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Don M

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Posts posted by Don M

    Confused and new

    in INTRODUCE YOURSELF!

    Posted

    Hi Kelly:

    I have had 2 bronchoscopies and 3 needle biopsies, all of which were inconclusive. The only way they found out what kind of cancer I had was to cut it out with a wedge resection, analyze it on the table and then cut out the rest of the affected lung tissue when it was apparent the mass was malignant. I have had two surgeries in which the upper left lobe was removed and then a year later, the lower lobe was removed. Maybe your surgeon wants to cut to the chase and just take out the mass and go from there. I would ask if a full body PET/CT scan could be done just to make sure there is no cancer in distant organs and lymph nodes. The cat scan, if it covers the chest and abdomen, would show any nodules in distant organs and large lymph nodes, but a PET scan would show whether any of the nodules light up or not. If they light up, they are growing fast and may be malignant. I think your surgeon is trying to make sure you have a localized cancer. If he is satisfied that it is local, he may talk to you at your next appointment about cutting it out with a wedge resection and then do further surgery on the spot if it is found to be malignant.

    I think the chances are that is local since it is golf ball sized.

    Don M

    update

    in GRIEF

    Posted

    Good deal Rochelle. I have a lot of moles and have been seeing a dermatologist once a year for a checkup. i kind of skipped doing it this year and probably should make an appointment soon.

    Don M

    Neuraphaty

    in LC SURVIVORS

    Posted

    Renate, I hope you get some relief from your neuropathy.

    I would like to thank you for starting this thread. Neuropathy as a side effect has been my biggest fear. That is the reason I have not tried any of the taxane drugs so far. But, I am going to do taxotere beginning June 10. I am going to ask for such drugs as lyrica or neurontin if I get neuropathy. Maybe I will see a neurologist too. Maybe I won't get neuropathy. I can deal with the fatigue and other stuff ok. This will be my third chemo.

    Don M

    Need Advice...any input would be appreciated.

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    Cyberknife surgery is a form of SRS that allows for tumor movement when breathing during treatment. it is very accurate. Here us a website you can check out.

    http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/

    The advantages to using cyberknife is that the lung function can be conserved, there is no surgery risk, and if it is a small nodule, 3 treatments should do it.

    A major disadvantage is that you would have to wait for months to see if it worked. But, the success rate is fairly high.

    Having said all this, if I qualified for surgery, I would have it cut out and learn to live with the decreased lung function and accept the risk and hassle of surgery. There are no guarantees, but at least after surgery, you will know that the current cancer is gone.

    Don M

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