I feel like the common demonator

[shelliemacs]

OK so here i sit in the beautiful carribean having thought It was all behind me. Watching the sun and thinking for all the sadness I am truly blessed to be where I am.

then the other shoe drops again.

My neighbor back in NY, she was my moms best friend, and her husband was my dads best friend. They had lived next door to my parents since 1984 and when I moved into mom and dads house after they passed in 2004 through 2007 they were my neighbors and stand in parents. She had ovarian cancer in 2005, skin cancer in 2007, and this past monday I got the call that its now Lung cancer.

She never smoked, abused alachol or drugs, never overate or baked herself in the sun. You could say she hid from the fun things in life in way. Well I dont have specs and maybe someone here can help me out.

Its a slow growing, low grads (whats that mean) cancer of the lung. Its not a metastis of the ovarian or skin cancer. Its new. It was spotted on scans back to 2006 but never picked up by the radiologists. The thorasic surgeon pulled all scans and said he saw it back from those scans after her ovarian cancer.

the left lower lobe has a 9 millimeter legion. the right lung has a 6 millimeter legion.

monday they removed the left lower lobe. when she heals they will go back in a do the same in the right middle lobe.

questions:

how many lobes can you loose and live a relatively normal life.

what does low grade cancer mean

anyone have any experiance with this?

oh and they are saying after they cut it out no chemo or radiation will be required, but my concern with that is she has had 3 PET scans and these legions NEVER lit up. it was only after a biopsy that the dx was given. IF the cancer never lit up, how can any doctor be sure there isn't other cancer that is not lighting up.?

I have no experiance with slow growing low grade stuff, moms was non small cell that grew like weeds and dads was small cell that was out of control.

I am truly stunned that again lc is in my life and that this person has had three different cancers in 4 years.

any imput would be great . I am flying back to the states next week to help her out when she gets home from the hospital.

shelly

[Suzie Q]

Shelly,

Cancer is a bewildering disease. Some experts say that once you have a cancer dx, you are more likely to get another type of cancer than those who have never had cancer. Plus, there may be some link between differing cancers. But it is EXTREMELY unfair!

Bless you for being there to help her out. May God give you the strength to do so and give her and her family the strength to get through this.

~Karen

[gail]

My lung cancer was my third primary. The oncologist told me that having one primary puts you at higher risk for another. Yipee.

It was also explained to me that very small nodules may not light up. And they do sound small.

My small lc was removed 7 years ago this April. No further treatment.

gail

[Joe B]

I am very surprised they are taking such an agreesive surgical approach with nodules that small in many areas of the lung. Seems to me either watch and wait or tarceva would be the reasonable course of action. It sounds like BAC (very slow growing/ indolent. She should get a second opion by a BAC specialist.

Had old is this friend of your Mom's?

[shelliemacs]

Joe she will be 52 in June of this year. Gail, THIRD PRIMARY, holy camoly. I never knew one puts you at higher risk of another.

I guess they were so aggressive due to the frequency of her getting new cancers. Her ovarian was june 2005. her skin was november 2007 and february 2008 is Lung.

I wanted her to come here to recouperate in the warmth but she cant fly yet. She cant sit in the sun. and she is afraid to be away from the states and a hospital.

this is just boggling to my mind.

[Andrea]

Like Joe said, it sounds like BAC. My dad has BAC and once they knew it was BAC from the biopsy, they didn't bother to remove the entire lobe, just a wedgee.

For my dad, it was no chemo or radiation, it is wait and see if and other nodules grow, he will go on Tarceva.BAC is very slow growing, so t hey dont do much at first unless it is needed. My mom on th eother hand was a high grade fast growing adenocarcinoma, so they were agressive.

[Connie B]

I have to agree with Joe that it is unusal to do a lobe resection for a millimeter nodule. I have 3 millimeter nodules in my one lung and we do the wait and watch method as they do with so many of us that have nodules. Many of us on the board here LC survivors are under the dreaded NODULE WATCH!

Millimeter is very very small. Mine have gone from 4mm, to 6mm, to 8mm, to 4mm, they have changed in size, but they have never been bigger then 8mm in size. But we watch them via CT scans every 4 months. Nodules could be infection too. Did they biopsy her nodules? Your sure this isn't from her ovarian cancer?

I'm going to guess that she has Adenocarcinoma Lung Cancer. They consider that slow growing.

I knew a man who had his left lung removed from lc. Then 5 years later they removed his upper right lobe on his right lung. He lived 8 more years and passed away at the age of 86. The left lung has two lobes and the right lung has 3 lobes. The left lung is the small lung and the right lung is the larger lung. I live with only the right lung and I've done fine all these years.

It's not at all uncommon for people that have had one kind of cancer, to a second or even third kind of cancer. Skin cancer is pretty common as a secondary cancer for cancer patients. I know of several people who have had 3 and even 4 kinds of cancer. A good friend of mine had 4 different kinds of cancer and the doctor's referred to her body as a breading ground for cancer.

And you already know a person doesn't have to smoke to get lung cancer. Does she have a history of cancer in her family?

Best wishes to your friend.

[J.C.]

Shelly,

On the bright side,

My best friend's mother had three very

agressive cancers but not lc, the last

one in 1976, she is now 103 years old,

lives with Susanne in Victoria BC, is

active, paints, reads and goes out every

day. Her grandmother died when she was

105 and her mother wants to beat that

age.......

Their ancectors are from Scotland.

I have two slow growing cancer and just

wait and see, the last one thyroid could

take up to ten years before needing attention,

so got it in 2004 and doing well without

treatment for it.

Is it too late for a second opinion?

The treatment sounds harsh.

Wishing her the best.

Take care.

Jackie

[Patti B]

Shelly-

I really have no advice on these subjects - I have not had any lobes removed.

Just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you and your friend - cancer is so unfair!! I hate it!!

Bless you for being there for her.

Hugs - Patti B.

[shelliemacs]

Well I made it to NY and my friend is really beat up. They took the lobe out through a slit under her shoulder blade in the back. I was blown away. I guess I assumed they would cut her chest and that the lungs were lower than they actually are. She is in allot of pain and she does not know yet that they want to go back in when she heals from this surgery and remove the middle wedge in the other lung. Her husband says right now if her told her, she would choose not to do it. So he isn't telling her that yet. I will be here through sunday to let her husband go to work and get things done that they have not been able to do.

any advice on how to take care of her? pain wise, comfort wise? food wise?

[Connie B]

I'm guessing they did the VATS proceedure on her? That's very minor compared to opening up her side to go in and root around. They go in the side when doing lung surgery, that I know of. At least everyone I know has a cut under there arm that goes from back to front. (including me)! Anyway it sounds like they did the VATS on her. A couple people I knew that had it done said it wasn't bad at all with very little pain involved. So, maybe I'm wrong as to what they did with your friend.

I'm sure they will send her home on some pain meds. She SURE shouldn't be in pain in the hospital. All the surgeries I've had and I never had major pain like that right after surgery. They should have her comfortable FOR SURE!

I see no reason why she can't eat what ever she wants, if she is up to it, and I'm sure they will send her home with pain meds. There's really not much to know other then I'm sure she'll tell you what she feels like and what she may or may not need. I'm sure she'll be fine in a few days, or at least a lot better then she is today.

[azgirl]

Just make sure she has plenty of pain meds. My mom was in SO much pain after her lung surgery; it was terrible to have to see her like that. My mom had a epidural for pain, but that didn't really help. It wasn't until they took the tubes out that she got some relief. I'm not sure if your friend had the same kind of lung surgery--my mom had the most invasive one. The good news it that it does pass, it just takes time. You're a great friend for being there for her.