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LexieCat

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Everything posted by LexieCat

  1. LexieCat

    Traveling

    I'm having a lobectomy next week, and I travel for my job--no trips planned till September, but my doctor says it should be no problem at all. If you're feeling good, I can't imagine that you aren't fit for travel after a year.
  2. Hi, Heather! I'm no expert because I'm fairly new to this myself, but I have several nodules they were following as a result of cancer screening I was participating in. This last time one of the nodules had grown SLIGHTLY and so I am scheduled for surgery--the PET scan is suspicious as well, but it's small and nothing else lit up on the PET so I'm hopeful if it is cancer, we will knock that sucker out. What I did learn is that there can be many, many causes of nodules, most of which are harmless (scar tissue from an infection, for instance). If this is your first CT scan, there's a good likelihood they are just sitting there doing no harm. If it DOES get bigger, or if there were NO nodules on a previous scan, there's a bit more reason to be concerned but nothing to panic over as long as they keep an eye on them. I have zero symptoms and all four of the nodules (the troublesome one and the other three) I have are larger than yours. I doubt that nodules that small would cause a cough, unless they were in some weird location. Certainly follow up with your doctor, but from what I read, these are very common and most often not cancer.
  3. HI, Rick, I see you started your own thread! I'm sure someone(s) with helpful info for you will be along soon. And I, too, would be interested to know how that could be considered "stable." I have a few lung nodules, which were observed over a year ago, stable on a three-month re-scan, and then on the last screening scan one had increased 2-3 mm since last year. I have surgery scheduled a week from Monday. The other nodules I have are still considered "stable" but that's because there's something to compare them to.
  4. Maybe it's that people are less stressed as they go longer without a recurrence. I'm positive there is a mind-body connection, because stress does affect the immune system and other biological functions. It's a far cry from that to concluding that any kind of psychotherapy cures cancer, or that cancer is a "psychosomatic condition." This strikes me as what's euphemistically (and kindly) referred to as "junk science." Anybody can concoct a theory. Where is the research/testing to support it?
  5. Hi, Rick, I'm brand new, myself, so I don't have any info or advice to offer. I'm new to this forum, too, but in my experience on other forums it's usually a good idea to start a new thread of your own so your post gets the attention it deserves. I'm sure somebody with knowledge/experience will be along soon. Sending you hugs and support, though!
  6. I think what Cindy was suggesting is that the NP could order a referral for a biopsy or to a doctor who could order one. No, the NP will not be able to diagnose you or perform the biopsy, but should be able to get you to someone who can.
  7. I know--sending a hug. Those are therapeutic, too.
  8. Maybe one of the "old hands" here can weigh in about this projected wait time?
  9. OK, I just totally relate to your anxiety to find out what's going on. If you haven't, already, I'd let her office know that this is stressing you out and you'd appreciate her getting you scheduled for testing as SOON as she gets back. And, as I said, if it were I, I'd be finding someone else to do it. That way the two of you would have the info all ready to go when she comes back. I'm just thinking of reducing the lead time for any necessary procedures.
  10. I'd travel the two hours, personally, but that's me. I wouldn't be able to stand waiting till the end of July for testing even to be ordered.
  11. Well, if the NP can order the testing, it might be worth it to get the ball rolling. I should just reiterate that I'm new, myself, so I'm really just suggesting what I would want to do, if I were you. Not that it's critical that you do that, but geeze--a month seems like a very long wait.
  12. I'd see if there isn't somebody she uses as backup coverage when she is not available. Have you checked with her office?
  13. That seems to me like an awfully long wait, especially since you don't know at what point during the previous year it appeared, so it's hard to know how fast it's growing. In my case, it grew 2-3 mm between the scan a year ago and now. So there was likely not to be a great deal of urgency--it's not as if it had increased dramatically in size. I think I'd be trying to find a doc willing to do the followup sooner rather than waiting till the end of July. Is this doctor a pulmonologist, or is she your PCP? Will your insurance allow you to go directly to a specialist who can order the testing?
  14. Do you have a date for a consult to find out next steps (biopsy/PET scan)?
  15. Oh, and incidentally, my pulmonologist has said there's maybe a 1-2% chance mine isn't cancer. My surgeon, OTOH, has said he wouldn't put the probability that low--he said it's impossible to quantify. I asked if it wasn't MORE likely to be cancer given the PET scan results, and even with that, he hedged. He said it's "SOMEWHAT more suspicious" after the scan, but reiterated that nothing will be known for sure until surgery. Yeah, waiting to find out what you're dealing with sucks.
  16. Sure, I'd be scared, too (and am, to some extent), but this is a very small spot right now--as far as you know the treatment might be very simple. From what I understand the deal with most lung cancers is that they aren't discovered till after they have caused symptoms--which doesn't happen until it's pretty far advanced. I'm not suggesting for a second that you have nothing to worry about, but try to maintain perspective. Until you know more, the extra worrying won't help. This is the SAME advice I'm giving myself. Has anyone told you what they plan to do to "test"?
  17. Hi, Pearl! I love that name--my mom was Pearl. I'm sort of in a similar boat, though it looks a little more certain that mine will turn out to be cancer--slight growth since last year in a nodule they've been monitoring, and PET scan had that nodule "light up." I'm scheduled for surgery in a week. Were you in a screening program with your annual CT's? That's how mine was picked up. I have a few other very small nodules elsewhere in my lungs, which have remained stable and didn't light up on the PET scan. I was told there would be no point to a biopsy, because given what has been observed, the recommendation would be to remove it anyway. I'm having the upper left lobe removed, assuming they determine during surgery that it is cancer. I'm trying to look at it as something to be grateful for that it is small, evidently isolated at this point, and hopefully completely treatable with this surgery. I know I will remain nervous about recurrences, but that's really something I have no control over other than to be diligent in keeping an eye on things. Certainly I would be happier if I weren't dealing with any of this, but I'm trying to hit that sweet spot between appropriately educating myself and freaking myself out. So far no freakout, but that could be subject to change in the future. Teri
  18. OK, false alarm. At least I don't have to change the title of the thread. Surgery IS scheduled for the 10th. After I got no call back from hospital staff for whom I'd left messages, I called my surgeon's cell (which he had given me and urged me to call "any time"). He said when we first met he had them put it down for the 13th because there was a long procedure he had scheduled for that day, but that that had been rescheduled, so it WAS the 10th, as he had told me. Whew--I am now reassured that I don’t have a brain tumor that’s making me hallucinate. I was questioning HOW I could have imagined the wrong date!
  19. I was just reviewing my pre-op paperwork, and was surprised to see the date of surgery listed as 7/13, not 7/10, as I'm POSITIVE the surgeon and I had discussed. I have a call in to straighten it out, but it's the weekend and so not easy to get a quick answer. I have the surgeon's cell, which I will call if I haven't heard back from anyone in a few hours. It really doesn't make a huge difference to me (I'm not superstitious but glad to see the 13th is a Wed., lol), but I would like to let my friends/family/work know. At least I looked at it now, rather than waiting till next weekend! Ugh, these little snags get magnified when you're dealing with something like this.
  20. Hi, Julie, I'm so sorry--this has got to be scary. I'm brand new, have surgery scheduled for a week from Monday, so I'm not in a position to offer any help or advice. Just sending a hug. What kind of cancer did you have? It sounds like the surgery was the only treatment you got? I know that right now that's all they have on the agenda for me, unless things found during surgery are different from what is expected.
  21. Holy crap. As someone not yet "officially" diagnosed (but with likely cancer revealed during LDCT), I'm ETERNALLY grateful the screening in is available. No matter what this turns out to be, I want to be out in front of it. I read all the pros/cons, and I think given the risks that there MAY be, it's an individual decision, but I looked at the data, weighed the pros/cons and decided the advantages far outweighed the risks.
  22. I don't have any knowledge/experience to share, so just sending a hug.
  23. Thanks, Lydia, I appreciate the work YOU folks do, too. In my current job we work closely with advocates and therapists who work with victims. I know as a prosecutor, the advocates were a lifeline not only for the victims, but for me. The more supported victims are during the criminal justice process, the more engaged they remain and the less likely they are to return to the abuser, recant, testify for the defense, etc. I'm sorry your cancer was not spotted sooner. I'd be angry, too! But it sounds like you've got a positive attitude and are dealing with what's in front of you. Believe me, I'll be recommending scanning to everyone I know, too!
  24. Hey, John! I'm right down the road--Gloucester Twp! I love Collingswood; lived in Haddon Twp for many years. If you ever want to meet up for coffee and a chat or something let me know. I'm brand new to this too, and mine was also picked up by a screening scan (though I have zero symptoms). I've got a few nodules but only one with SLIGHT changes since last year. I'm scheduled for lung surgery a week from Monday. I love my docs. The definitive diagnosis will be after they remove the tumor (and, most likely, upper left lobe and lymph nodes), but the one suspicious nodule was the ONLY thing that lit up on the PET scan, so I'm pretty hopeful that there's been no spread. Never know for sure with this stuff, though. I guess you had a biopsy or something? PET scan? How was it actually diagnosed? I'm a lifelong smoker, too, though I transitioned to e-cigs ALMOST completely a couple years ago, and when the nodules first turned up over a year ago, I gave up the regular cigs entirely. Glad I did, it probably improved my lung function which I'm hoping will make the surgery easier to tolerate. I feel exactly as you do--sure, I wish I'd never smoked but hey--we all make choices in life and nobody has a crystal ball to know how they will turn out. I'm being treated at Cooper's MD Anderson, how about you? We can beat this thing! The treatments are so AMAZING now. I feel pretty much the same as you do on the mortality thing--being helpless or in pain scares me a lot more than the prospect of dying. Quality of life is SO important. Hope you get some encouraging news at your appointment next week, along with a good battle plan!
  25. Yeah, I think if there's one person (almost) as happy as I am that we caught this with the screening, it's my primary. It's funny, I am a retired prosecutor who handled crimes of domestic violence for many years, and I chose this doctor because she literally saved the life of one of my victims, who was being horribly abused. This doc not only treated her until she was brave enough/safe enough to report, but helped her formulate an escape plan. So I REALLY liked and admired her, and decided to use her as my primary. REALLY turned out to be a great choice!
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