jwstar3000 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 My husband has cell lung cancer. We have just found out about 2 days ago and we are so afraid. Our emotions are everywhere. How can these happen to good people. He is so kind , loving and always doing things. My biggest fear is him being so sick from the chemo. We have been married 22 years and know children. We are very much soul partners and have been so all these years. Afraid of losing each other. We need to know from you people how to go about our lives . Knowing what the next right thing to do. We are a mess. Thankyou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadstimeon Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Hi sorry to hear about you husband. Right now both of you are in shock and rightfully so, it's a lot to take in at first. Hard to tell you based on you brief post what to expect. What type does he have NSCLC or SCLC? What Stage? Go to this link http://lungevity.org/l_community/viewtopic.php?t=40762 and scroll down to Questions to ask your Doctor to help you learn more about your husbands diagnoses. As far as why, don't beat yourself over the head, no one does anything wrong, sometimes it's the cards life gives us. They have come a long way with chemo and meds to off set any side effects from it. Take it one step and one day at a time. Try not to put the cart before the horse. There are many members here who are survivors or who are living many many years with lung cancer. Stay with us and keep us posted. KNOWLEDGE is the key! Lung Cancer is not a DEATH SENTENCE. Hope this helps. Prays for the best. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaminkw Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I'm sorry you had to find us but you came to the right place. You say your husband has "cell lung cancer." Did they find a tumor or do you mean they identified his cancer from cancer cells. They identified mine from cells and I am eighteen months from dx and in remission since April 1, 2008. I can remember the emotional chaos when it all started though. It's a nightmare for everyone. It does take awhile until emotions settle down but they do. Once the treatment is in place and underway, you start to adjust to a new normal. The underlying fear may never go entirely away, but you don't walk around raw with it forever. Hang in there. Post. Give us more info so we can better help with what to expect. Judy in Key West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstdzy Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Welcome. Sorry about your husbands dx. As been said what type of cancer is it? Do you know what stage? I remember how scary it was when I got dx'd with small cell lung cancer. I thought that was it I was going to die. But that isn't always the case these days. People live for years and years and some are even cured. Chemo has also been muched improved. They have some great meds for chemo that makes it much easier on a person. I understand your panic, that's normal. Get some more information and keep posting! Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recce101 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Hi, and welcome to the group. You definitely came to the right place and you've received some great advice already. There seem to be some words missing from the diagnosis you gave in your message. It's probably either small cell lung cancer (SCLC) or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and it does make a difference in regard to the treatment. Also, someone mentioned "stage" or how advanced the cancer is — the small cell type is referred to as limited disease (LD) or extensive disease (ED), and the non-small cell type is given numbered stages I thru IV. Do you know where the cancer is located? In one lung only? Anywhere else? How is your husband feeling physically? If this was caught early, he may be a candidate for surgery, and that's a very good thing. In some cases, radiation may be given before or concurrently with chemo. And as others have said, chemo is not the terrible experience that it was 10 or 20 years ago. There are new chemo agents with relatively few side effects, and there are now very effective medications (intravenous and oral) which do a great job making some of the older chemo agents more tolerable. I've been on treatment continuously since October 2006 and there's never been a day when I've been so "out of it" that I couldn't function. It will take a few days for you and your husband to absorb what's being thrown at you all at once, but after you know exactly what you're dealing with and have a treatment plan in place, things will look much brighter for you. Read some of the stories we have in the profiles at the bottom of our messages and in the My Story forum. Best wishes and Aloha, Ned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraL Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Hi there and welcome to the site. I am so sorry to hear about your husband that you obviously love dearly. As others have said the beginning of this journey is so very scary but it does get better. Once you have a treatment plan in place you will focus on that. I echo that a LC diagnosis is not a death sentence. Do not let anyone tell you how long he has to live because they do not know and are only quoting statistics. None of us here are statistics and many many of us have outlived them by a mile. There is always HOPE and that is what you need to get yourselves into fighting mode. Please give us more information when you are able and let us know how both of you are doing. Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwstar3000 Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 I forgot to say he has small cell lung cancer , not nonsmall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fillise Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 JW--you have come to the right place. We will try to help you in any way we can. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb73 Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 JW- I understand your fear. Although my husband and I had children, and had been married for almost 50 years when he was diagnosed (4 1/2 yrs. ago), it was still a jarring diagnosis, and a very scary time for us. No one wants to lose their loved one. It is wrenching to even contemplate. Keeping hope in the offing, and working together can help us to walk the journey together. What helped mostly was the being able to ask questions of the doctors, post here as to what was occurring, and to seek advice on how to deal with any side effects. The more we were involved with his treatments, visits, and general "living" with the lung cancer, the less scary it became. The stresses were/are still there, but far, far less than initially. To repeat what others have said, "We are here for you." We know this walk. You are not alone. Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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