I'm wondering whether any clinical trials are being done in Australia. If so, it might be worthwhile to find out if there are any he'd qualiify for. Hang in there, Bridget O

Great to hear this good news.

Hi Kevin and welcome. I'm sorry to hear about your wife's diagnosis and mets. It sounds like they're doing all the right things. I'm glad you found us and I hope we can be a support to you. Let us know what questions you might have and how else we can support you. We well know that sometimes a person just needs to vent! Keep us posted and hang in there. Bridget O

Hi Luke. Keep in mind, as always, that we're not medical professionals here, but I'll tell you what I think. A granuloma is an area of tissue with inflammation. Necrosis means tissue is dying. I'm not familiar with organizing pneumonia, but Dr Google seems to say that steroids are sometimes used for it. I suggest that you ask your pulonologist for an explanation and any possible treatments. If I recall correctly, you work in a very dusty environment. You could ask your pulmonologist if this could have caused this. if it did, you might have a Worker's Comp claim. Bridget

Great news, Luke!

Hi Joan and welcome here! I'm sorry to hear about your continuing pain and weakness. I agree with Lou that a return of pain and weakness is unusual and that you should talk to your surgeon about it. Hang in there and keep us posted. Bridget O

Hi Cornelia and welcome! You've gotten some good information from other members, so I'm not going to repeat it. One thing though, I don't think that right lower lobe is any worse place to be than any other! I had my lower right lobe removed in 2016 and was diagnosed with NSCLC, stage 1A. I have had no evidence of disease (NED) since. Best of luck ! Bridget O

Hi Luke and welcome! I'm glad you found us. It's good that you had this CT and that you're seeing a lung specialist. Based on what's in your report, you've got some abnormalities in and around your lungs, but without further testing, there's no way to know if you have lung cancer. If a person does have lung cancer, the earlier it's found the easier it is to treat. It's a very scary time you're in and it's normal to be scared. Here's how I would interpret your report. Most nodules found in lungs aren't cancer. They can be infections, inflammation, or scar tissue, for exampleThe 15x9 mm nodule is smallish. "Spiculated" means it spiky or star shaped and nodules of this shape are suspicious for cancer. As the radiologist says, it needs a biopsy. There are several ways to do this, depending on size and location of the nodule. Some can be done with a needle through the chest wall and some with a bronchoscope, a device that goes down your bronchial tube. My nodule couldn't be done that way and had to be biopsied surgically. Those little 3mm nodules are probably too small to biopsy and need to be watched. Lymphadenopathy means something doesn't look right in some of your lymph nodes. Mediastinal are in the mediastinum. the space between the two lungs and hilar are in the area near the middle of the lung where the bronchial tubes and blood vessels go in. They may want to biopsy some of those, too. The rest of your findings probably don't relate to lungs. Of course you're scared! We've all been through this Being a non-smoker reduces your risk of lung cancer, but anybody can get it, smoker or not. Dusty factories could be a factor, but might also be a cause of some other problem in your lungs. No way to know any of this until you have a biopsy. My nodule, which was just a tiny bit smaller than yours, turned out to be cancer. I had a lobectomy (removal or the lower 3rd of my right lung. They took out and biopsied a whole lot of lymph nodes, which weren't cancerous. The surgery was done by VATS (video assisted, done through 3 small incisions) and was pretty easy as far as surgeries go. I didn't need further treatment. My surgery was in 2016 and I've had no evidence of cancer since. Hang in there, Luke. Ask us any questions you may have and let us know how we can support you. Bridget O

Hi Justin, Here are some suggestions: 1. Stop reading those damned internet statistics (this is not the first time you've heard this suggestion, right?).You know they're out of date. 2. Instead, listen to this: The Median isn't the Message, by Stephen J Gould. He was a scientist and a cancer survivor who understood what statistics can and can't tell us. 3. Get a grip and start enjoying your family! Lou is right on this! Stop wasting your one rare and precious life in fear. You'll be doing your family as well as yourself a big favor. 4. If you haven't already, consider cancer counseling and/or see if antidepressants are appropriate for you- I've found both of these helpful.5. 5. Know that we're here for you and vent and rant all you need to! Most, if not on his forum all, have been in the throes of hopelessness at times. Some have passed on. Those of us that are still posting are stlll here! This is proof that HOPE makes sense. My lung cancer was an early stage. However, lung cancer is my third primary cancer. My second was a rare and aggressive stage 3 gynecologic cancer with a "dismal" (my doc's word) prognosis. I continued with aggressive treatment and I've been NED for over 10 years. There were no guarantees for me, but I'm still kicking. Hang in there, Justin. You can do this!

Excellent!