My mother has NSCLC and was initially diagnosed as stage IIIb. Thankfully her tumor shrunk over 70% after chemo/radiation treatments (it was about 5cm prior to chemo/radiation). Her tumor is located in her right lung near her bronchial tube (not sure how technical that sounds ). She is going to have surgery to remove the entire right lung. Thankfully her left lung is in good shape and her pulmonary specialist is confident that she will enjoy a good quality of life with the remaining lung. Mom is 64 years old and aside from her lung cancer, in pretty good health!
Based on your experience with lung surgery, what should she expect as far as discomfort and pain? She is very frightened about losing her lung and having to rely on the remaining lung, but she was scared of chemo and radiation and actually fared very well through those treatments so she is trying to not let her imagination run wild with thoughts of how she'll feel after the surgery.
If you could share your experience I'd really appreciate it! How did you feel after you woke up, how long were you in the hospital, what type of surgery did you have, how is your quality of life now, how long did it take you to regain mobility, did the healing process seem painful, etc.
Thanks and congratulations to all you survivors! I've read some very inspirational stories here and I am ever so thankful for this message forum!!!!
My mother wasn't very active prior to her diagnosis. She and my father have been retired for several years and she is very content with puttering around the house and the garden. She is very much a home body and never really enjoyed going out shopping or visiting with friends, so she is hoping that she'll be feeling well enough to continue her puttering once she heals from the surgery.
Sincerely,
Karen