Dick Benson Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 My name is Dick Benson, I am a 65 year old male with nsclc, stage 3 that is not operatable and will need to commence chemo and radiation treatments soon. I need some support and some folks to talk with regarding the problems I can or can not look for as the treatments progress. Thanks Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernrol Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Dick, Welcome to the site. I had similar lung cancer. Mine was IIIb/ IV. I was diagnosed in July 2005. I have done very well so far and look at it as a chronic disease. Keep us posted. We will try to answer any questions we can. Stay positive, Ernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsC1210 Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Hello Dick and welcome I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis but you have found one of the best communities as far as support and guidance. Please ask any and all of your questions and know that there is always someone here to offer advice and give you information. Warmly Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Benson Posted November 13, 2007 Author Share Posted November 13, 2007 for the welcome. My dianosis reads stage T4IB IIIB squamous cell CA Bronchoscopy, rt. VATS rt thoracotomy, bx rt mediastinal/ hilar tumor (what ever all of that means) to me it meant what I understood the doctors to say. Non-small cell lung cancer, the tumor started out at .60 centimeters and the latest ctscan showed it at 3.4 centimeters. They did major surgery to do a final biopsy and I was released from the hospital after surgery a week ago. Again, thank you for the welcome Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mary colleen Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Welcome Dick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolasDaughter Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Hi Dick & Welcome! My mom has also been diagnosed with inoperable NSCLC, Stage 3 as well. (Details in my signature below.) But I wanted to say HI to a fellow BUCKEYE! I see you're from Ohio. There are a few of us here. I'm a newbee myself and I hope you find the board as helpful and reassuring as I have. Best wishes for much success with your chemo and radiation treatment plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatlemike Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Hello Dick and welcome. I hope you find the help and support here that I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasey Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Welcome, Dick. I was dx at 3a/b (? docs disagreed) squamous cell in the fall of '04. Initially the docs locally called me inoperable. Luckily I found the NCI and a surgeon willing to give me the best shot. I DID have surgery and here I am 3 years later living life. Good luck to you. Looking forward to 'seeing' you around our place here! Kasey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don M Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Welcome Dick Don M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recce101 Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Hi, Dick, welcome to the LCSC! My cancer adventure started out much as yours -- surgery for diagnostic purposes, initially planned as a minimally invasive scope procedure, but when 2 sets of tissue samples came back inconclusive, they proceeded with a full thoracotomy in the same session. There were 2 separate nodules in the right middle lobe, one of which was removed for biopsy (moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma), plus a large bloody pleural effusion (presumed malignant). Bottom line, Stage IIIB. I was not interested in any sort of prognosis or survival statistics -- those are calculated from large numbers of patients who received a particular diagnosis several years ago and are not directly applicable to any one individual in 2006 or 2007. I simply told my oncologist that I wanted the best treatment available for my condition, with adjustments along the way to balance effectiveness of treatment with quality of life. I still don't know the actual statistics associated with my stage, but I'm pretty sure I'm on the "good" side of the numbers. It's now been 15 months since diagnosis and my scan reports are better than they were in August 2006 when I was wheeled into the OR for diagnostic surgery. My goal (realistic, I believe) is to stay on the good side of the numbers until I'm old enough to die of something else. Fifteen months from today I expect to be reading a message like this from you to some other new arrival! When you find out your treatment plan (which drugs, how often, and radiation schedule if applicable) please let us know. You can save a lot of repetitive typing by including these details in a diagnosis/treatment/tests "profile" like you see at the bottom of our messages. Click "My Profile" at the top, scroll down to the "Signature" box, enter/update your information, scroll down further to make sure "Always attach my signature" is marked "Yes," then click "Submit" at the very bottom. Aloha, Ned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish2418 Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Welcome, Dick. I'm sure you'll find plenty of knowledge and support here. Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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