Bud Baker
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Posts posted by Bud Baker
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Big congrats, Colleen!
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Carl,
I had the upper lobe of my left lung removed and was faced with the same decision after a single lymph node being cancerous made my diagnosis Stage II. I did the chemo. Everything I studied told me that chemo helps lower the odds of recurrence.
I did have my troubles with side effects. If it gets too tough, you can always stop treatments sooner, but I would recommend at least starting it.
Best wishes for you, whatever you decide!
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Congrats, Kasey!
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Welcome, Jim. I'm another diagnosed with stage II who had surgery, then chemo. I had surgery last December 20th and finished chemo in April. I'm doing fine after 10 months. Good luck and keep us posted.
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"Joe B"]I wonder why his press agent and the media never mentioned LUNG cancer. I think it's because of the stigma, and him not wanting people to know (He was a former smoker) , Its a real shame because he could have done alot of good for the cause, but chose not to. I liked Paul Newman, bur I think he errored there.
The same thing occurred to me. He's given so much to so many charities, it would be fitting if his family now decided to help lung cancer research in a big way. But the way they seem to be avoiding saying lung cancer, I guess that isn't going to happen.
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When I was diagnosed, I found this article and others suggesting that the vitamin D level in your body has a big effect on surviving lung cancer and the odds of it recurring.
I live in Texas, and my two main hobbies are cycling and fishing, so I figured that I got plenty of vitamin D from the sun most of the year, but it was November and I knew my surgery would be some time in December (several studies like the one cited in this article noted that the lung cancer survival rate was much better after summer surgery than after winter surgery), so I started taking a vitamin D supplement right away, and will continue to do so during the months of less sun from now on. It's one of those things that may not be proven for many years, but there was enough evidence to convince me.
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Welcome Bud from another Bud. I'll just echo what others have said and advise you to get checked out fast. If you then research and aren't sure if you agree with your doctor's assessment, you can always get second and third opinions, but get those first tests done quickly; putting it off could make a big difference.
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Hi April. So sorry to hear about your mom. Chemo is mighty tough on most of us who have to endure it. I was certainly unfit company a good bit of the time I was on it, and I only did three rounds. In spite of the fact that I was very fit, it pretty much turned me into a zombie, too. Just support and help her the best you can. She'll really appreciate it, although there are going to be days that she won't feel like saying so.
Keep us up to date on your struggles. Sharing does help, and you'll find lots of caring and knowledgeable people here. Best wishes for you and her.
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Wow, here's a post I needed to see! Congrats, Dean. I'm almost the age you were at diagnosis, and I hope I'm making the same post seven years from now.
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I'm another early stage diagnosis who's known NED ever since my surgery. I hope NED and I become long time acquaintances!
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There's no doubt that a lung cancer diagnosis and the horrors that follow (and my horrors have been minor so far, compared to so many) give you an attitude adjustment. I appreciate so many things now that I never gave a second thought about before.
The other positive for me is that the chemotherapy seems to have mosquito-proofed me for five months and counting.
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I'm only a 9 month survivor so far, but I hope to be posting here for a long time. My story is in this thread: http://lungevity.org/l_community/viewto ... 081#372081
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I am a male who was 56 years old at the time of my diagnosis in 2007. I am married, with three grown kids and two grandchildren. I am an ex cigar smoker who became a long distance cyclist. I rode a bicycle 6,000 miles in 2007.
I had no symptoms that really alerted me, but looking back, there were hints. The first was in June, 2007, when I experienced asthma like symptoms during a 128 mile ride. I wasn't wheezing, but was short of breath, unable to breathe in my usual amount. This would have not been noticeable on my couch, but was VERY noticeable on a 128 mile bike ride. I had to stop and catch my breath on the one significant hill on the ride, became exhausted much sooner than usual, and was barely able to complete the ride. When I got home and told my wife, she thought I should go to the ER, but I couldn't bring myself to tell a doctor, "Doc, I'm so terribly sick that I could barely complete a 128 mile bicycle ride." I also had bronchitis for three weeks in August. I've always been bronchitis prone, but hadn't had it this bad for years.
I was scheduled for thyroid surgery on September 29th. Three needle biopsies had failed to find any cancer in my thyroid nodule, but doctors don't like one as big as mine was in someone my age, so I agreed to surgery. I had already committed to a 500 mile four man relay bike race on the 29th, though, so I ask the doctors to reschedule. I rode my one-fourth of the 500 miles, and though I wasn't happy with my speed in the race, I felt fine. They scheduled the surgery for November 15th. A pre-surgery lung x-ray revealed a suspicious spot, so they did a ct scan, and at 8:15 pm, November 14th, the day before my scheduled surgery, the doctor called to tell me my surgery had been cancelled, and that he was pretty sure I had lung cancer. The ct scan showed no cancerous lymph nodes, and the 2.8 cm nodule was well contained within the upper lobe of my left lung, so doctors thought it was stage I, and that surgery would be all that was needed.
On December 20th, I had an upper left lobectomy, and was released from the hospital on Christmas Day. On January 5th, I had 40 staples removed from my side, and the next day, I was back on my bicycle. However, the biopsy from surgery showed a single lymph node near the nodule to be cancerous, thus changing the diagnosis to stage II, and the doctors recommended chemotherapy. The nodule was identified as squamous cell NSCLC.
In early February, 2008, my first attempt at chemotherapy ended quickly when I had an adverse reaction to taxotere and was rushed to ER. Starting the next week and ending in April, I had three rounds of cisplatin and gemcidabine. Being fit is no quarantee that you'll tolerate chemotherapy well, and I had my struggles with it. I had no gastrointestinal issues, and my blood work always looked good, but it turned me into a zombie who could hardly move some days, and I had severe pain in my toes after the second round, until gabapentin helped with that. My doctor wanted four rounds for adjuvent therapy, but my research showed that many doctors only give three, and as much as I was feeling the effects, I quit after three.
I slowly regained my strength, and on May 31st, did my first 100 mile ride of 2008. On June 19th, I finally had the thyroid surgery. The biopsy showed no cancer. My July CT scan showed NED. It is now September, and in spite of it all, I am finally on pace to make my 6,000 mile riding goal again this year.
January, 2009 update: I ended up riding 6,708 miles in 2008, and my one year scans were clear, so things are great to this point!
June, 2009: Clear scans again.
The November, 2007 scan:
Scan Result
in HOPE
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Congrats, Bruce! I'm hoping for the same thing with my upcoming scan.