[Help on how to talk to doctor]

Tom, I did receive you response before the appointment and it helped me to just come out and ask versus sugar coating it. Thank you!

[This wasn't supposed to happen.]

I think many of us are right there with you.  I am a daughter/caretaker of my mom who is currently going through a diagnosis of a recurrence of lung cancer.  The unknown is the worst for me.  Once we had a treatment plan in place, we were able to look toward the future (we will hopefully have a treatment plan today for the recurrence).  I hope that you will find the same as you go through this process.  Statistics are grim, but know that they are OLD statistics. I find solace in hearing from those who are survivors on these forums.  It gives a bit of hope in all of the darkness.  As a caregiver, please remember to take care of yourself in all ways (easier said than done, I know!).  It's okay to take time for yourself. It's okay to cry or to be pissed off.  Active members on these forums are here for you and have been a big help to me.  I hope you are able to stay in touch as time allows and keep us updated.  

[Help on how to talk to doctor]

Hi all,

My mom finally has an appointment with her oncologist today to (hopefully) discuss a treatment plan.  She has asked me for some help in talking with her doctor about why her "mass" was not detected in previous CT scans by her and her team.  Here's a bit of history: She has a recurrence of lung cancer. In April she got the 1 year "all clear" based on a CT scan.  She continued to have issues breathing, her new pulmonary doctor was looking through her scans to see if he could identify the problem (he was assuming a kink in an airway).  He noticed this "mass" and immediately wanted to biopsy (the same scan they gave her the "all clear" with)...turns out the mass was closing her airway 70% and causing the cough and breathing issue.

So, we all are quite upset that this was not caught by her oncologist and others who are in charge of looking at her scans.  I know it's important to get over our frustration and focus on her future fight, but she wants to ask why it wasn't caught earlier.  We don't want to offend the doctor, so I was wondering if anyone had some advice of how to bring it up so that it may not be offensive.  Thanks!

[Looking for hope]

Thanks Tom, 

Yes, her cancer was biopsied and they are currently "studying" it.  When we meet with her oncologist (probably next week) I will definitely ask about the biomarkers - thank you for that information as I hadn't heard of it before and will research it more before her appointment.  

[Looking for hope]

Thank you, Lauren. My mom had surgery to insert a stent into her trachea last night. It was successful and she is breathing better than she has been in months! She feels so much better today and is ready for her fight. We have no treatment plan yet, but will likely have one soon. All I know now is the "mass" is on her trachea, where it branches off to the bronchus. Her pulmonologist says the location makes it inoperable. It is the same type of cancer she had 1.5 years ago - non-small cell adenocarcinoma (if I recall correctly). I am thankful for these forums and for folks like you to share your knowledge. We were confident with our first treatment plan for the first go 'round, but with this recurrence and it being inoperable, I know we will be second guessing ourselves as to what the right thing to do is. So I will definitely be reaching out to all of you for information.

[I'm Vicky]

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!

[Brand New]

Jeffrey,

My mom had her upper right lobe removed in January 2016. I've been reading your journey so far through this post and hear some of the similarities.  It took her awhile (a month or so) to feel that she "recovered" from the surgery enough to resume some of her hectic daily schedule.  After surgery, she had quite a bit of fluid built up and had to have some of it removed at one point.  She still has some fluid around her lung from the surgery but it is slowly decreasing now on its own.   We are told if may never totally go way, but not to worry - I would still be sure to have it checked as Tim said.  Even more than a year later, she still has pain where her incision was, she is told that is normal due to all of the trauma that went on in that area.  

I wish you the best in your healing process and hope all goes well for you.  Take care

[Looking for hope]

Thank you Tom, I really appreciate your response.  Today is better than yesterday, we at least know that her surgery to have a stint placed in her bronchial tube will be no later than early next week to help her breathing. We are supposed to have the results of her biopsy this week, so I will definitely post once we know for sure the type of cancer. Thanks again for taking the time to respond. Have a good day.

[Re-Introducing myself]

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

[Looking for hope]

Hi all,

I'm reaching out in the hope to get some hope. My family and I are in the doom and gloom stage of a recurrent cancer diagnosis.  My mom just received her 1 year "all clear" in April, but continued to have trouble breathing and had a terrible cough within the year after her treatment.  She had her upper, right lobe removed and went through chemo and radiation for 12 weeks because the surgeon was unable to remove an all of the cancerous cells in her lymph node (which he wasn't expecting).  She just had a biopsy Friday of a tumor on her right bronchial tube.  Her pulmonary doctor was 90% sure it is cancer and the same type she had before, but we are still awaiting final word that it is cancer and  what kind.  

We are so deflated. This is worse than the first diagnosis.  It all seems so final now, that there is no hope. I am a planner, so I am obsessively searching the internet to see if it's possible to have the tumor surgically removed (her pulmonary doctor says no) and if you can have radiation in a similar area as before. We are old school thinking so we think we always need to cut the cancer out of us and are so afraid to hear that surgery isn't an option and possibly not even radiation.  So them I'm left with the question of whether or not to trust immunotherapy (something that goes against my old school thinking).

I am so desperate to hear that it's all going to be okay, but am scared that it isn't going to be.  I hear a lot about 1st time cancer survivors, but not a lot about 2nd time survivors, something that scares me even more.  I know that at the end of the day I will pull myself together and help my mom get through this, but my biggest fear of losing her too soon seems to be coming true. Anyway, that's my current situation and my very sad introduction.  I am looking forward to reading hopeful and helpful posts to help me get my mom through this trying time.

Steff