Karen_L

I dunno, Walfredo, I think you're more in the A range of stress management. (My criteria for awarding myself an A may be different than yours: Did I get out of bed? Did I get dressed? A+ range would be, Did I cook dinner? Did I engage in even the smallest bit of familial relationship?)
1. My case regularly goes to the tumor board. They meet weekly, "they" being any number of oncologists, pulmonologists, radiation oncologists, and others. They get into the nitty gritty of the cases before them-- apparently the discussion can become quite spirited-- and come to consensus on the best course of action for the patient. It's very much a consensus process, as I understand it. Ideally, what would emerge is a refined diagnosis and/or treatment path. 
I asked once if I could go and received a resounding NO from my oncologist. The radiation oncologist explained that it's because docs are notoriously bad at remembering to protect patient confidentiality in front of non-medical folks when discussing previous cases that might be relevant. I never received written reports, but the oncologist typically calls to report, and then references the decisions in any of her updates; the rad-onc always calls to talk though the board's discussion.
2. It's amazing that the Mystery Growth in your airway is gone! Isn't it more amazing that it's not NSCLC or SCLC?! My hope is that you would take a breath and rest in those findings. Why do I say that? Your airway is clear, there's no sign of other badness right now, therefore, you can take a breath and not think about it, at least until you hear from Dr. MayoClinic.  (That's just me, of course-- I finish a round of scans and/or treatment and breathe a sigh of relief that I'm free for the next x months until the next check-in-- and I live like I'm free, too. But, this is something I've been able to do only after time-- more than a year-- in this lung process, so if it sounds like I'm talking Martian, just ignore me.) 
3. Just curious-- why see a thoracic surgeon right now, vs. after Dr. MayoClinic weighs in? Maybe you have some mycobacterium that surgery doesn't relate to-- my mother-in-law did-- or some other thing. During the two months after my tumor was discovered, as my diagnosis was being clarified and before treatment was established, I kept wanting them to Do Something, anything, to help me feel I was more in control. What's your hope for your surgical consult--to get more information about what a larger surgical intervention would involve? It's hard to suggest any questions to ask until you've articulated your hopes for the visit. 
I really encourage you to hold off on insisting on surgery if things continue to look inconclusive. Unless, of course, thinking about this helps you feel calmer. 
I'm impressed with the decisive action your pulmonologist is taking. I encourage you to call to get the details of the tumor board discussion. It sounds like details might be helpful to your stress situation right now? 
As for stress management, is there anyone who can sit with your boys (or somewhere you can bring them) so you can take a long walk or get a good cup of coffee and some excellent takeout, or a hot bath, or some exercise? Is there a friend you can lean on? 
Hang tight, we are all rooting for you.
K
 
 

Walfredo,
Slow down, my friend. You seem to have already decided that you're going to end up with VATS surgery to remove part of your lung. That's not what I'm hearing your doc saying is necessary-- HOORAY! There's no definitive cancer diagnosis-- HOORAY! 
The benefit of doing this bronch-approach is that it's not anywhere near the big deal that a lobectomy would be. I imagine it would actually be performed on an outpatient basis.
Then they could biopsy the dickens out of it. If it were to be cancer, you'd have at least gotten the big badness out of there, thereby minimizing the potential for spread. If it's not cancer, you'd have gotten the badness out and be able to learn what might be next treatment-wise, which may be nothing. 
Learning is great-- unless you are learning enough to leap to conclusions that may really have nothing to do with you. That's why you see so many cautions about avoiding Dr. Google. Take deep breaths and do a little flexing of that patience muscle. Waiting is the worst. But sometimes that's where we are....
Hang in.
Karen

I dunno, Walfredo, I think you're more in the A range of stress management. (My criteria for awarding myself an A may be different than yours: Did I get out of bed? Did I get dressed? A+ range would be, Did I cook dinner? Did I engage in even the smallest bit of familial relationship?)
1. My case regularly goes to the tumor board. They meet weekly, "they" being any number of oncologists, pulmonologists, radiation oncologists, and others. They get into the nitty gritty of the cases before them-- apparently the discussion can become quite spirited-- and come to consensus on the best course of action for the patient. It's very much a consensus process, as I understand it. Ideally, what would emerge is a refined diagnosis and/or treatment path. 
I asked once if I could go and received a resounding NO from my oncologist. The radiation oncologist explained that it's because docs are notoriously bad at remembering to protect patient confidentiality in front of non-medical folks when discussing previous cases that might be relevant. I never received written reports, but the oncologist typically calls to report, and then references the decisions in any of her updates; the rad-onc always calls to talk though the board's discussion.
2. It's amazing that the Mystery Growth in your airway is gone! Isn't it more amazing that it's not NSCLC or SCLC?! My hope is that you would take a breath and rest in those findings. Why do I say that? Your airway is clear, there's no sign of other badness right now, therefore, you can take a breath and not think about it, at least until you hear from Dr. MayoClinic.  (That's just me, of course-- I finish a round of scans and/or treatment and breathe a sigh of relief that I'm free for the next x months until the next check-in-- and I live like I'm free, too. But, this is something I've been able to do only after time-- more than a year-- in this lung process, so if it sounds like I'm talking Martian, just ignore me.) 
3. Just curious-- why see a thoracic surgeon right now, vs. after Dr. MayoClinic weighs in? Maybe you have some mycobacterium that surgery doesn't relate to-- my mother-in-law did-- or some other thing. During the two months after my tumor was discovered, as my diagnosis was being clarified and before treatment was established, I kept wanting them to Do Something, anything, to help me feel I was more in control. What's your hope for your surgical consult--to get more information about what a larger surgical intervention would involve? It's hard to suggest any questions to ask until you've articulated your hopes for the visit. 
I really encourage you to hold off on insisting on surgery if things continue to look inconclusive. Unless, of course, thinking about this helps you feel calmer. 
I'm impressed with the decisive action your pulmonologist is taking. I encourage you to call to get the details of the tumor board discussion. It sounds like details might be helpful to your stress situation right now? 
As for stress management, is there anyone who can sit with your boys (or somewhere you can bring them) so you can take a long walk or get a good cup of coffee and some excellent takeout, or a hot bath, or some exercise? Is there a friend you can lean on? 
Hang tight, we are all rooting for you.
K
 
 

Walfredo,
Slow down, my friend. You seem to have already decided that you're going to end up with VATS surgery to remove part of your lung. That's not what I'm hearing your doc saying is necessary-- HOORAY! There's no definitive cancer diagnosis-- HOORAY! 
The benefit of doing this bronch-approach is that it's not anywhere near the big deal that a lobectomy would be. I imagine it would actually be performed on an outpatient basis.
Then they could biopsy the dickens out of it. If it were to be cancer, you'd have at least gotten the big badness out of there, thereby minimizing the potential for spread. If it's not cancer, you'd have gotten the badness out and be able to learn what might be next treatment-wise, which may be nothing. 
Learning is great-- unless you are learning enough to leap to conclusions that may really have nothing to do with you. That's why you see so many cautions about avoiding Dr. Google. Take deep breaths and do a little flexing of that patience muscle. Waiting is the worst. But sometimes that's where we are....
Hang in.
Karen

What a PET scan will do is give your docs more information. Right now, from the biopsy they have, they can't see stuff that indicates cancer, but they also can't see (via the biopsy) what else might be happening. This explains exactly what a PET scan is and how it fits into a diagnostic process. "PET" is short for "positron emission tomography", so when you get to the page, look for the subheading that says Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
Unfortunately for all of us, there's not one test that says whether you do or don't have cancer. Right now you're in the agonizing part, where your docs are collecting data. Once they have a lot, they sit down and see if and how it all works together.
Try not to torture yourself-- each test gives only one piece of the puzzle. Sometimes, the same test will give two pieces of information, one of which might say, "No cancer" and the other, which might say, "Hey, this is kinda weird. Let's get more data." So every time you get a test, you need to see it as just one more piece of the puzzle, until your doc says, "OK, what I think you have is XYZ and here's why I think that."
One step at a time, my friend. It is really hard, but it's the only way. I like that you say "I need to take good news for today and continue on." Yep. Find the goodness in each moment and celebrate that. 
Karen

Hi Arisa, 
What I've read is that medical professionals don't get worried until the nodules reach a certain size, perhaps one cm?  You might want to ask your mother's team what their criteria is for further action. 

Walfredo,
Slow down, my friend. You seem to have already decided that you're going to end up with VATS surgery to remove part of your lung. That's not what I'm hearing your doc saying is necessary-- HOORAY! There's no definitive cancer diagnosis-- HOORAY! 
The benefit of doing this bronch-approach is that it's not anywhere near the big deal that a lobectomy would be. I imagine it would actually be performed on an outpatient basis.
Then they could biopsy the dickens out of it. If it were to be cancer, you'd have at least gotten the big badness out of there, thereby minimizing the potential for spread. If it's not cancer, you'd have gotten the badness out and be able to learn what might be next treatment-wise, which may be nothing. 
Learning is great-- unless you are learning enough to leap to conclusions that may really have nothing to do with you. That's why you see so many cautions about avoiding Dr. Google. Take deep breaths and do a little flexing of that patience muscle. Waiting is the worst. But sometimes that's where we are....
Hang in.
Karen

Walfredo,
Slow down, my friend. You seem to have already decided that you're going to end up with VATS surgery to remove part of your lung. That's not what I'm hearing your doc saying is necessary-- HOORAY! There's no definitive cancer diagnosis-- HOORAY! 
The benefit of doing this bronch-approach is that it's not anywhere near the big deal that a lobectomy would be. I imagine it would actually be performed on an outpatient basis.
Then they could biopsy the dickens out of it. If it were to be cancer, you'd have at least gotten the big badness out of there, thereby minimizing the potential for spread. If it's not cancer, you'd have gotten the badness out and be able to learn what might be next treatment-wise, which may be nothing. 
Learning is great-- unless you are learning enough to leap to conclusions that may really have nothing to do with you. That's why you see so many cautions about avoiding Dr. Google. Take deep breaths and do a little flexing of that patience muscle. Waiting is the worst. But sometimes that's where we are....
Hang in.
Karen

What a PET scan will do is give your docs more information. Right now, from the biopsy they have, they can't see stuff that indicates cancer, but they also can't see (via the biopsy) what else might be happening. This explains exactly what a PET scan is and how it fits into a diagnostic process. "PET" is short for "positron emission tomography", so when you get to the page, look for the subheading that says Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
Unfortunately for all of us, there's not one test that says whether you do or don't have cancer. Right now you're in the agonizing part, where your docs are collecting data. Once they have a lot, they sit down and see if and how it all works together.
Try not to torture yourself-- each test gives only one piece of the puzzle. Sometimes, the same test will give two pieces of information, one of which might say, "No cancer" and the other, which might say, "Hey, this is kinda weird. Let's get more data." So every time you get a test, you need to see it as just one more piece of the puzzle, until your doc says, "OK, what I think you have is XYZ and here's why I think that."
One step at a time, my friend. It is really hard, but it's the only way. I like that you say "I need to take good news for today and continue on." Yep. Find the goodness in each moment and celebrate that. 
Karen

What a PET scan will do is give your docs more information. Right now, from the biopsy they have, they can't see stuff that indicates cancer, but they also can't see (via the biopsy) what else might be happening. This explains exactly what a PET scan is and how it fits into a diagnostic process. "PET" is short for "positron emission tomography", so when you get to the page, look for the subheading that says Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
Unfortunately for all of us, there's not one test that says whether you do or don't have cancer. Right now you're in the agonizing part, where your docs are collecting data. Once they have a lot, they sit down and see if and how it all works together.
Try not to torture yourself-- each test gives only one piece of the puzzle. Sometimes, the same test will give two pieces of information, one of which might say, "No cancer" and the other, which might say, "Hey, this is kinda weird. Let's get more data." So every time you get a test, you need to see it as just one more piece of the puzzle, until your doc says, "OK, what I think you have is XYZ and here's why I think that."
One step at a time, my friend. It is really hard, but it's the only way. I like that you say "I need to take good news for today and continue on." Yep. Find the goodness in each moment and celebrate that. 
Karen

Hi Arisa, 
What I've read is that medical professionals don't get worried until the nodules reach a certain size, perhaps one cm?  You might want to ask your mother's team what their criteria is for further action. 

Hi Arisa, 
What I've read is that medical professionals don't get worried until the nodules reach a certain size, perhaps one cm?  You might want to ask your mother's team what their criteria is for further action. 

Hi Arisa, 
What I've read is that medical professionals don't get worried until the nodules reach a certain size, perhaps one cm?  You might want to ask your mother's team what their criteria is for further action.