Fred G

Hi richard i was diagnosed with stage 111A adenocarcinoma in October last year and had my lower left lung removed in january this yr followed by 4 rounds of carboplatin and Gemsitabine which i had the last infusion last week and ct scans done and my results showed NED so i know Recurrence can occur but for now im so happy to say im cancer free and you can be too !!!

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JWH,
There is no formula for recovery time after surgery removing a portion or whole lung.  Moreover, there is no standard I've found for when one can return to work.  My surgeon was realistic about recovery time and return to work time.  He approached it incrementally.  He assessed my condition at suture removal and set an additional two week appointment.  
My pain, after about 2 weeks was largely caused by lifting something heavy with my right hand or aggressive coughing or sneezing.  I also found I needed to modify the way I approached sleeping using wedge-shaped pillows to elevate me and learning to roll out of bed rather than hoist up with my elbows.  So after about 2 weeks, my surgical site was near normal pain-wise unless I did something to aggravate it.
When should you return to work?  That is a complicated question and has more to do with your working environment (what you do, how far you need to walk, physical activity, stairs, and etc) than your surgical wound healing.  You had a lobe removed and there will be some adjustment to reduced lung capacity but I recovered more aerobic capacity than my doctors thought after my right lung was removed.  I actually pressed to go back to work because I became bored.  My HR folks said try a couple of days and if things don't go well, go home.
T2 stage 1 is an early find and hopefully your surgery is an end to this madness.
Stay the course.
Tom

Hello,
I am a 61 year old male, recently diagnosed with Non small cell carcinoma. I decided to join this forum because I have some questions after studying different sites regarding lung cancer.
This is my first question: What does Standardized Uptake Value of 6.5 with an average of 3.5 mean? How are the numbers defined?
Thank you!

Judy,
Another forum member told me, in jest, that I was a survivor of the "Jurassic Era". I was one of the first lung cancer patients in the Dallas areas to receive my SBRT, then called Cyber Knife. 
No doubt, technology has advanced to eliminate the need for gold fiducials and aim it in real time using a scan. Regardless, it worked for me and I hope it works for you. 
Stay the course. 
Tom

Judy,
Just to be clear, you've two questions: is recovery from chemo repetitive or does it get more difficult after further infusions and is there a difference between SBRT and 3-d radiation.
First the chemo, my experience is side-effects and recovery from infusions stayed the same after each infusion.  Side effects started and ended about the same time and I started feeling normal about the same time.  So, I did not experience any progression of symptoms or lengthening of recovery time.
Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) is similar but different from Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT).  The difference is 3D-CRT uses beam forming technology to more precisely aim at the tumor while SBRT targets the tumor precisely using computer modeling and computer-aided radiation delivery techniques.  My SBRT aimed at 5 gold implants that were surgically placed around my tumor to ensure precision and account for chest movement while breathing.  The objective is to fry the tumor but the approach is different.  I wouldn't know whether one is better than the other.
Stay the course.
Tom

Yet Another Question
Day 7 after chemo and getting my energy back. Have 3 more rounds to go. So my question is whether recovery will be about the same each time or do progressive rounds take longer each time to recover from. Tom, after just one round my hat's off to you for surviving 18 rounds in 3 years. Chemo isn't for wimps.
Judy M

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Outstanding, Mally! I am so, so happy for you!

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Mally,
This is WONDERFUL news!!  I hope you danced your way through the rest of the day.  

I had my end of chemo scans done yesterday and was getting the results next Wednesday but went to my gp to get some scripts and he had a copy of my results so IM CANCER FREE ....i was so happy i was crying walking around the supermarket trying to text my kids through watery eyes ...
 
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I have mentioned taking notes to her, she doesn't do it. It is frustrating and to be honest, I feel like she isn't telling me the truth about what is going on sometimes. There is nothing anyone can do to change how she is about things like this. I know her. I think part of it is she is embarrassed about the smoking and everything and what it has done to her because so many people have been telling her for so long that she needed to take better care of herself. I am trying my best to be positive ,  but I would feel so much better to talk to her doctors and hear from them, good or bad, what is really happening. I have told her this and she just says she needs her privacy. I am trying not to be selfish and make her angry and upset just to make me feel better. At some point, she is going to have to tell us what is happening if things do not get better. She has all the support she needs from me as she knows I'm there for whatever she needs, but she only tells me what is going on so I am very much alone trying to process all this. My fiance knows because there was no way i could even get up in the morning and function without his support. This site is starting to help though and thank you all and know that i pray everyday for a cure for everyone who is going through this.

We went through something similar when my grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer.  My mom eventually wore her down and went with her to all of her appointments and scans.  Your mom may be embarrassed (but she needn't be) but she may also be overwhelmed with all of the new information, terms, appointments that are coming her way.  It's a lot to take.  We're here for you and her.  Let us know how we can help.

You mentioned that your mom doesn't want anyone to go with her to the appointments.  Does she take a notebook so that she can record what the doctors tell her?  They throw so much information at the patients.  I generally take my husband or mom and a notebook.  With chemo brain in effect, I can't remember from one day to the next!

Helpingmom,
The large tumor in the lung points to the origin of her cancer I'd venture. I'm glad she's stopped smoking. Let us know how the immunotherapy treatment progresses.
Stay the course.
Tom

Helpingmom,
From your mention of Keytruda, I conclude your mom's biopsy reported NSCLC (non small cell carcinoma lung cancer) with her tumor showing high level of PD-L1 expression.  The link gives you some information about this new immunotherapy treatment, and it is fortunate that your mom's PD-L1 level allows her to receive Keytruda as a first line treatment. With tumors in the lung and liver, your mom's cancer stages at IV, but what type of non small cell carcinoma does your mom have - Adenocarcinoma or Squamous cell?
Letting us know the type of cancer will help folks who have a similar type with Ketytruda treatment give you feedback about their experience. 
You'll likely have more questions and you may want to invite your mom to take a look at our forum and read into the disease.  Here is a good reference for both or you to start your reading.
Stay the course.
Tom

Edna,
My right lung was removed in 2004. Here is what I can recall from my experience. 
Pain: they put a morphine injector on an IV and I was instructed to use it when I felt pain. It was removed after 2 days and pain was controlled with oral meds as needed. I felt no pain!
Mobility: they had me doing laps around the ward the first day I was admitted to the ward. A physical therapist assisted me and pushed me to go further each time. 
Respiration: I was shown how to use a spirometer and coached to keep the ball high three or more times per day by a respiratory tech. 
Drainage: I two chest cubes installed after surgery. The first was removed after recovery room discharge. The second the day before hospital discharge. Both were pain free procedures. 
Discharge: My first surgery discharge from was five days after surgery. 
Problems at home: Comfortable sleeping. I had to buy two angular elevating pillows to sleep. A flat bed didn't work. Buy these now. Audition candidates at a local mattress store, they buy on line. I used two 15 degree pillows to get a sleeping angle that was comfortable. You will be a back sleeper for a long time. Getting out of bed will take some practice. You'll need to learn to slide and roll. Lifting by elbows and hands won't work. You may need to take a look at your room furniture because your favorite chair may not be usable. Don't count on lifting any think heavier than a tooth brush with your left hand for 15 days. You may need up to three weeks off of work depending on your recovery. 
Aerobic Capacity: after recovering you should return to pre-surgery activity. I was able to do most of the things I could do before surgery. Running is out of the question as is climbing more than 3 flights of stairs. 
Airline Flights: you may need to avoid flying in a commercial airliner for quite a while. Ask your surgeon about this. The cabin pressure is normally 6,000 ft and that lower pressure causes you chest and abdomen to swell. Thirteen years later, I still feel substantial pain when flying. But, I didn't have one surgery, I had four because of unusual complications. 
Stay connected with us because you'll likely have more questions. 
Stay the course. 
Tom

Richard,
Welcome here.
Sounds like you are in first line treatment for your stage IIIA adenocarcinoma and you are in your fourth of perhaps six or eight cycles of chemotherapy.  You mentioned carboplatin. Are you receiving a second type of chemo concurrently with your carboplatin?  I also note you are in your fourth week of five day-per-week of external beam radiation therapy.  
You've posed two questions: will my cancer recur after treatment and should you be concerned about incremental life survival predictions?  My short answer is maybe and no respectively.  Unfortunately, lung cancer is very persistant.  I've had 4 recurrences after no evidence of disease (NED) treatments but I'm still here.  So my first comment is if I can live, so can you.  You might find this information interesting on lung cancer persistence.  Now, let's turn to survival statistics.
I'm an engineer and consider statistics to be a valuable tool in predicting outcomes provided the inputs into the prediction analysis can be controlled.  When designing a concrete mix, we precisely measure the proportions of water, Portland cement, large aggregate, and fine aggregate. This measuring precision is called controlling the inputs.  We can also change the amount of water used and keep all other elements unchanged and test the difference in yield strength.  Once we get enough laboratory data, we can perform what is called a design of experiment where the yield strength can be predicted statistically without a physical experiment.  But, that prediction results from a large number of actual laboratory tests all with precise control of inputs.
Precise control of inputs related to human beings is impossible.  We are all different: ages, current health, genetic composition, height, weight, disease state and in a million different ways.  Thus, medical statistics are vastly more inaccurate than engineering statistics.  Moreover, the trials that are conducted to validate new treatments against established treatments often have a small number of study participants.  So when the literature says treatment A yields a three month extension of life versus treatment B, that report only applies to the study population and not necessarily to all cancer patients.  To conclude that it will apply to you is the wrong approach.  It might apply to you; it may not.  Medical researchers understand the limitations of their use of statistical measures, but there needs to be some objective criteria to determine a measure of effectiveness.  Statistics is unfortunately the only game in town.  Here is more information on lung cancer survival statistics and I do encourage you to listen to Stephen J. Gould's essay cited in the link.
Here is information from the American Cancer Society to keep in mind with pondering survivor statistics.  Particularly note the material under the heading: "Survivor rates don't tell the whole story."  If they did, I'd be dead 12.5 years ago.
You'll likely have many more questions and we'll be pleased to answer.
Stay the course.
Tom

Dawn,
We understand exactly what you are going through. 
I'm not a doctor but from your description, your dad's cancer will likely stage at IV. But there are two subtypes of NSCLC: adenocarcinoma and Squamous cell. This subtype information is important because treatments are different. Perhaps his oncologist will report which subtype he has because this information results from the biopsy.
Your dad may receive radiation and chemotherapy or perhaps just chemotherapy. But, there have been many advances in treatment with new targeted therapy and immunotherapy that are showing remarkable results. 
My tip is to ensure someone accompanies your dad to his oncology consult to ensure understanding of his diagnosis and treatment plan. Read Lung Cancer 101 at Lungevity.org. That should give you a good understanding about our disease. 
Waiting is indeed hard. I've been waiting for answers for 13 years and we have a special name for it - scanziety!  You'll have many questions about his treatment and side effects and this is a good place to ask your questions. 
Stay the course. 
Tom

Susan - You are very special as far as I'm concerned, along with Lauren & Tom because you three were the first ones to respond to me when I first put my health issues on the forum, for all of these strangers (lol) to know.

Please allow me one more minute to THANK ALL OF YOU THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE LUNGEVITY FAMILY!

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Susan - You are very special as far as I'm concerned, along with Lauren & Tom because you three were the first ones to respond to me when I first put my health issues on the forum, for all of these strangers (lol) to know.

Please allow me one more minute to THANK ALL OF YOU THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE LUNGEVITY FAMILY!

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Susan - You are very special as far as I'm concerned, along with Lauren & Tom because you three were the first ones to respond to me when I first put my health issues on the forum, for all of these strangers (lol) to know.

Please allow me one more minute to THANK ALL OF YOU THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE LUNGEVITY FAMILY!

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Great that you're almost done!  I understand the stress of waiting for results.. Best of luck, fingers crossed.  

Mally,
I have fingers and toes crossed for a NED scan. 
Stay the course. 
Tom

Thanks tom and i think of your Stay the course everyday and it helps believe me

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Hi, Mally,
I hope all goes well next week!
Lauren
--
Digital Community Manager
LUNGevity Foundation

Mally,
Fingers and toes crossed for NED results for you tomorrow!