JLA
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Posts posted by JLA
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Sorry that your dad and you have to go through this.
I had the same III A/B diagnosis as your dad. My treatment came in just under 900K, 12 years ago.
I had upper right lobe removed, developed pneumonia, had to be put into a medically induced coma for just over 3 weeks, spent the entire time (one month) in the ICU.
Once I got out had chemo and radiation treatments for about 8 months.
Thankfully I had great insurance and married a daughter of a well known and respected doctor in our city, that I know a few of the doctors wrote off portions of my treatment when they could.
Good luck to your dad and your family, there's plenty of us here that proves that it can be beaten.
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I had the same diagnosis, IIIA/B because I had it in my lymph nodes also, at the same age, but I was a smoker and around chemicals.
I had the upper right lobe removed and lead a pretty normal life and the only time I notice it is climbing stairs at the football game in the high altitude, partly because of the missing lobe and mostly because I'm out of shape.
This is beatable, there's plenty of us here that can attest to that.
- Mally and Rower Michelle
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August 14, 2006 Stage 3-borderline A/B
- Robert Macaulay, Mally, Tom Galli and 1 other
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I had the same issue at the end of my radiation treatments, in my case it turned out to be radiation pneumonitis, it just an inflammation due to the radiation, apparently it is pretty common but kinda of scary when you're going through it. It was cleared up with steroids, hopefully this is all it is for you.
Talk to your medical team and let them know what's going on.
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On 11/30/2017 at 8:07 PM, Kimi said:
Thank you so much for your reply. Did you have lymph nodes removed?
Yes I had several removed, not sure of the exact number but I want to say 11 of 13, but my memory isn't as good as it used to be.
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On 10/29/2017 at 11:17 AM, Kimi said:
I was diagnosed in May with Stage 3a lung cancer. I did chemo treatments and had my right upper lobe removed in September. Now I am starting radiation and more chemo. Is this normal treatment for Stage 3a? Reading statistics is scary.
Stage 3A survivor here, my treatment was similar, only surgery (upper right lobe also) first then chemo, short break then chemo/radiation combo.
It's been 11 years since then so it must have worked.
One thing my Dr. told me when I was first diagnosed was "not to run home are read all the statistics, those are just numbers, your fight is yours and yours alone." kind of daunting I know but to me it made a lot of sense.
It wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination but there are plenty of people who prove the numbers wrong.
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I had my right upper lobe removed in 2006, I still feel the effects at times climbing stairs at sporting events etc. but part of that is because I'm out of shape.
I remember asking my doctor about that before the surgery and he put this way, "with the tumor in your lung you've already lost some, once the lobe is removed there will not be a big noticeable change but you can certainly exercise and increase what you have left to be better than before".
Good luck to you.
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This is interesting reading about guilt. Not sure why, but I never really feel guilty about smoking or getting lung cancer.
People always ask when they find out that I had lung cancer that smoked and I always tell them yes, but I also lived in a house with smokers (parents), visited relatives that smoked (uncles that died from lung cancer), worked around chemicals without respritory protection, and lived in a neighborhood when I was a child that has had 5 people I know die from a cancer, and another 6 that have had cancer and survived.
While I know I've made some bad choices regarding smoking, I've never felt that smoking was the primary cause of my cancer. I may be dillusional in my thinking, but I feel that smoking was just a piece to the puzzle.
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I smoked for 20+ years, made many false attempts to quit but was never really serious about it.
Was diagnosed with L/C, and smoked until my surgery. After my surgery I went in to a coma for 18 days. When I woke up I was cigarette free, no cravings, no yearning for another smoke.
Had to be the easiest way to quit, other than that whole losing part of a lung, chemo, radiation part.
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I had 36 treatments and the main side effects were fatigue and trouble swallowing. The trouble with swallowing didn't start until the final week and lasted about 2 weeks after I completed everything.
I also had the magic mouthwash, but couldn't keep it down. I just couldn't stand the taste.
Hope everything goes well for you and your family.
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I had the exact same thing.
The radiation was pretty easy for me until about 5 weeks in, then the burning in the esophagus started and lasted about 2-3 weeks after radiation was finished.
I hope everything works out for your mother.
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Connie,
I just came off of predisone for radiation pneumonitis in January.
I hope that you have a better experience with it than I did.
Initially everything went fine, then about 6 weeks in I developed shingles due to a weakened immune system. Thankfully we caught it in time to keep from developing the rash that normally comes with it, but the nerve pain is still there.
I also gained weight, broke out like a teenager, had mood swings and was more tired than normal.
But the good news is I got rid of the pneumonitis.
I was led to believe from my doctor that the pneumonitis is not something that you have to worry about coming back in the future, but you have to make sure it is completely gone or it could flare back up. I was on the prednisone for 7 months.
Any long term survivors here, 10 years and more from diagnosis?
in GENERAL
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14 year survivor here, surgery, chemo & radiation.
The main issues I still have is nerve damage around my scar and I get muscle cramps that feel as if they are in my ribcage, not sure if its from surgery/treatment or just being older and out of shape.