BridgetO

Hi DC, Before I read Tom's response, I thought you meant that you hadn't got your scan results yet. If that's the case, call your doctor's office. Hang in there! Bridget O

Hi Holly, I like your hair loss plan! By all means, try the long earrings with the turbans. I'm 72 and retired. I found it interesting to be bald. If we were younger, we could think of it as a fashion statement. Bridget

Hi bes, I'm glad to hear you finally got some information and that your husband has a treatment plan. Hang in there! Let us know what we can do to support you. Bridget O

Hi Tammie, Welcome here. I second everything that Tom and Susan said and I don't have much to add. Hang in there and keep posting. You can learn a lot here and find support. Bridget O

Hi Kerry', Welcome here! It's great to hear you're doing well with your treatment. As Tom said, this will be a source of hope for other people on the forum. If you have time and inclination, enourage you to keep track of new posts through the "unread content" button at the top of the page at the right, under the Search box, and look for posts in which you can offer support or answer questions. Bridget O

Hi I didn't need chemo for my lung cancer, but I did have concurrent chemo and radiation, plus additional radiation. for a prior non-lung cancer. I had the 5 days a week radiation along with weekly cisplatin. I didn't lose my hair with that, although I thought I might. My understanding is that when cisplatin is given weekly, concurrently with radiation, it iis given at half the dose usually given if you're on an every-three-week schedule. So maybe that's why my hair didn't aall out then. The additional chemo was carboplatin and taxoterre and I did lose my hair with that. I had been prepared for it. Prior to my surgery, I had my long hair cut to above shoulder length, because I thought it would get to be a tangled mess in the hospital. Prior to chemo, I bought a cheap wig and had it style free at a local hospital. When the hair started to go, I got a buzz cut. Having no hair was less distressing to me than handsful coming out. Turned out I wore the wig seldom, but i did get quite a few hats and scarves. Some of them were pretty cute and I still wear them. Generally, I didn't find the hair thing to be a big deal. I know that some people do and that they spend a lot of time, money and effort dealing with it. A friend of a friend went to great lengths to keep her cancer and hair loss secret from a family member who was very seriously ill herself. She got her hair cut prior to chemo, and then got an expensive wig that duplicated her hairstyle so she could have a seamless transition. We each do what makes us most comfortable. Bridget O

Hi Holly and welcome here. It's good that you're getting a handle on the routine of treatment and beginning to let go of fear. Please let us hear more from you. If you feel comfortable writing about your diagonisis and treatment, you'll probably hear from others who have or had similar. In any event this is a good place to find hope and information. Bridget O

Hi Bootsnsaddles, Welcome to the forum. If you hit the "Forums" tab at the top, right under the Lungevity header, you'll get a list of Forums and the first one is "Introduce yourself". On the right side you'll see an orange bar "Start a new topic" . YOu can start one and inroduce yourself there. I look forward to hearing your story. Bridget O

hi Angela, My lung cancer was diagnosed in November 2016 after it was removed by a lobectomy. Before that, they suspected cancer but couldn't biopsy due to location. I aso had breast cancer in 2008 and a rare and aggressive form of cervical cancer(stage 3) in 2011. For that one I have regular CTs to watch for metastasis. It was actually a releif to find out ithe lung nodule was an early (stage 1a) lung cancer rather than a metastasis from the cervical. So for the lung cancer, I didn't have to have any treatment other than. the surgery, just CTs every 6 months to be sure it's not recurring. I think i am pretty calm most of the time, but there are times when I'm not. I do get anxious, especially around scan time, but it's not as bad as it was for the first few scans after my cervical cancer when I thought for sure this was the one that was going to show metastasis. Early on, I thought I wasn't going to live long and I wouldn't make any plans for anything more that a couple of months out. As the years passed, I relaxed (some!) and began to think I might be cured, actually. I went through some pretty aggressive treatment (big surgery, concurrent chemo and radiiation and more chemo) and had some unpleasant (to say the least) side effects, some of which are long term--I still have them. But here I am! No evidence of disease on any of my 3 cancers. In any event, believing that I might not live long, I chose to live as fully as I could and not to waste my time. I still do waste quite a bit of it, actually, since i'm human. But I don't waste a lot of it worrying, or rather, I usually can do something else while I'm worrying, rather than being consumed by it. I must say that anti-depressants help me a lot. Hang in there, it can get easier to deal with, even though you're dealing with some hard things. You can find a new normal. Bridget O

Hi and welcome! Your mom's siituation is not unusual in that earlier stages of lung cancer typically have no symptoms. Mine was diagnosed early because I had CT scans to watch for possible spread of an earlier non-lung cancer. Your anxiey and confusion is normal for anybody who has a family member diagosed with lung cancer. You'r not alone in this. we on this forum understand it.Hang in there and stay with us. You'll find a lot of hope here, as well as information. Bridget O

Hi Bes, Good idea to follow up with the oncologist ASAP. You might also consider recontacting the primary who prescribed the vicodin. Whatever the source of pain, your husband should be able to get relief. You might consider asking for a referral to palliative care. Here's some information about that https://www.lungevity.org/for-patients-caregivers/lung-cancer-101/treatment-options/palliative-care. To be clear, palliative care is not the same as hospice. It is to help get relief from symptoms of a serious disease and from side effects of treatment.A person can get palliative care while they are getting curative treatment. My thoughts are with you. Bridget O

Hi and welcome, I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and your evacuation. One or the other of those would be overwhelming by itself. I often say to newbies that whatever you're going through, someone on this forum has been through something similar. But I don't know of anyone who was diagnosed while they were under evacuation. Whew! Please let us know how we can support you. You can find wisdom and hope on this forum, as well as information. I'll be thinking about you. Bridget O

Hi Ray, Alive is a good status! Alive with test values improving is even better. You're entitled to some whining, I think. You can be grateful and determined to win and still whine a litte. Cancer takes a lot from us and there's some grieving to do. You can grieve and live at the same time. Hang in there! Bridget O

Hi, This is a good place to vent and to ask for information and support. Steff has given you more info than I can about lung deflation/reinflation. I understand head banging (and arm biting) . Hang in there and keep asking for what you need , both here and elsewhere. Bridget O

What a disappointment that they couldn't get a sample for biopsy! I hope he will tolerate the next procedure well and that you will both tolerate the waiting and uncertainty. Cancer diagnois and treatment seems to be full of waiting and uncertainty and the challenge is to continue your life the best you can in spite of it, It's hard! Hang in there. Bridget O

Hi bes, I know how scary it can be when symptoms come on or get worse suddenly. In my several cancer journeys I've been through that and my symptoms were nowhere near as serious as your husband's. Since he's not wanting you to talk to the doctor, you're in a difficult spot. Hang in there--hopefully you'll have a better idea of the situation afther you meet with the oncologist on the 17th. Bridget O

Hi Deanna, Your dad has been through a lot! Here are some of my experience in being diagnosed with lung cancer, and about waiting. I had a nodule found in my lung in a CT scan that was for routine surveillance for possible metastases from another previous (non-lung) cancer. The lung nodule was very small, so they recommended waiting to see what it would do. It was possible that it was an infection or inflammation. So they did another CT in 3 months and it had grown very slightly. Because it was growing, they needed to do something about it. But because it was growing very slowly, they weren't in any rush, but continued to do some tesing. With my other cancer, they knew immediately that it was big and aggressive and I was in surgery within a week, so I had the sense that these folks knew when it was necessary to be in a big hurry, With my lung, due to its location they couldn't do either a needle or bronchial biopsy. They had to take out a lobe of lung to see what it was, and in fact it was a Stage 1A adenocarcinoma. Unlike your dad, I was otherwise in good health, and my surgery was pretty uneventful. I agree with Tom that sometimes no treatment is a reasonable decsion, provided it's based on good information. My mom, who had metastatic breast cancer, chose to stop treatment when the side effects of it were impairing her quality of life intolerably, I've also known others who made that decsion. These are truly heart-wrenching decisions. I wish for the best possible outcome for your dad and your whole family. Bridget O

Hi bes, I don't know why an x-ray wouldn't show a mass or nodule. I looked at Lungevity Lung Cancer 101 under Imaging and it says that x-rays sometimes miss small lung cancers. It doesn't say why. Here's the link: https://www.lungevity.org/for-patients-caregivers/lung-cancer-101/diagnosing-lung-cancer/imaging-tests. Also, bes and Shoo2, Have you been on the main Lungevity Site? There is a Caregiver Resource Center there that may have something helpful for you: https://www.lungevity.org/for-patients-caregivers/caregiver-resource-center Bridget O

Hi bes, I'm sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis. It's normal to feel liike you've been hit by a ton of bricks (or run over by a truck). I don't think there's any way to adequately prepare for this diagnosis. Welcome to this forum. Whatever you're going through, you'll probably find someone who's been through something similar. Nobody is the same, but you'll probably find enough in common to find support and hope. Keep posting and hang in there. Bridget O

Welcome here, Anna. You'll find support and hope. Statistics are just numbers. I think that they can help us make decisions about treatment but that it's important not to get hung up on then. They represent the combined experience of large groups of people and don't tell us how any particular individual will do. Also, any stats having to do with, say, 5 year survival rates are going to be based on people diagnosed at least 5 years ago, more likely 10 or more years ago, And lung cancer treatment is changing at lightning speed. New treatments are being approved all the time. If you feel comfortable telling us more about your husband's illness and the kind of radiation being planned, you'll undoubtedly hear from others with similar issues. In any event, keep posting and hang in there. Bridget O.

Hi Jane, Welcome here. You'll find people on this forum who understand, lots of them. This is a good place to find support. I'm glad you're here. Bridget O

Hi everybody, I'd appreciate some input from any of you about your experiences post NED. I had a lobectomy in November of 2016 and was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma Stage 1A, no further treatment required at this time. My 6 month CT showed NED--yay! I'm retired from full time work and I left my most recent part time job when I was having diagnostic work for this cancer. Since my recovery from surgery, I've had the opportunity to take quite a few short trips. I'm recently back from the last one. I have nothing new scheduled. I was looking forward to down time to do some long-postponed tasks as well as some fun things (craft projects, time with friends)I've been looking forward to. But now I'm feeling a little depressed and unmotivated. My spouse suggested that I'm having post-treatment, post-travel blues. This sounds right to me. The question is "now what? " This didn't happen as much with my two previous non-lung cancers, because I was offered part time work as soon as I was recovered from treatment . (for one of these, recovery was pretty long). I really don't want to go back to work now. I love having free time and flexibility. None of the things I've been looking forward to has the internal momentum of a work schedule or an upcoming trip.THe issue is how to get out of this slump and off my backside. I didn't go through this treatment just to become a couch potato. I also feel like I'm whining, when in reality I'm grateful for my cancer being detected so early and for being NED. Has anybody had a similar experience? Suggestions appreciated!

Thanks Donna for the link. There are several additional articles in the Technology quarterly about cancer treatment. I saw on the linked site that if you sign up you can get 3 free articles per week. These are worth getting. Bridget O

The Economist magazine, in its September 16 issue focuses its Technology Quarterly on diagnosing and treating cancer. AND it features in each article a woman from Massachusetts, Diane Milley, walking the reader through each phase of her diagnosis and treatment for advanced lung cancer. The articles are very up-to-date, clear and informative. It's good to see "our" cancer getting some attention, rather than it all going to cancers that are less prevalent and less deadly. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to attention given those, also, since I've had two of them. )

Yes, Linda, glad you figured out that pesky period and are now back. And thanks to all of you for the info on S.B.R.T. Bridget O