Guest Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 I just finished 4 months of chemotherapy following a lobectomy this past July. If anyone else has done this adjuvant chemo, how long does it take for the effects of the chemo to start wearing off? My hair has already been struggling to grow back a bit, but the fatigue grew worse toward the end of the chemo. Marcia Stage IA, adenocarcinoma Right upper lobectomy July 2003, no mets Carboplatin and Taxol, September to December 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Marcia, Every one may have various side-effects. What are yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jan4444 Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 I am going to have surgery 1/12/04 for what appears to be a stage IA lung cancer. I am having the right upper lobe and some lymph nodes removed. When I spoke to my doctor, he said that I won't need chemo unless there are lymph nodes involved. I had adjuvant chemo for my breast cancer in 1998 but didn't know that they were giving it for lung cancer. Where are you being treated? I am being treated in NJ at a cancer center that I have always been happy with. I am an RN and research all this to death so I was wondering about why your doctor gave you chemo so I can research it and present it to my doctor. With breast cancer chemo my hair eventually came back and believe me you forget all about the effects of chemo and go on with your life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloesmom Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 I had a lobectomy in late June of 2003 and adjuvant chemo August-November. My chemo was cisplatin and gemzar. I did not lose all of my hair but did have a lot of thinning that did not stop until about a month after the chemo. My energy level improved dramatically about 2 weeks after chemo ended and after one month, I felt totally normal again for the first time since diagnosis. Hope this helps...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmc Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Hello Marcia and welcome Jan, ( were almost neighbors, I see) Thought I post this link for you, chemo prevention for early stage lung cancer resulted from the June meeting of ASCO, which took place in Chicago. http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe ... sco.org%2F My left lung was removed on 5/2/01 and at that time chemo was not recommended, so I can't help you with effects but did want to state that I wish I'd had it. Being 2 & 1/2 years out, it seems a small price to pay for the added comfort. And Jan, just curious as to what cancer center your attending, I was operated on in Morristown Memorial. Elliot Kaplan was my surgeon. Second opinion at Sloan Kettering Denville/Dover. God bless and be well Bobmc- NSCLC- stageIIB- left pneumonectomy- 5/2/01 MRI's of the brain & spine taken- 12/17/03- anxioulsy waiting results! " absolutely insist on enjoying life today" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jan4444 Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 Bob, I go to the cancer center at St. Barnabas. I had breast cancer in 1998 and my oncologist is Stuart Leitner. My surgeon for my lung is Mark Foreman. My problem though is that although they know it is an adenosarcoma, they don't know yet if it is breast mets or a primary lung cancer. Regardless they are removing the right upper lobe. The lesion is 1.3cm. Hopefully no lymph nodes will be involved then I will be a stage IA I dealt with breast cancer but this lung cancer is very unsettling. I am a nurse and I do case management and I just spoke to someone today who had colon cancer in 1997. He just had a cancerous legion removed from his lobe and it is colon mets. Very tiny and he is taking chemo now. But he tried to convince me to not let them take the whole lobe yet. I am better off if it is a primary lung cancer becase breast mets to the lung puts me in a stage IV breast cancer. Now I'm tossing this adjuvant chemo for stage IA. I have to speak to my oncologist but my surgeon says he doesn't want me to have chemo if it is stage IA. Decisions???????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurielK Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 My cancer was dx. as Stage 1B, adjuvant chemo was presented as an option. I guess I'm glad I did it, but am wondering when I'll feel ok. I started Sept 16th and my last treatment (carbo & taxol) was Nov. 18th. I think hair is starting to return, but so slowing that it will be a long time before I throw away my wig. Hope you start feeling better soon. Muriel K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Thanks, everyone, for your responses. The side effects I experienced were some fatigue, hair loss on my head (and it stopped growing on my legs, so I didn't have to shave as much - yay!!), and some digestive "upset". I call it that, because I was never really nauseous, just a yucky feeling, like very strong indigestion. Also, since my white cell count has been effected, I have a few scrapes and cuts that are taking a long time to heal. Glad I did the chemo, as a kind of insurance, at least given that it did not effect me that badly. Marcia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay A. Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Jan4444, If your surgeon insists that you not have chemo if Stage I it may be that there is a study going on in which they compare Stage I with chemo to Stage I without chemo. I know that they are supposed to tell you if you are participating in a study. Real World seems to be a bit different. So, where is it written that you and your Oncologist are bound by the desires of the Surgeon? The reason I bring this up at all is because in my first lung cancer operation the Surgeon erroneously put me at Stage I, and ordered in writing that all I needed and should be given was a yearly CHEST XRAY for follow up. ( he had left behind a tumor in this operation, plus he had told me that 2 of the three lesions he removed were benign, and that was not correct.) No referral to an Oncologist, no chemo, no real follow up. So I fought with my PCM, the Insurance, and with much persistance found the left behind tumor and had it removed several months before my yearly chest xray would have even been scheduled. Unfortunately by this time the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. I wish I had been given the option of chemo from the beginning, but as hard as I fought for it I didn't get until I had the remainder of my right lung removed earlier this year. I started chemo in September and will have my last one next week. Hopefully by doing this I will not have a recurrence of the disease for a long, long time. Guest: Hope you are feeling stronger very soon. I"m anxious for chemo to be over and for my body to get back to normal...or as normal as it can be. Best Wishes to you all, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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