LSholt

Tom Galli, thanks for sharing your experience, you've given me a great deal more hope. I met with my chemo doctor today and he is taking the Taxol out my regimen because of severe reaction I've had the last 2 times, will continue with the carboplatin, only have 2 sessions left and hoping it won't affect my outcome. Thanks for listing the immunotherapy resources as well, I will check those out for sure. RJN, he did prescribe the syrup with codeine, hopefully that will work and I can get some much needed sleep, but it's good to know there are tablets too I appreciate you all taking the time to answer my questions, it helps so much to be able to share with others who are going through the same thing.

Thanks so much for your replies. Before I started treatment and was so frustrated/scared at the length of time it was taking to actually get started with treatment, I contacted the lung cancer center at Atrium Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, immediately got an appointment there and got established with a great doctor there. Since he was recommending starting out with chemo and radiation, and the radiation would be given every day, he arranged with my local cancer centers to immediately begin treatment here so that I would not have to drive from Asheville to Winston Salem every day. Once I am through with these, he will become my primary doctor again and I will get all future treatments, including the immunotherapy, through him. I feel very confident and comfortable with going there and will have access to a broader range of treatment options and also clinical trials if needed. I would like to acknowledge that I have been treated very well at the local centers I am currently going to, I just felt I needed to strongly advocate for myself on not just the length of time everything was taking here but also looking ahead to where I might have the most options for future treatments. I meet with my chemo doctor today and will discuss the possibility of switching to a different chemo, even though I only have 2 more treatments scheduled. Of all the many side effects I have experienced from the chemo and radiation, most are tolerable or handled well with other medications. But this persistent cough has not been manageable and I'm not sure I can handle 2 or 3 more weeks of it, the episodes are just so bad. RJN, Thanks for the suggestion of the syrup with codeine, I will also ask him about that. LouT, thank you for listing more resources, I will definitely check those out, and I am glad you said to stay away from looking at statistics on Google. Of course, that wàs one of the first things I did when I received my diagnosis, wanted to know exactly what I was facing, but got confusing and contradictory info and I also came to realize everyone is different and may respond differently to treatment. So I will remain as informed as I can and try to make treatment choices based on my doctor's opinion as well as what I feel is right for me. I am so grateful for this forum and having a place to share.

Hi, I'm Lisa from N.C. After requesting that my doctor schedule a routine CT scan for me, he did and after results from that and PET scan and biopsy, I found out I have Stage 3B lung cancer, has spread to a nearby lymph node. I was not having any symptoms, so I'm really glad I requested the routine scan. Have been through so many emotions since then, which I'm sure a lot of you can relate to... fear, anxiety, sadness, and then found my desire to FIGHT. From the time I had the first scan until I actually started any treatment (chemoradiotherapy) was 3 months, a time of worrying, wondering if it was getting worse, and learning I really have to push and advocate for myself, or it would have taken even longer. I'm now in my 5th week out of 7 for the chemo and radiation, then expecting to start some type of immunotherapy. I have a couple of questions that I was hoping someone could answer.... - for anyone who has received chemo (I get Taxol, then carboplatin), did you have any issues tolerating the chemo (besides the usual expected side effects)? For the last couple of weeks, I have had a severe coughing episode while receiving the Taxol, to the extent they had to stop giving it to me, give me oxygen, etc. - I also cough a Lot at home, especially during the night, am getting very little sleep. I've used both OTC cough medicine and prescription meds, started using a humidifier, eating honey mixed with lemon, etc. None seem to help. Any other suggestions that you have found that worked for you? -can I expect a lot of side effects from the immunotherapy as well (will probably be a once-a-month infusion). Sorry for such a long post, but so happy I found this group to share with!