OhioKat Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 I'm new to the list but I was diagnosed in Nov 2003 with limited stage small cell lung cancer, I had 6 rounds of chemo, & 2 rounds 4-5 weeks each of radiation plus brain radiation. That was all finished back in March. I had a follow up Chest X-ray & CT Scan which showed scarring but was other wise clear. What surprised me at the time was that basically I was told to go home & come back if I had any symptoms. My Hemo Doc said if it reoccurred in the first 2-3 yrs, it would be very fast & aggressive & to call if I had any "symptoms" I was given an appointment for August and sent on my way, a short while later I had the follow up with my radiation Doc (who I adore) he pretty much agreed but was a little more comforting about it. I admit I'm not looking to be babied or coddled but it just surprised me I've known other people who had non lung cancers who had much longer treatments & then oral chemo drugs to take for extended periods so my (in my view) short treatment was kind of surprising, to me at least. I feel somewhat relieved reading just a few posts on this board and seeing that this course of treatment seems to be "normal". I started having quite a bit of pain behind my left breast (same side as the cancer was on) I called the Radiation Doc when it became clear that the pain wasn't going away or getting any better like a pulled muscle would & he had me get a CXR. I've pretty much decided that, in my case at least, CXRS seem to be useless because of the scarring & such, so he ordered a bone scan & CT Scan. The Bone Scan suggests some spots on 3 of my ribs & my Rad Doc seemed to feel it was highly likely to be a mets. He wanted me to talk to the chemo guy, but frankly I didn't much care for my chemo doc so I talk to the Nurse about switching Docs which I've done. I like the new guy so far, he said he wasn't impressed with the bone scan & ordered a PET Scan which I had done yesterday. Monday I have another appointment so hopefully I will have some solid answers then. So thats my cancer experiance thus far. I hope I've posted this in the right place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remembering Dave Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 HI, this is Karen C., Dave C.'s wife. I often log in and post with his log in. Welcome to the board, this place has been very very helpful to Dave and I, for information and support. Your ordeal sounds very similar to Dave's (see his signature info). I sure hope you do not have bone mets. Dave finished everything - the last thing he did was the PCI (brain radiation) - about a month ago, but he is struggling to get his strength back. He gets a CT scan and a PET Scan next week and we are both holding our breath that everything comes out clean. Dave's oncolgoist, who we checked out thoroughly and know is really good, sort of says the same thing - go home and come back every other month and if you feel anything out of the ordinary let's check it out in case it's cancer. Well, we have pushed and prodded to get the follow up scans - we want to BE SURE NOW that the cancer is all gone. So he finally agreed and ordered the PET Scan and follow up CT Scan (don't know why he wants both . . .). Please keep us posted on the results of your PET Scan. also, wanted to point out that you and Dave are the same age. Young, in my opinion, to have this mess, but there are other similarly young folks on this board. Hang in there and God Bless, Karen C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioKat Posted October 16, 2003 Author Share Posted October 16, 2003 Karen, Thanks for the reply! I had seen posts by you (or him I guess lol) and had noticed the similarities, although he is actually older I'm still only 38 39 is coming up fast enough I don't want to rush it I think honestly that at this point (and in the coming years) is almost harder then going through the initial diagnosis & treatment. I hate this waiting and wondering if every little thing is a sign that its coming back. I don't let it rule my life, but sometimes in the dark of the night before I finally fall asleep I can't help but think about those things. He's very luck to have you & that beautiful baby. I'm looking forward to getting to know you since we seem to have a bit in common. It feels funny to be glad I'm here on the message board, when in reality I'd rather not have to be here at all. Hope that makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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