deleting all posts

[kimblanchard]

deleting all posts

[Remembering Dave]

My Doctors said I had probably had my cancer growing for several years before it was diagnosed. I think I could really start to tell something was wrong back in the Fall or maybe late summer of 02. Hope this helps.

David C

[Donna G]

My Dr told me the tumor doubled in size every 3 months. So if your talking 1/2 inch in 3 months it would be an inch. But if your talking 10 cells , in 3 months it would only be 20 cells. It led me to believe it is there a long time without any symptoms. I wish they would develop some test that could diagnosis it when it was a matter of "cells" rather than waiting for symptoms , which is generally the last thing that happens.

[norme]

Christina,

Buddy's drs told him he prob had it for a good 10 yrs. I don't think I believe that though. I don't think the drs really know...

Cancer is such a silent illness. Until it shows some sign, it really does not bother the person. One just carries on a normal day, day after day.

Don't try and dwell on it, for you will never find that answer. It will always be a guess by someone in the medical field....Just remember the great times, you to together. The day will come when you will get on with your life and only the good memories will remain....

[berisa]

I can say, this SCLC is very terrible, in my Dad's case, he had his body check last year September, the lung x-ray was extremely normal and no any shadow-like or even a spot there last Sept. Just only around 6-7 months, my Dad started to cough with blood and bcoz we were afraid of getting SARS at that outbreak that finally my Dad went to hospital for checking, then X-ray shows a mass around 2cmx4cm with 1 nearby lymph node met (with CT & PET scan).

I just wonder, yearly regular body check in fact, is not enough to detect the cancer earlier. In just 6 months, everything was changed. I really wonder how fast the cancer spread and grew.....

I just wondered, does it a fact not to quit smoking if you have smoking for many years. My Dad just quit smoking for 2 years.

[Fay A.]

My largest and assumed to be primary tumor was first found on a CT scan done for another reason when I was 32 years old. Because it contained calcification they told me it was nothing. (If your cancer is Bronchioloaleolar Carcinoma, or has a BAC component you should know that your tumors, nodes, and mets can be speckled with calcification.) It was 4 mm in size, and that was 12 years before I was diagnosed. The same mass had become a 1.5 cm spiculated, cavitary mass.

Fay A.

[Guest DaveG]

Medicine is NOT an EXACT Science. There are far too many variables (geopgraphical, seasonal impacts, enviromental (farm vs factories)and so on and so on.) Cancer cells could lie dormant for many years without displaying any symtoms. Suddenly something canges with the body and wham the cells begin to generate at a very high rate. Why does this happen in one perosn and not another is unknown. Also, speed of growth is another factor. Why is my cancer growing at a slow rate and someone elses at a much faster rate. This is where we have to be careful because of the self blame factor.

Diet is sometimes thought to be a factor with the growth of cancer cells. My philosophy is eat what is good for you.

All of us either have cancer or know someone who does. Some are looking in while others are looking out. I know this much about lung cancer, there is no known cure, but under the right circumstances be brought undeer control. Those of us in the lowere stages I and II pray that we will stay there. Those of us who are III and IV pray for control.

My pet peeve is when someone is told that they only have a few months to live or weeks, or days. How does someone know this? Doctors have proven wrong before on this. When I was told I had been restaged to Stage IV, I wasn't told I now have months to live. I was aked my intentions and my intentions are to live a long life. When told, the oncologist simply stated that we have our work cut out for us, but what I asked for is perfectly legitimate.

[Gina D.]

10-12 years from the first cell to symptoms seems to be the "general" belief, but, as everyone says here. Who knows? Mine was found by accident when being examined for another reason, and I was told 2-3 years before I would have had any reason to feel it or have symptoms, so that seems to match. It also matches what I was told about 2 years being the critical time zone for re-occurance in stage 1 patients.

I often wonder, tho it does no good, if my cancer was caused by a spontanious lung collapse, in the lobe that was removed, 10 years ago. Smokers denial? Maybe..but once again, it does no good to wonder.

Smokers cough. They wheeze. They spit up. Whether they have cancer or not, they feel crappier as they get older, they breath worse, thier hearts are effected and this mimics some cancer symptoms. These things you saw may not have been related to cancer at all. Hindsite is a terrible thing sometimes. I wouldn't ponder on it.

berisa ~ Quitting smoking does not make you immune for a very very long time. Ex smokers, even after 20 years, will still be at a higher risk than never smokers.

My grandfather was DXed 22 years after he quit. Unfortunately, he waited far too long and only lasted 2 weeks. He was 72. He and me are the only folks in my family, on either side, that have ever had a cancer. So I wonder about the genetic predisposition thing too. Doesn't seem to fit in my case.

Once again..does no good to worry about it. Just look forward instead and learn from this to make the next phase of your life stronger.

[LindaMRG]

My father was receiving 3 month ct scans because of lymphoma. His 10/01 scan showed him in complete remission from lymphoma. 1/02 the nodule appeared that was lung cancer. Even 6 months later it did not light up on a CT scan. Didnt light up till 3/03 and mediastinal node lit up with it. We'll never know if the lymphoma saved his life because we were made aware of it, or maybe the lymphoma played a part in him getting another cancer.

[Tracy]

I wonder that same question. My dad had a chest xray done last september due to a partial lung collapse...7 months later he was diagnosed. I have heard that it could have been there for years, but if so then why wasnt it detected last september...makes you wonder.

[Donna G]

I mentioned in another ribbon that Friday I was to the Twin Cities thoracic onocology Symposium. One of the things that was discussed in how complicated a lung cancer is. It is not just one thing that goes nuts causing the tumor , it is about 20 things that occur at the cell level in the DNA and cell proteins ! So they feel there is not just one answer like some other cancers. It was inspiring to see all these very smart men and women discussing all the research they are doing, although all said not enough money and research is being spent and done. More , much more is needed! Donna G

[Snowflake]

My cancer was discovered in a pneumonia x-ray. Non-smoker here, no real reason to be checked for lung cancer at my age. According to the oncologist, it had probably been growing about 2-3 years. I would have to say that the doubling in size must be right, it didn't show on a chest x-ray in March '02 but was a cloudy area in November '02.

Too bad I didn't have a CT scan for the problems I was having in March, it may have been picked up before spreading to lymph nodes... BUT, I'm not second guessing anything, there was no reason for it to have been found in November, either!

My oncologist tells me that EVERYONE has cancer in their body, just some "lucky folks" have it take up residence and grow....go figure!

No looking back, just forward....keep the faith!

Becky

aka Snowflake

[Hebbie]

My doctor told me that from the size/spread of the cancer, it had most likely been growing for roughly 4 years. Looking back, for the past 3 or 4 years I started having chronic throat infections every 3 months or so, and I had never had them before in my life. Also, when I had my appendix out last year, they said my blood levels showed that I had "an infection somewhere in my body" and treated me w/ antibiotics in the hospital.

Since I was a non-smoker, and only 33, I guess this wasn't exactly something they would be looking for in me....

But as someone else said -- there is no looking back, only going forward from here!

[john]

I believe it is what Donna said. The theory is that is takes a few mutations even to start. So 1 cell is about 25 micrometers. That is 10000 times smaller than a centemeter.

Once a tumor becomes noticable by CT it will be around a centemeter big. 10,000 times bigger than that first cell.

So it takes quit a while to grow to this big. But once it gets to a certain size there are 100,000-500,000 tumor cells and they are all dividing.

This is exponential growth - 100,000 cells then 200,000 cells then 400,000 and so on.

So it takes a while to grow, but once it becomes symptomatic it is usually too late. That is why, like Donna said, new tests have to be developed.

The problem is say a test is developed that detects someone has cancer at a very early stage. The problem will be how can it be treated, if it can not be found. A test such as a breath test will have this problem. So once a test is developed, the next problem will be to create a therapy that can destroy a small number of cancer cells.