valadi

Hi John...Thank You for your reply. Please accept my condolences on the passing of your mother. I wish there was more they could have done for her. I too lost my parents to Lung Cancer. I know how you felt with her passing. From what I read most all reports suggest having the lobectomy done. There are good reports out there with just having the wedge resection done also but as a rule they usually have more information to go on other than just type of LC. tumor size, grade of tumor and shows no small or larger vascular invasion. They want to give me an epidural for the next operation but at the same time I have RA around that area of my spine so they may not be able to give me an epidural. I was suppose to have one with the wedge resection but they didn't give it to me. Although I have to say the Morphine worked very well. I have no idea why I am so afraid of another operation. I just am. I am sure my Oncologist will be displeased with me if I don't have it done but he and my family need to think what I need too and right now it's a little more time to come to terms with having the operation done. I will get back with you all as soon as I speak with my oncologist. The Thoracic surgeon wants me to have the operation before 3 months is up. So I should make a decision soon. I hope everyone is enjoying a nice weekend.

Thank you all for your kind concern and caring thoughts. After reading all of your kind messages I believe that my best results will be from having the lobe removed, now all I have to do is figure out how to prepare myself for the operation, as I am terrified of having even the smallest of operations performed. ...I don't think it was but it does seem to point in that direction doesn't it? If I remember what the surgeon said is..."he does not normally do that on a VATS wedge resection" If so, I wish I would have known that. He did say he looked around in the area and did not see anything unusual going on other than the scar tissue that was making it hard for my right lung to expand freely and did remove some of the scar tissue.I hope I did not misconstrue any information about why the 2 doctors want me to have the lobectomy done. Not just to check out the nodes or for harvesting any more surrounding tissue but for the best possible outcome.. They both have mention that from what they have gathered from all the written information they read as to what is the best way to go with operable Lung Cancer is to have the lobe removed that has the tumor in it, over a VATS wedge resection. I thought I signed the papers to have a lobectomy done or a VATS wedge resection, what ever was indicated at the time of entry into the lung area. I never thought to think to ask about whether they would be taking any nodes with the wedge resection. I do know I did not get to have a epidural put in for the Lobectomy and that might have been part of the reason why no nodes where taken. The Thoracic surgeon has said he has seen patients do well with just having the Vats done with a T1a tumor as well as having the lobe removed with nodes removed and that sometimes the "wait and see method can work" but would want me to have follow up chemo but my oncologist has said "NO". He feels it would be more detrimental than helpful. It all comes back to ...do the nodes have any cancer in them? Since no nodes where removed, no one can even begin to know how to treat this Lung Cancer. I do not want to have surgery but I want every chance to survive like any one else but I feel I may not unless I have the surgery done. I hate being in this spot. Before I had a Pet Scan done, I had a cat scan done and it did pick up the cancer but did not show any cancer in any Lymph Nodes but then again it could be so minute that they can not pick it up. I just had another Pet Scan done this past Tuesday and the results came back as NED. I will be seeing my oncologist on the 18th of September. I think I will leave this problem on the back burner for a few days. I need to get away from it over the Labor Day holiday and will go back to trying to come to a decision after that. Once again...Thank You all for being there when I really needed to talk about this problem. No one can make a decision for me but what you all have mentioned can and will come into play when I do make one. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and please stay safe.

Hi, I have been lurking around and wondering how to explain my situation. I was DX'd with Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Poorly Differentiated (Histologic Grade G3) on July 10th 2007 after having a wedge resection done. No nodes where removed for diagnosing by pathologist. I don't know why. They staged my tumor as T1a (1.8cm...no large or small vessel invasion observed) but can not formally called it that because of not removing any LN. Now they want me to go back in and have the remainder of my right lower lobe removed just so they can check out my LN as they feel that is in my best interest. No chemo or radiation is being offered Has anyone gone through this? I DO NOT want to have surgery again but I also want the best prognoses I can get with my lung cancer. I am very upset and afraid of having to go through another surgery because I also have moderate to severe COPD and a portion of my lung is stuck to my body because of scaring from having radiation for prior Breast Cancer and will require some repair to allow my lung to move freely. This makes the operation a bit more encompassing than the first one. I also have had some prior problems with anesthesia. These problems make it very hard for me to come to a decision as to what I should do. I feel emotionally overwhelmed. Has anyone had a lung resection done. Had their tumor stage T1a with no nodes removed and decided to not have further surgery to have the remainder of their lobe removed. If so, how is your LC doing now? Thank you for any help you can offer me as I said I am at my wits end coming to a decision.

I am here...lurking too. Just haven't felt up to posting after operation and receiving pathologist report to really post back to all you kind people. Please forgive me, I will post results of Op and Path results in a few days. I hope everyone is having a good day

Hi Ernie, Thank You for bringing me back to reality...Sometimes I can use a good boot in the behind to get the brain juices flowing. A lot of it is I am scared out of my mind and I have been getting more and more nervous as it gets closer to the operation. Thanks for the reminder that this is not just about me. I am sorry I stuck my post in the wrong forum. I just noticed I did that. Hope your days are always good ones

It seems so many little things have been plaguing me this last week before surgery. I feel totally wore out. Well...it seems the Dedicated Liver Scan I had done was not quite up to par by my oncologist and tonight I have to go back and have another one done. I'm so angry at him, nothing is every good enough for him. Add the fact that I am suppose to have an epidural done with the surgery, which the Anesthesiologist preferred I have done. I might have compromised having that done because I went out with my family for our annual 4th of July celebration and my back got burned. I did not do it on purpose, I had a sunblock of 20 on. I thought I was good to go. It not pink it's a definite shade of red. Does not hurt or look like any blister are forming but when you push on it it does leave a very vivid mark of your finger for a few seconds. So here am with another worry right before surgery. I called the RN about the burn and am waiting for her to return my call. My husband is upset because I made the appointment for the DLS for this evening at 7:00 pm. I forgot he goes to bed at that time. He asked me why so late. I do not know why, I just made it. The truth is I wasn't thinking of his needs, I was thinking of mine and when I will be able to eat something because you can not have anything to drink or eat for 4 hours prior to the test and I was making sure he would still have his dinner before we had to go. I completely forgot about his need to go to bed at 7:00PM. I wanted to cry but I walked away and did dishes instead. As afraid of having this operation as I am, I am now so over all this, I just want to get this over with and move on.

Hi Ned Nice meeting you. Sounds like you made it through the Op with flying colors. I hope I have the same good results. Thank you so much for your great helper hints. I ask the surgeons RN if there was anything I needed to do before hand to get everything together before I come home from the hospital and I even asked if I could go up the stairs to my bedroom and she said there really wasn't much that needed to be done and yes I could use the stairs. Which I was not allow to use when I had the mastectomy done. I had to sleep down stairs After reading your hints, I went and put everything right at my arms reach. and made a list of things I will need after surgery. I can not thank you enough for suggesting using a recliner to sleep in for a few weeks. I was wondering how I was going to get out of the bed with out either hurting myself or causing myself undo pain. The recliner sounds like the best idea. It's nice to get help from people who have been where I am going. Makes me feel more relaxed and hopeful. It is so nice to hear that you are doing great and I will pray that you will continue to do so. . As soon as I feel up to it I will make sure I come in and let you all know how I am doing and I am looking forward to those survivor chats on Tuesdays. God Bless you and everyone on this board.

Hello to all, I am overwhelm as to all your wonderful post. I feel like I have found a new friendship group that I can be me in. Thank You all for all your information, prayers and blessings that you have offered me. They mean so much and really has help me get ready for this operation. I will be thinking of you also when they are ready to put me to sleep and will be saying a little prayer of gratitude for your kind generous support. I am just now getting a chance to read all your profiles and getting to know a little about you all. I will start one about myself as soon as I am feeling up to using the PC. My husband made sure that I would have a PC near me when I feel up to using it and got a laptop for me to use. It was such a big surprise that for once in my life I was unable speak. Miracles do happen. Don M...I think the Thoracic doctor did mention going inside the area and looking though a camera to do the resection but he also did mention he will have to break the rib. It may be because of where the lesion or tumor is sitting. He said something about it being on the lower right lung near the rim of the lung and that it looked to have smooth walls, which he thinks is a metastasis for my past BC. I would be love to not have the rib broken. Maybe a miracle will happen and I won't have to have it broken. chloesmom... I am so sorry that you also had to suffer through BC. In the past 5+ years from my DX of BC I have meet at least 7 or more women and believe it or not a man, who lives right down the street from me,who also have had to go through the ordeal of BC. Not a nice thing to hear.Saddens me every time I hear of another person and cancer. I will definitely take my pain meds right on time. While in the hospital I will be using an epidural to deliver the pain meds directly to the body. Like you, I do believe it does nothing for the healing process if we are always in pain. I have RA too and I have learned the hard way that no mater how much we hate to take those darn medications, if we don't, we can and will cause a lot of damage to our joints and suffer from some pretty painful flares. I am a woos when it comes to pain, so I am very diligent about taking my meds. Muriel...I am not sure about having Chemo. It more likely will depend on what the pathologist finds from the cancer they are taking out. My oncologist did say that after the operation I will be going to have some injectable hormonal therapy given, if the cancer is a metastasis from my prior BC. I think it also will depend on what they see on the liver scan I just had Tuesday or what stage of cancer I am in, if the cancer is a new primary lung cancer. ernrol,beatlemike,fillise,trish2418 and Ry...Thank You all for your very kind welcomes, prayers and information. I appreciate that you took your time to come to my recue. I was so afraid and felt so alone but I can genuinely say that I do not feel that way now. Your messages of hope have help me to calm down and and accept the operation as the gateway to continue living. You all have been through so much and I have so much to learn and I can not think of of a better group of people I would like to learn from. I will try to come back and post a bit more before I go in for the surgery next Tuesday. Please be kind to yourselves and God Bless you all and may each day of your world be as special as you all are. (((HUGS)))

HI... I am a newbie here and a bit scared at the moment. I am very close to having a wedge re-section done on my lower right lung lobe, very close to the outside rim of the lung. I am a 5+ years BC survivor,(Invasion Ductal BC) who had 4 lymph nodes of 17 removed with cancer in them. At the time I was staged at 2b. I had a lumpectomy done but the margins where not good enough for what was needed. So a month later I had a mastectomy done. Had 4 rounds of AC and 36 Rounds of radiation and then put on Arimidex for 5 years. I never missed one therapy session of either the chemo or radiation. All my doctors where surprised and thrilled, as I was. I came through with flying colors. But after carefully watching previous nodules that I have in my lungs, liver and kidney, for the past 5 years this past January one nodule quickly grew from under a centimeter to 1.6 centimeters. My oncologist was worried and had a pet scan ordered. Only the fast growing nodule lite up but so did a nodule on my liver but did not light up very bright. So they are not sure what is happening with that one. The one on the right lung will be removed the 10th of July...no biopsy was ordered as both my Oncologist and Thoracic doctor, have agreed that they want to remove the nodule before it goes back into a regrowing cycle. Needless to say I am overwhelmed with this news. I knew that the chances that a metastases might happen but both doctors are not sure they are from the BC but possibly a new primary lung cancer. I thought for sure they would at least do a biopsy but evidently they do not feel one is necessary. I had a dedicated liver scan done today and I am praying that this is not another cancer showing up. I am afraid of this type of operation and have been told that I will be very sore for the next one to 2 months, because to take out the wedge of lung where the nodule is, will require breaking one of my ribs. Has anyone gone through this operation.? What can I look forward to? I have been keeping myself busy as not to dwell on that which can not be changed but as the time gets closer to the operation, I feel so alone and afraid. My husband does not want to talk about this, my children do not want to talk about this and neither do my friends. All I get is you are going to be fine. Your a strong woman and will get through it. NO I am NOT supper woman, at least not with this cancer. I feel like I am Typhoid Mary. I have never cried for myself or asked why me but today I find myself feeling very angry about having to deal with another round of cancer and angry with my family for not wanting to sit down with me and talk with me about my feelings I am having this time around. What am I suppose to do.This Tuesday I will once again pretend that I have nerves of steel just to make everyone happy. Thanks for reading my post and any information you can offer will be greatly appreciated. I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe 4th of July holiday.