Arizona newbie

[Z4griz]

Hi, my name is Mary and I have stage 4 BAC Adenocarcinoma  which is a rare type of lung cancer. I was told only 3% of the population suffer from this. In June of 2015 I had my middle lobe right lung removed. At the time the cancer center I was going to said it was Stage A 1 and I didn't need any chemo or radiation . I had a weird feeling and went to one of the top hospitals in Phoenix. They put me through all kinds of tests and afterwards I was told the original diagnose was wrong ( NSC adenocarcinoma ). That's when I was told it was BAC Adenocarcinoma stage 4 since it reoccurred . It is not from smoking, and it is a recurring type of cancer. I went through Proton Beam radiation , and now chemo. Already I have another nodule on my lung. I am looking forward to meeting others going through this.

 

[AZhikeryogirunner]

Hi!

I am also in AZ! I am sorry to hear you were misdiagnosed. It sounds like that has been straightened out. You will be in my thoughts and prayers!

~Yovana 

[LaurenH]

Good morning, Mary,

Welcome to LCSC. I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and misdiagnosis. You were right to trust your body and go to another hospital when you knew something wasn't right. I'm glad that you've joined the message boards and hope that you can connect with many others who are on similar journeys. Please feel free to explore other boards and join the conversations. You'll most likely get more responses on this post, since people are always happy to welcome new members. 

In addition to the discussion boards, there are also user blogs, photo galleries, and a calendar of upcoming LUNGevity and lung cancer related events. Please let us know if you have any questions about LCSC or other resources!

Lauren
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Digital Community Manager
LUNGevity Foundation

[Tom Galli]

Mary,

Sorry I missed your post.  I'm doing that a lot lately.  Too much chemotherapy!

If you are looking for others that have gone through this, then you've come to the right place.  Some of us here designed the tee shirt the experts wear!

I must confess, I'd not heard of BAC adenocarcinoma.  From what I've read, BAC tends to be sensitive to targeted therapy, now emerging from genetic testing of your tumor.  Have you asked (perhaps your surgeon would be a good first place to ask) if material was retained after your lobectomy to run a molecular profile on your cancer cells.  Here is some information about molecular profiling and how target therapy is effectively treating adenocarcinoma. https://www.lungevity.org/about-lung-cancer/lung-cancer-101/treatment-options/targeted-therapy

Let us know about the type of chemotherapy you are receiving.  Knowing the type, we might be able to offer some suggestions to avoiding side effects and other tips and tricks. When are you scheduled for your next scan?

This is a hard fight Mary.  My cancer recurred three times after surgery.  I had a total of 4 treatment failures before the 5th treatment finally dealt with the beast.  It is a long war so put on your battle rattle and prepare.  Most importantly, if I can live, so can you.

Stay the course.

Tom