lilyjohn Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Today my nephew had a lobe of his lung removed. Doctor thought it might be a fungus because he never let up on a PET but it turned out to be cancer. Doctor told my niece that he believes that he got it all. My request is for some of you who have had that surgery to tell me how long recovery from the surgery took and how long it has been. He needs to hear survival stories and the pros and cons of having chemo when the doctor thinks he it has all been removed. I can pass that along to him and am hoping to get him to come on here and read once he is able. Thanks in advance. Lillian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianew Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Lily - I am so sorry to hear that your nephew now has to deal with this awful disease! When I had my lung removed, I was back at work part-time in about 4 weeks (keep in mind I had a desk job), and it was really much too early and I think it made my recovery time longer than it would have been. The VATS surgery they do now wasn't available, and if that is what your nephew had it should make it easier. I remember taking a trip after 4 months, and still being exhausted. I think it was 6-9 months before I felt fairly normal again - and of course everyone is different. I wanted to have chemo and/or radiation as "insurance" - but was told they believed I was cured and would not do it. I know it is done more often today. But I think my case was a little different from your nephew's - because they had removed my entire lung, their argument was that since there was no problem with my remaining lung they could not treat a healthy lung "just in case" as it would do more harm than good. In hindsight, knowing what I know now about the long-term effects of chemo and radiation, I can't disagree with that. However, one thing it never occurred to me to do - and the one thing I would STRONGLY recommend to anyone being told "no further treatment", is a second opinion from a lung cancer specialist. I don't think I can emphasize that enough. I will keep him in my prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyjohn Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Thanks Diane I went to see him yesterday and was surprised at how good he looks. They didn't go through his chest so there are no ribs involved that have to heal. They went through his arm pit. I was watching his monitors and his oxygen level was gradually getting better. It went up from 92 to 96 while I was there. Of coarse it would fluctuate once in a while if he moved or was in pain. Personally I find it a toss up about the chemo. Part of my mind says it is so rough that he is better off without it but the other part knows that it just takes one small cell. I have gotten a lot of encouraging stories from this board in the past and have relayed them on to him. One is from someone who is a friend from my high school. She had a lung removed at the age of 27 and now she is 72 and doing quite well. In fact I never would have dreamed she had that done until she sent me a message about it. I hope that the weather is not too hard on you. Still hoping that you will get down this way someday and we can meet face to face. I am leaving for Louisiana in a few days and will be gone for almost 2 months between there and Bakersfield time. Have a safe rest of winter and be well. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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