Debbie2003 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 I need direction. It looks like lung cancer, but can't have a biopsy or surgery to remove nodules because my other lung problems are too severe. I have mild emphasema and something else going on. They thought it was Ideopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis but now they don't think it's that. It could be some type of airway disease or something. But on top of that, there are two nodules that appear to be LC. What type of treatment is available for people who can't undergo surgery? Should I just accept the inevitable and not put myself through all the difficult treatments like chemo? I don't even think I can do Radiation because it causes scarring, and I already have low lung function. I guess I don't have options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie2003 Posted November 12, 2003 Author Share Posted November 12, 2003 P.S. My daughter might have already posted this question so sorry if it's a repeat! We're using the same screenname. Also, the good news is that I have a healthy heart and I don't have pulmonary hypertension. I wish my lungs were strong enough for surgery. It would be too risky according to my doctor. My lung could collapse or some other things he mentioned. I could die on the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna G Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 Hello. Surgery is your best treatment. I wonder if the doctors say you can not have surgery , do they offer chemo? I don't know where you live and therefore don't know the likelyhood of having newer therapies availbable. As- there is a doctor here in Minneapoolis who does surgery through a scope, therefore it is less traumatic, no broken ribs etc and recovery time is shorter. Now grant it the tumor has to be in an area of the lung that is uncomplicated to get at ( as it can not be wrapped around a major vessel, or behind the heart etc) Also there is ablation , radiofrecency, that actually sort of burns the tumor to death. Second opinion my be an option also. Our friend Connie just had a tumor removed from her heart, she only has one lung , and it has some Emphysema, not saying it is easy, but she was home in less than a week. In skilled hands, many things can be done and done well. Have you researched enough? Please keep us posted . Donna G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natalie Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 Where are you located in the country? I did significant research on Radiofrequency Ablation to the lungs and I highly recommend you inquire about it. www.suttercancer.org/rfa/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 Yes RFA might be an option. Sometimes a wedge resection or other type of operations are used. Basically they do not remove the whole lobe(s) just a section of where the cancer is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 I think there may be a lot of possible treatments. I am not a Dr but I believe these treatments are being done 1) intraluminal brachytherapy. The procedure is essentially involves planting "seeds" of radiation inside the tumors. 2) Newer radiation such as 3d conformal spares more of the health tissue and targets the tumors, so this may be another option 3) There are also clinical trials that use vaccines and other non-chemo/radiation type treatments 4) Iressa or tarceva might be an option (not sure about this one for stage I) Thought there are trials for stage I after surgery 5) Extracranial stereotactic radioablation (ESR) may be another option http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content ... 124/5/1946 6) video-assisted thoracic surgery http://www.rtog.org/committees/minutes/lung.html 7) A third special population is medically inoperable early stage suitable for non-surgical treatment. A proposed trial exploits the hypotheses that intralesional Adp53 may safely enhance RT alone for medically inoperable early stage disease. In this trial, intralesional injections of Adp53 are given three times during the course of RT. At the time of injection repeat needle biopsies are done to test for viable tumor and biological markers. The target population for the trial will need to be redefined, since medically unresectable early stage patients make up a small patient group in the RTOG patient base. Financial support will also be mandatory to cover the costs of the intralesional injections. These design issues will be explored further before the trial will be given a development number. " ... Two trials of intraluminal brachytherapy in small primary tumours are summarised in Table 10.2 [27,28]. This treatment is probably only appropriate as radical treatment in patients whose lung function is too poor for radical radiotherapy. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie2003 Posted November 13, 2003 Author Share Posted November 13, 2003 Where are you located in the country? I'm in southern California about one south of LA and one hour north of San Diego. Thank you all for your responses. I'm going to look into all the options you mentioned. Thank you for posting them. Maybe there are actually some things that could be done for me. I'm in the beginning stages of research and so far, I'm not finding much hope. Thank you John for posting all of that info. Maybe one of these options can be used for me. Or maybe I am strong enough for surgery depending on how good the surgeon is. Or maybe I'll wake up and this will all go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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