LouT

Shecares, Welcome to our forums. I'm glad you found us and sorry you need to be here. You don't mention if your follow up scans were clear or if any problems were found. I also don't know what other study you are part of the the treatments involved. You did mention breathlessness and that can surely be a part of having had lung cancer, but it would help to know if it was recent or when it became a symptom. Also, did you see a doctor for the vomiting and breathlessness? Please provide more information as that will help us to provide more of a response to you regarding the problems you are having. Lou

Hi Dona, I'm glad you posted. While I have not been diagnosed with Bullae, it does not seem that it is a condition only unrelated to the lungs, but rather a result of changes in the lung tissue caused by emphysema. You can read some information here from our own National Institute of Health. The article can be found hehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537243/re. I hope this helps. Lou

Joana, Sorry to hear your history and these new developments. I agree with Lily's doctor that the CT Scan should produce more results than the PET. Of course they can be used together, but for the most definitive test I believe the CT would be the one. I can't answer your question about fighting your insurance company so I'll leave that to those who have actually done that. I hope your symptoms are just part of your recovery from Covid. Lou

Julie, I'm glad the surgery went well. If I knew you were getting the surgery I would have shared some tips and tricks on getting through it well. But instead I'l share something more general, but equally important. It was written by one of our members who was diagnosed with Stage 3 & 4 lung cancer 18 years ago and is still very much with us. It is titled "10 Steps to Surviving Lung Cancer; from a Survivor" and it can be found here. Please keep us updated and let us know if you have any questions. Lou

Good luck with your event my friend. Lou

Rosie, Welcome to our forums and sorry that you need to be here. A lung cancer diagnosis is certainly one of the hardest things we ever go through in our lives so we understand your feelings. My treatment was surgical so I can't share my experience with any chemo or immunotherapy, but others here can and surely will. In the meantime I can point you to some information that will be helpful to you on this journey. First, a blog titled; "10 Steps to Surviving Lung Cancer; From a Survivor". It contains excellent information, written by an 18-year survivor of Stage 3 and Stage 4 lung cancer. It can be found here. Second, is a forum on "Immunotherapy" where you may find useful information on the treatment. That is on this page. Stay strong and please understand that Lung Cancer is no longer the automatic death sentence that it once was. Lou

Hang in there Justin. You're doing so well, and I'm glad to hear that your symptoms are receding. Lou

Lisa, Welcome to our forums. Sorry you need to be here though. The majority of lung nodules (60%) are not malignant, and one way they determine that is if it does not grow during the "waiting period" between scans. Most benign nodules don't continue to increase in size, but at times even benign nodules can come and go, so that alone is still not the benchmark for determining cancer. CT and PET Scans can provide preliminary information about a nodule, but frankly the real determinant is a biopsy. There is a collection of information on Lungevity regarding "Diagnosing Lung Cancer" and it can be found here. For my money a biopsy is the real test to determine if there is a malignancy. If you do decide to go that route please ask for "biomarker testing" as that information may prove valuable at a later date. Early detection is a Godsend with this disease so speak with your husband and he with his doctor. Others will no doubt share their thoughts on this, but the more thorough and timely the diagnosis the better results that can occur. Best of luck and please provide us with an update and any questions you may have. Lou

Kelvin, Have you or your mom asked for a second opinion on the treatment protocol? It might be a wise thing to do right now. Also, you may want to add a "palliative care" person to your mother's medical team. That addition may provide some more oversight into side effects and how best to control and/or eliminate them. Lou

Bridget, My hopes are for a good outcome of the tests. She is lucky to have you there to provide input, insight, and support. Lou

Minh, Some recoveries are more difficult than others. Lung capacity is always an important part of your LC recovery and when it doesn't go well it can be problematic. Have you or your medical team considered "pulmonary therapy" to help you to regain more of your capacity? While I haven't had it others here have found it helpful in recovery. Sorry to hear about the pain. Have the doctors determined the source/cause for it? My thoracic surgery (lobectomy) left me with numbness and pain on my right side that has only reduced over the last number of months (I had my surgery more than 3 years ago). For my part I had to take a combination of Advil and Tylenol along with Gabapentin and even then it took a long time for it to fade. I hope you and your team can find a way to reduce the pain for you. Lou

Welcome to our forums Chazsprincess, we're glad you found us but sorry you need to be here. First of all fear and anxiety are perfectly understandable when you hear the words "Lung Cancer". This is a serious disease to have and your feelings very normal. So many of us used the term "Devastated" because we felt all hope was gone. I was diagnosed with cancer in March of 2019 and am still here today NED (no evidence of disease) and there are many here who are longer survivors than me. I'm telling you this to show you that lung cancer is no longer the automatic death sentence that it once was. Treatments have advanced more in the last five years than the past fifty and new approaches such as immunotherapy and targeted treatments have saved many lives. So please don't lose hope, you have more chance of survival now than ever before in our history. You don't say much about what your diagnostic process included or what medical team you have so I'm going to share some important information for you to read. o The first is a page on "Navigating the Diagnostic Process and can be found here. It contains various articles on everything from Pre-Screening through What to Ask Your Doctor... o This is an informative piece on "Your Medical Team" and some thoughts on who should be part of that group. It is part of the Navigating the Diagnnostic Process and is found on this page. o Finally there is an article called "10 Steps to Surviving Lung Cancer; From a Survivor" and it has important knowledge and tips on how to make it though this. It it at this location. From personal experience and hearing from many other survivors I can tell you that once your medical team puts together your treatment plan you will actually feel better that you are out to conquer this disease. More of my Lungevity Family will be posting to you soon, but in the meantime know that you will not be alone on this journey. Please post more information here any time you want and feel free to ask any questions you may have. Heck, even if you just want to vent or rant this is a good place to do it among a group of folks who understand your journey. Lou

Laurel, I have not had chemo, my treatment was surgical, but I have some other information to share. There is an article titled "10 Steps to Surviving Lung Cancer; From a Survivor" and it can be found here. It was written by one of our members who (19 years ago) was diagnosed at Stage 3 which went to Stage 4 and today has been declared "cured". So there is great advice and needed hope in reading the blog. In the meantime others will likely share their experiences and feel free to ask any questions or even just vent if and when needed. Lou

Hi Misty, Welcome to our forums, sorry you need to be here. Tom has already shared some great information with you. Since your surgery is not that far off I'd like to share some "Tips and Tricks" on what to do pre-surgery, right after, and then post-surgery recovery. It's a blog titled "Thoracic Surgery Tips and Tricks" (it can be found here) and it contains practical advise on how to get through your surgery. For the most part most folks here have found the surgery to be less bad then they expected. Please keep us updated and feel free to ask any question your want or even to just vent. We're happy to support you on this journey. Lou

Debbie, Sorry you need to be here, but glad you found us. You're going through a time that we all remember and all were as confused, terrified, and anxious as can be. But there is a lot of support here and you won't need to go through this alone. I'm sure you'll be hearing from others soon, but frankly you need to go to the best place in your area for cancer treatment and you'll likely need an oncologist, surgeon, and perhaps even a pulmonologist. Speak with your PCP to determine the best place for treatment and then work there to put together your team. Also take a look at the following information: o This is an article on your medical team and may provide you with some information that can help you and your PCP to assemble the right team to take you through this journey. It can be found here. o In addition there is a blog titled "10 Steps to Surviving Lung Cancer; From a Survivor" written by one of our members diagnosed with Stage 3 then 4 almost two decades ago. It is on this page. I'm sure you'll be hearing from others soon, but please try to hang on...you can work through this, you're stronger than you think and you're not alone. Lou

Hi Lori,, Sorry to hear about your father, but glad you found our forums. There is a lot of experience and knowledge here as well as hope for the future. Until you get more of the data on diagnosis there are a couple of things I'd like to share with you: 1. A blog titled; "10 Steps to Surviving Lung Cancer; From a Survivor", and it can be found here. 2. One of our forums is for folks and family like you. It is our "Caregiver's Support Center" and it is on this page. Please keep us updated and ask any specific questions you may have. Lou

Hi Wavelength, Sorry you need to be here, but glad you found our forums. At this point you still have a way to go in the diagnostic process before any of us will make the assumption that you have LC. But, if that time ever comes know that we have a lot of survivors here with varied backgrounds so we can pretty much share any experience you may need to go through. In the meantime it may help you to look at some articles here on Lungevity having to do with the diagnostic process and you can find them here. Please keep us updated and feel free to ask any questions you may have. Lou

LRB, Glad to hear the lungs are clear and very sorry to hear about the thyroid nodule . Have they determined if the new nodule is from lung cells or is it specific to the thyroid itself? This can be important information. Meanwhile please keep us updated and we'll be here to go through this journey with you. Lou

Debbie, Welcome to our forums. We're sorry you find yourself here, but glad you found us. Okay you have a nodule about an inch wide, but you're not yet diagnosed with cancer. The PET scan can provide some more information if the nodule has a strong uptake of the radiated sugar, but the real tool for diagnosis will be a biopsy. It can be via needle, or blood, and will provide the best certainty of malignancy or not. Please try to stay calm until you complete the diagnostic process (which can be agonizingly long) and know what you are dealing with. If you are positive for cancer please share that here as many of us survivors have a breadth of experience and knowledge we're happy to share with you. You're not alone anymore with this. In the meantime please take a few minutes to read up some on testing and outcomes. You can find the articles here. Lou

Mary Kate, Welcome to our forums. You'll find a super group of folks here with all stages, types and experiences with lung cancer. It's a great place for support, a place to vent, and catch up on other's to refresh Hope. It sounds like you've already gone through a tough road, but I'm very glad to hear about how well you're doing. Even though you've been through so much there is always more to learn. We have a forum that covers EGFR that you may be interested in and it can be found here. I hope to see you around on the boards. Lou

Sue Maria, So glad you found our forum, but Justin's questions are appropriate. Can you tell us more about what your diagnosis was, when it occurred and the treatments you've had so far? We have folks here with varied types of LC (lung cancer) and treatments and once we understand more about your situation we'll be able to share our experiential knowledge with you. Lou

Dotty, Tom is absolutely correct. The cancer would be found if it was there. Time to count your blessings and move on. I'm glad your found our forum, but thrilled you won't be needing it for the foreseeable future. Lou

Lori, Thanks, I'm glad it helps you. There will be plenty of time to overachieve once you finish your recovery. So, take it easy and get healthy first! And thanks for the good wishes...I'm keeping all digits crossed and leaving the rest up to God. Lou

Still missing you Teri. LMT

Justin, We always have to be our own best advocates and getting more than one view is an example of doing just that. I look forward to positive improvement for you. Lou