cott01 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I have been lurking this board for two weeks now. Since my mom (50 yo) got confirmation on the 6th that she has a tumor in her r lung. She was having pain in the shoulder since end of May. She kept saying she picked up Zack the wrong way. He is a big boy almost 2 y old. It was a pulled muscle. Dr gave her muscle relaxers and said heat. Well a month later after a week of vacation popping tylenol arthritis (I feel so guilty) she goes back to dr who orders an xray and immed sends her for CT scan and requests an oncologist. That was 7/6 and here we are. I will copy/paste my family update... 7/15: Mom went for bloodwork and the needle biopsy today. Oncology met with her and said the PET scan from monday was optimal. Large tumor top right lung (still tennis ball size) and one adjacent lymph node affected (the one that drains the lung). No other organs affected. She gets her radiation tatoo on Friday... She will have radiation everday except weekends for 7 weeks (along with Chemo) we find out more about the chemo on this Friday. Surgery to follow the radiation and chemo. Other than a bruised back, she is okay. So - I will update on Friday with the next appt. Thanks for all the prayers and kind words. And then today 7/17: Update: Official diagnosis Stage IIIA T2N2M0 Adenocarcinoma of the Lung. She got a couple tattoos today but they will finish that on Wed morning when they actually start the radiation. Chemotherapy once a week (Carboplatin and Taxol) for as many weeks as possible to help the radiation do it’s job – hoping for at least 5 weeks. Doc said she will not lose her hair and should not have any nausea since the dose is lower for a longer amount of time. Dr said it is technically NOT a Pancoast tumor (which is good) being that it is lower in the lung than a typical Pancoast. He said the only thing he is worried about is the lymph node in the center of her chest. It is positive for cancer but hasn’t spread. He thinks the radiation and chemo will shrink it down enough to have mom eligible for surgery in about 2 months. If the node does not shrink; then we have to take another route in order to make it shrink. He said and the placement of the node right in front of her esophagus will cause her to have a really sore throat from the radiation. Other than that – that’s all I have for now. Chemo starts Tues – once a week – and radiation starts Wed everyday for 7 weeks. Here I am...not crying as much as things are starting to sink in and having a plan helps. I have just been doing web searches and cant find anything good. I just want someone to say yeah its possible this could all go away and never come back. I have a 10 yr old and a 2 yr old who love their nanna. It's just so depressing. Can someone just tell me we have a chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatlemike Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Hello Cotto and welcome. Im glad you came out of lurking and posted. You and your mother have very much to have hope for. There are many long time survivors of stage 3a and I expect more will be posting in the morning.Hopefully the chemo and radiation are gonna shrink that tumor up and surgery will be possible.The internet is a wonderful source of information but I would be very careful where you search. Much of the information is outdated or just plain wrong. There are many good people here who can answer your questions or find out for you.Please keep us updated. Prayers for a successful treatment said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recce101 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I will post this to the NSCLC board too (I guess). I answered your similar post in the Introduce Yourself forum. There's nothing "wrong" with posting the same message in multiple forums, and on some sites you may need to do that to get a response, but here I think most members who are inclined to answer use the "View posts since last visit" feature and will see every new post regardless of which forum it's in. Best to you and your mom, especially when the chemo and radiation begin. Ned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fillise Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I'm sorry you have to be here. It sounds like you are beginning to come out of the shock that sets in right after the initial Dx. There is a plan in place and it feels better knowing that you are doing somehting to fight it. The fact that the cancer has not spread is good news. Shrinking it with the chemo and radiation and cutting it out will offer the best chance for a full recovery. Read the stories here. There are many, many people who are long term survivors. For many of us, the first hopeful sign we had was reading the stories on this board. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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