TracyG

Wow Karen, thank you so much for doing that research! It’s good to have that confirmation of my current plan.

Hi Karen, I enjoyed your blog on exercise, thanks for sharing. I get about 500-600 minutes of exercise per week - it’s good to hear more is better! I’ll read the section on bio markers. I’m usually a big researcher and tend to get into the details on everything. But I found myself backing off after the cancer diagnosis as there is too much information, a lot of it hard to handle emotionally. So it’s good to have a reliable source with a small bit of information that won’t take me down a rabbit hole. My doctors all agreed that I didn’t need additional treatment after surgery, and they claimed there was a 90% cure rate in cases such as mine. I hope this is true, but I’m certainly open to other suggestions regarding the standard of treatment. The pups say woof!

Thanks Karen, I also purchased air purifiers and they’re working well to keep the smoke out. I hope yours do too, or better yet that you don’t need them! Unfortunately, I’m outside in the smoke (masked) as I have 2 dogs that need walking. But my cardio is inside at the gym. I hope you’re right about exercising and cancer. But because it really helps improve my QOL, I’m all in. I’m having my 6 month CT in a couple weeks and trying not to stress over it. Speaking of, do you know if is it standard that they should have obtained bio markers when they removed my cancer cells? I’ll ask the Oncologist but I don’t think they did any extra testing. I admit I haven’t done much research on this so I’m not very informed. Also, are you aware of any blood tests that will identify lung cancer cells? It seems like that would be better than a CT scan which doesn’t show anything until a growth has already developed. Not to mention the cost of the CT! Thanks, Tracy

Hi Karen, Thanks so much for your comments and suggestions. That makes total sense to see a pulmonologist- I’ll see if I can get a referral when I see my doctor next month. I’m afraid I just saw your post so I apologize for my delayed response. I’m not sure why I didn’t receive an email alert - perhaps I need to change my settings. My breathlessness has improved a bit. I’m not sure whether it’s my body (and mind) adjusting or actual improvement, but I’ll take it! Of course now I have to contend with the wildfire smoke in Oregon, which cannot be good for my lungs or my breathing, even though I wear a N95 mask whenever outside. I’m so sorry to hear you got Covid! I hope you’re continuing to recover well. I also struggle with patience as I move forward in my recovery. I’m happy to hear I’m not the only one pushing myself physically with exercise. I worry about putting too much stress on my body but I really enjoy working out. It’s my therapy! Thanks again for your comments!

Hi Everyone, I had a lower left lobectomy 3 months ago, for stage 1a lung cancer. They think they got it all so I'm not having any treatment. I feel very fortunate it was caught so early. I’m 61 years old, female and otherwise in good health. My question is regarding exercise. I love taking long walks and going to the gym often. I’m working with a trainer and along with strength training am doing high intensity training workouts, trying to improve my breathing and endurance. The challenge is that I get short of breath and often get lightheaded. My doctors don’t have a problem with me exercising, but are unable to offer any estimates as to when the shortness of breath will improve, if ever. I’ve tried to find articles about cardio exercise after a lobectomy, but there’s not much available. Any ideas from the group? Thanks! Tracy