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Bill, Just wanted to welcome you here also. Please let us know when you hear the results of the needle biopsy. Like everyone said... we've all been through it. Good Luck!

Hi Bill, My surgeon wants to see me every 4 months for the first 2 years (with a CT scan each time) and then every 6 months until it's been five years. Then he said that he would see me once a year for the rest of "his" life. After that, i had to find a new doctor. I had a chest xray 4 weeks after my surgery and brought it with me when I went to see him. I don't think it can hurt to see your oncologist. I'm still trying to decide whether I should go see one. Good Luck...

Happy Birthday Beth... and many more to come!!

Welcome Jennie.. glad you found us.

Welcome Kim! There are lots of people here with Stage IV ... many have been around a long time. Don't listen to the statistics ... read the stories on the "my story" forum ... Good Luck to you and your family.

Karen, I only had oxygen for 3 days after my lobectomy. I hope he doesn't need it for long.

You got guts girl! Way to go!

Great news Rich! Congratulations!

Welcome to the board. You will find a lot of good information and support here!

Bill- I am not having any pain, just some tenderness and soreness. But remember, I had the VATS, which is much less invasive than what you had. I haven't needed the pain pills since three days after I got home from the hospital. I have heard that it sometimes takes a couple of months for the pain to get better. Hang in there.... BTW, did your oncologist ever get back to you about that convention he went to??

I am so happy to be posting in this forum. I had my follow up visit with my surgeon today, and he was very pleased with my progress. He is not recommending any chemo, he doesn't feel the risk is worth the benefit. All my pathology reports were good, and my chest x-ray was clean. So, I don't have to go back for 3 months! On another note... he said that I have to wait 6 months to see if my voice gets better. If the vocal cord nerve is irritated, it will heal within 6 months. If it doesn't heal, then it was probably severed during my bronoscopy (different surgeon). So I will try to be patient for 6 months. He told me the best therapy is to yell. It will make my right vocal cord stronger. My kids were happy to hear that I am SUPPOSED to be yelling now. Here I was trying not to yell, because I thought it was straining my vocal cords. Thank you all for your support in the past several weeks. This site has provided me with so much hope and comfort. I hope I can do the same for others.

Great attitude. I'm sure it's scary, but we will all be here for you when you need us.

Connie - that is great news! Congratulations!!

Thank you all for the encouragement. I will definitely discuss it with my surgeon on Friday. I wouldn't be so impatient if it weren't for my job. I'm in sales, and I need my voice to make that commission. Carole - I really appreciate the post. It's good to know that this happened to someone else during the broncoscopy, and they recovered fully. Wendy - I will PM you after my dr. appt. on Friday. Fay - If you find anything, please let me know.

That is great news! I am so happy for your whole family.

Hi Bill, I'm feeling really good, considering it's only been 3 1/2 weeks since surgery. I see my surgeon on Friday. I'm not in much pain anymore. Just having a hard time going up stairs and hills. I am back at the gym, walking on the treadmill only. I used to do spinning classes everyday. Hopefully, I will get back to that in a couple of months. I'm just worried about my voice. It's been over 5 weeks, and not much improvement. I need my voice for work, so it's been very frustrating. Hopefully someone else has been through what I am going through and can give me some hope. I didn't like when the dr. said that it may never get better. I hope your pain gets better. I know what you mean about the pain pills. I hated taking them. I haven't taken any for a couple of weeks now. I hated being on the morphine in the hospital. I don't do well with morphine. I can't remember who came to see me, or what I said to them. I was so glad when they took me off that. But it did work! Take care....

Welcome Pam! This site has been a tremendous help to me in the past 3 months. I'm sure it will be for you too. There's so much knowledge here, and lots of support.

Welcome Gale! You will find a lot of support here!

I have read a lot of posts about people becoming hoarse because of tumors resting on vocal cords, etc. My voice became hoarse right after my bronchoscopy. The doctor said it may get better in a few days, a few months, or it may never get better. I had my lobectomy 2 weeks after the bronchoscopy. My voice is still hoarse, after 5 weeks. Has anyone else experienced this? It seems that the pollen outside makes it worse. I don't know if anything can be done to help this, or if it is something that I will just have to live with. I go back to my surgeon on Friday, and I'll ask him again. Just wanted to know if anyone else experienced this after surgery. Thanks, Jan

Bill, I am so glad to hear your news! Congratulations! I will be facing the same decision, whether to have chemo or not. I have not seen an oncologist yet. It will be a hard decision for me to make. My surgeon told me that he wouldn't have the chemo. I'll have to wait and see what the onc says. Good Luck to you... keep in touch....

Thank you all for your advice. I went into the ER on 2/20/05 with chest pains on my right side. I thought I may be having a heart attack. They never found anything wrong, except for this "spot" on my left lung. My heart is strong and healthy. I have never felt those chest pains again. After hearing the diagnosis of cancer, I never thought of myself as "lucky". Since my surgery, and reading everything I can get my hands on, I now know that I am indeed very lucky. I have never been a religious person, but someone was looking out for me. I have been healthy my whole life, rarely going to the doctors. Something got me to the ER that day! I am now a true believer and truly "lucky". I wish you all the same luck.

My surgery went great on Wednesday. They were able to do the VATS and I was home on Sunday evening. I'm feeling pretty good, can't go up the stairs very well, but walking around well. The doctor says he doesn't want to see me for 4 weeks. Is this normal? Should I see an Oncologist before that? I won't have the pathology reports until early next week. They are assuming stage 1A.

Thank you all for the support. I will definitely see an onc after the surgery, even if my doctor tells me that I don't need too. Do oncologists specialize in certain types of cancer? Should I look for a lung cancer specialist? Or do they treat all cancers? I am so nervous about Wednesday. I just keep hoping that they can do the VATS. He said that I have a 2 out of 3 chance that he can do the VATS. I'm so glad I found this support group. Jan

Thank you all for your prayers and advice. It is really good to be talking to people who have been through this. My surgery will be done at UMMC (University of Md. Medical Center) in Baltimore. They are supposed to be one of the best in the Md. area from what I have read. I feel very comfortable with my doctors. The one doing my surgery specializes is VATS. Bill - I live in Southern Maryland - about an hour and a half from Baltimore. I can't believe we are having this done on the same day. Please keep in touch and let me know how you are doing. I will be praying for you. -- Jan

I found out on 3/28 that I have nsclc. I am scheduled for a lobectomy (left upper lobe) next Wednesday, the 20th. They are going to try to do VATS. My lymph node biopsy came out clean, so the dr is optimist that the lobectomy will get everything. He doesn’t anticipate any chemo or radiation. I would like to hear from anyone who can give me advice on what to expect, or how I can prepare for the procedure. I am scared to death. I am a otherwise healthy 47 (as of yesterday) year old woman with 2 daughters, 19 and 10. Any advice would be appreciated. Jan