I can’t believe that I’m actually posting here, but I just wanted to introduce myself and thank you all for this supportive site. Although it is so sad to realize how many people are affected by lung cancer, it helps to know you aren’t alone. I found this site last month, in Feb., when my Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was a very light smoker for a few years and hasn’t smoked in nearly 40 years so this is such a shock to us. He is 70 years old and has lived with diabetes for 38 years. Other than that, he has been pretty darn healthy.
He went to the hospital in Jan with some chest and shoulder pain. An x-ray showed a spot on his right lung. After several tests over the next couple of weeks, they decided to do a wedge resection. It was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma so they continued on and removed the right middle lobe. There was some involvement of the visceral pleura and lymph nodes so it was staged as IIB or IIIA pending further discussion.
There was also some question about a “hot” spot on the thyroid that showed up on the PET scan so he had another surgery to remove a portion of the thyroid last week. The preliminary findings show that was not cancer.
These past couple of months have been so scary – it just all seems like a blur – it’s happened so fast. I try to do the research, but am afraid of what I’m going to find out. It’s all very confusing.
It has been great to read some of the success stories here (it's given me some hope and relief from the terrible thoughts I've been having). I have also been brought to tears many times for those that have been lost. I wish the best outcome for all of you going through this and of course for my father.
