Ghita419 Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 My husband had two lesions when he was diagnosed, One in the rt. upper lung and the othe in the mediastinal lymph. Both were less than 1.5 cm. After obtaining a PET scan and seeing no other lesions, the doc was pretty convinced it was NSCLC. They tried a needle bx of the right upper lung and it was unsuccesful. After I researched it, I found that the efficacy of needle bx in a lesion that size is only 50%. We chose not to try again. The lesion in his mediastinum was in such a place that they were unable to scope it for a bx. So, it was surgery for a bx. They removed his rt. upper lung and the lymph in the mediastinum. He had a very stormy recovery due to the fact that his vocal cord was paralyzed and he couldn't cough effectively. He at one point begged for a ventilator but I kept telling him, "No, you can do it." I stayed with him in the hospital 24-7 which really helped because as you know, hospitals are notoriously short staffed these days. From what I read while he was in the hospital was that in Japan they are staging SCLC like NSCLC and doing surgery on small cell when it is in the limited (lung and mediatinum) stage. Their success rate is higher than the US who are using the old VA system staging of limited and extensive. Our doc said if they had obtained a bx and found the SCLC, he would never had had surgery. SCLC is not a isease of the lung necessarily, but a systemic disease from what he said. I'm trying to look at it as if he's in Japan and has a better outlook. Anyone else had surgery for SCLC and how were your results? Thanks everyone for all your replies to my posts. I feel a great weight lifted off me since I've been here talking to others, seeing, and learning to live with this disease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.S. I Love You Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Hi!- Check out my wife Bev's story "Born to be Alive" in the My Story section. Her diagnosis and treatment sound very similar to your husband's. Best Wishes, Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghita419 Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 Wow, that's really great!!! I'm hoping my husband will match her although he is older and has the drawback of being male (from what I read, females have better success). I'll have to rub myself all over him and maybe some of my female will rub onto him for a little booster. thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghita419 Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 And thank you, Katie for the Dr. West suggestion. I did hop over there and left a message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 I very rare cases when SCLC is caught very early surgery can be done. I think there can be no lymph node involvement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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