TJM

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/24/chris-mortensen-throat-cancer-recovery Mort passed not long ago.Worth the read. NFL draft tonight reminded me when they payed tribute. Cancer cares not if you are rich and famous or poor and lost. A vicious disease. Peace Tom

What a crappy situation! I am really surprised no one has suggested a PET scan now, rather than wait. You might suggest that to your pulm doc. Especially since you had existing nodules. Best wishes Tom

Hello. I had a 1.2 cm round nodule in my RLL discovered in 2006. Had annual scans for 5 years and then forgot about it. Fast forward to 2020 (early) and that nodule had grown to the size of a lime. Upon reviewing my past surveillance scans I found that it had indeed been growing very slowly, but growing. No alarms were set off. Also the SUV uptake wasn't high but wasn't nothing at 1.8 My message is to not forget about it if you go the surveillance route. I ended up with 3 nodes involved and staged 3. Had a RLL VATs, chemo and radiation. Turned out to be Large cell NET (rare for LC) so the stats were scarce. They treated it as if it was small cell. I feel lucky to have had surgery because if it was known to be large cell protocol for surgery is sketchy. I would have it removed. I wish I had in 2006 (was given the option but doc suggesr a PET scan instead). Suffice it to say I was not a happy camper and made them very aware of that fact. Best of luck. Probably ok to go either way...if you keep cognizant it is there.

All I think I had stopped posting before this happened (on advice from a lawyer) but it might be interesting for some of y'all I was sitting in my OSU recliner in late 21 and had an epiphany. I could stay in that fine recliner, get fat, and just wait or I could do something different. When I say I...my wife is included. So we sat down and developed a bucket list. It included a bunch of stuff we both desired. First sell our much to big (with the boys gone) house. Buy my most desired car (CT6-V. Check it out if you like cars) and travel. We decided on starting with a cruise to Alaska to see how well I did. Went with some dear friends (one had LC also and has sense past) and had a fine time. I didn't do all the excursions, but my wife did and had a blast. After that, we decided on a slow trip across the US starting in Washington. Made plans to meet up with friends along the way. Even had lunch with old friends from Seattle at the Mackinaw bridge in the UP of Michigan. We ended in Brooklyn New York where my wifes sister lives. Had my pup Mac with us for the drive. Then we caught the QE2 in Brooklyn and sailed to South Hampton UK. 7 day journey which was fantastic. Had the widow of my second dad join us for the trip. It was magical. Then we spent 3 months taking the train around Europe. From Rotterdam to Barcelona and two stops in France. It was a great trip but I learned that Europe is more divided than even the US. Any desire to retire there quickly dissolved. My two favorite visits were to a WW1 battle site in northern france and Normandy. The cemetery"s were very moving places. Tor du Hoc (sp) was astonishing. My parents generation were an incredible group to have accomplished what they did. Also very special was meeting up with a large group of friends from Longview in Paris for a fun night of food, drink and chat. We then spent the last 3 weeks in England. Being Scottish we had to visit Edinburgh. I highly recommend it if you get a chance. The castle is the best we saw by far. Also, the war room exhibt in London was incredible and wore me out so much I had to rest for two days. We were joined by a special couple. The wife had just survived a breast cancer scare (when we set it up we didn't know if it was a recurrence yet) that turned out to be begnin. What a great week of celebration. We had such a grand time on the QE2 coming from the US we decided to take it back home. In November. Across the North Atlantic! It was an exhilarating rough trip and I was very pleased to find I do not get sea sick. Upon arrival back in Brooklyn I decided to drive straight back to Washington. My wife stayed with her sister for a few days and then flew home. It was the perfect end of the adventure for me. Alone in my bucket list Caddy driving as long and as fast as I wished. I enjoyed it immensely. I can now claim to have traveled from Alaska to Barcelona and back without ever stepping on an airplane! We did spend a bunch of my kids inheritance but I wouldn't do it any different. Sorry for the long post. Tom PS This post does not do justice to the trip. So many stories. So many memories. I have only one thing left on my bucket list. To watch the Lions in the Superbowl live. Is that possible this year? Yah damn right it is!

I am posting this because it is newer than what I found when I was first diagnosed. It may be helpful to anyone who has this diagnosis. Not sure if I should post somewhere else? https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.650293/full Best to all. Hopefully I get into a dermatologist next week. Should know by Monday. The dang thing appears to be growing. 😶 Edit: What is the easiest way to find my old posts? Appreciate any help. I was very on top of things then so it might help me now. Thx

I feel extremely lucky not to have lost power as well. This "thaw" sure is taking it's time. I remember many a silver thaw in the past, but not one that took this long! Stay warm everybody!

I have a spot on my abdomen that is new and it has me concerned. I had an appointment with my primary that was canceled due to a massive ice storm! I have not been able to reschedule yet. I do have a scan scheduled for Feb 14th but I don't know if a CT scan is much good detecting skin metastasis. I am begining to get a tad ansey. My question is has any one had any experience with this type of metastasis or could direct me to some decent information. What I have found on Dr Google is not very informative (is it me, or has Google lost some of it's mojo?) Unfortunately I am getting the feeling that since I am 4 years NED I am back to ground zero, i.e. basically I have been cured and and urgency has been lost with my "team". I will get this done but I thought it might be worth a shot to see if anyone else has traveled a similar path Tom PS. I did have a cancerous spot on my arm that was basil cell and deemed not connected to my Large Cell NSCLC.

It is super cold. Especially for the NW. Hasn't been this cold in over 30 years. Supposed to get a pretty good shot of snow today as well! Luckily have plenty of fire wood and hot cocoa. I will enjoy watching from my warm den! Stay safe everyone Tom

Merry Christmas!

The forum is very quiet. I hope this is because fewer people are "catching" lung cancer. Enjoy the holidays eveyone! Peace Tom

Hey Blossom. You probably do not remember me but I remember you. So sorry you have to go thru this. Your posts bring back so many memories of how I felt at the beginning. Hope for the best. If I remember correctly you advocated for your mother. Remember that in the end you are your own best advocate. Having done caretaking for my brother and then going thru it myself, I can attest that the patient side is a totally different experience. Good luck. I shall be watching and thinking of you. Tom

Kris Thanks for the update. Please think hard before doing adjunctive radiation. My oncologist was 50/50 on the benefit. I choose to go ahead because Large Cell is more prone to metastasis than most LC's and I wanted to do as much as possible to clear the body of any cancer cells. I now wish I had skipped that treatment. Radiation was much tougher on me than Chemo was (the fatigue was really bad). But the main reason is it messed up my esophagus. This is really not surprising and is a rather common result. I am starting to think it may never be "right" again. On the other hand I have been NED now for 18 months. Wishing you the best regardless of which path you choose. Peace Tom

Agree with both Lexie and Judy. The bronchoschocopy wasn't at all uncomfortable for me. I'm guessing I will have another in the next few months and am not stressing at all. FWIW. Peace Tom

I second Lexi cat. Boring is good. Peace Tom

Absolutely awesome. You got this. Peace Tom