cathyb Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Good Morning, all. My cancerbio, in brief: 62 years old, female, married, diagnosed Oct '07 w/stage 1B NSCLC. Operated on in Nov., when all hell broke loose. Hospital dropped the ball after I transferred from CCU to a regular floor. Was supposed to be in for 5 days but it turned into 7 weeks;staff on regular floor forgot I was there;lung collapsed and I was unable to summons help, due to swollen digits that wouldn't let me ring for help. Second lobectomy needed;had 25 rounds of RT and am now doing okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patti B Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Welcome to the forum Cathy!! Sounds like you have been through a heck of a lot already. You will find a lot of support and information here. Please let us know more about you and what we cando to help you. Hugs - Patti B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna G Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Hi, welcome. Sounds like they diagnosed you with an early stage. I wonder why they gave you radiation instead of chemo? Why did you have the 2nd lobe removed? because of the lung collapse or did they find more cancer? I was just one night in ICU then to the floor with 2 chest tubes . Had my surgery on a Monday and was sent home hurting but stable on Thursday. My biggest problem was pain. I "had an Epidural " but it turned out it had fallen out of my spine. The meds leaking into the sheets did nothing to relieve my pain. Eventually they looked and saw it was out and got me a PCA. Keep us posted on how you are doing. Donna G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb10653 Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 What a terrible experience, am glad you are doing fine now. Look around and be inspired by all the good news here, it is a great place to just Vent at the injustice of this disease! Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraL Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Welcome Cathy. What a scary start to this journey you have had. You will find supportive and helpful people on this site. Best wishes Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muriel Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Welcome. What a terrible experience! Where are you? How could they make so many mistakes? Glad you're ok now. I, too, am wondering why they did radiation rather than chemo? I was dx. as 1B and chose to have chemo. No one suggested radiation. Did they get all of the tumor each time? Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing. Muriel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce u Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Hi Cathy Welcome to this great site. I too was diagnosed with stage 1b. I had a lobectomy last September and then elected to have 4 rounds of adjuvant chemo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recce101 Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Hi, Cathy, welcome to the group. Aloha, Ned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaroleHammett Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Sorry about your diagnosis, Cathy, but glad you found this site as the members here are very well-informed and helpful. Welcome aboard, Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyman35 Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Welcome Cathy. I am glad you are doing good after a rocky start. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorktown Linda Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Cathy, My heart goes out to you. This is not an easy road to travel when the docs and hospitals are doing everything right. What a nightmare for you! Hopefully, it'll all be uphill from now on. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyb Posted May 27, 2008 Author Share Posted May 27, 2008 Thanks to all of you for the warm welcome. I posted incorrectly when I said it was a Stage 1B;in reading through some notes, I noticed that got changed to a Stage 2. During the 7 weeks in the hospital, I was in a medically induced coma for 2 weeks and I still notice some aftereffects of that, so please bear with me. Will try to answer some of your questions. I was told by the chemo oncologist that w/the cancer I had, there was only a 6% success rate. I opted for the radiation 'cause w/the bunch of other medical problems I have, plus the fact that I lost my very cherished soldier/son 4 years ago, I have no more desire to go through chemo than I have to live to be 90 with this broken heart. Had a VATS upper right lobectomy;day following the incident mentioned earlier, the remaining middle and lower lobes began to contort and twist together;surgeon tried his best to do what he could but had to finally take the middle lobe. Dr. said he got all of the tumor but recommended the radiation as added assurance. I am in Maine. The doctor was wonderful+ the CCU nurses were angels;it was when I got transferred to the regular floor that things spiralled downward in a hurry. Forgot to mention that I couldn't yell for help, either, when the lung was collapsing because they'd put a very hard, rigid compression type mask on me and I couldn't get it off to call for help because my fingers were about the size of cucumbers. Finally managed to get my face on top of the bedrail and use the rail to "scrape" the mask off. Took my last breath to yell "help" and weak as it came out, an aide heard me. He turned the light on, pulled the curtain back and called a STAT order. I don't mind dying at all but I didn't want to go that torturous way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb73 Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Dear Cathy, I am sorry for the loss of your precious son. You have had so very much put onto your plate, but we warmly welcome you here. Surely, as you have already noted, there are so many wonderful people here who will try their best to offer you support and comfort. You are not alone. Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maryanne Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Oh Cathy, You have been through too much. Please accept my condolences on the passing of your son. I can't even imagine the pain you went through and still are. I'm so so sorry. You are a very luck girl that you were able to summond that aide. Just reading your post has made me cringe as no one should have to go through all that. I am glad that it is behind you know and I hope you are doing as well as can be expected. We are here for you 24/7. You are never alone here. Maryanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebygeeby Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Hi Cathy, Glad you found us. Welcome. Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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