TMC Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 My husband had his biopsy Friday afternoon..NSCLC in right upper lobe. Today was the PET scan. Doctor said he would call this afternoon with results. I'm sure praying it has not spread. This has all moved so fast it's still hard for me to believe its real. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUNGevityKristin Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Thinking lots of positive thoughts for you! Please keep us updated on results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 The fact you get the results so quickly is a win. Try to relax if you can. You WILL feel much better and in more control once testing is done and a treatment plan created. It WILL get better. Wishing you the best and that it is at an early stage. Peace Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 Ok, Pulm. dr just called...so far this is what he has told us...NSCLC, adenocarcinoma (sp?) he said it was the most common. The PET scan did not show it anywhere outside of the lung, everything looked good except "possibly" one lymph node that was showing maybe a trace but said that is something the surgeon will determine. He's putting him at Stage 2b possibly 3a. The thoracic surgeon called today and we see him Thursday for a consultation. The Pulm. doc isn't sure because of the size and where it's at but said surgery would be the best option, so hopefully the surgeon can do it! Feeling hopeful 😊 Quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin wilki Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Surgery gives you the best option! Good luck to you both. You will feel so much calmer once the treatment begins. Relax and know things will turn out finr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 If I may ask. How big is the tumor? If it is in only one lobe and maybe one lymph node then a IIIA staging doesn't sound right. Seems to me it could still be IA. Regardless....early stage detection. Andecarcinoma. No spread. This is all good considering we are talking about lung cancer. Do some research before you meet with surgeon. Ask a million questions on this board. There are literally 1000s of people who had your exact same diagnosis over the years and I'm guessing you will not have any issues getting good answers. Having lung cancer is not good, but if you have to have it its sounding more and more like you have a very treatable, if not curable, form of the disease. And even better...the speed in which you are getting treatment, responses and feedback is outstanding. Will be keeping track and wishing you only the best. Now kick the beasts arse... Peace Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted February 25, 2020 Author Share Posted February 25, 2020 6.9 x 5 cm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Cornett Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Great news that it hasn't spread. Adenocarcinoma is the most common but make sure they test it for mutations. If he has any of the mutations, he may be eligible for targeted therapy. I did not have any markers. If he can have surgery, it is a good step. I had an upper left lobectomy - don't recall what size my tumor was - but mine was in 7 of 10 lymph nodes. Hopefully your husband can a) have surgery and b) have the less invasive VATS (robotic) surgery. Downtime is so much shorter with VATS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 @TMC knowing what he is confronting is a big hurtle. Next is what the treatment is. Whatever it is there are folks here who have been through it. Hang in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 We have our consultation with the surgeon tomorrow and we don't even KNOW what to ask!!! 😔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 I’d write out a list of questions and bring it with you Write down the answers You won’t remember a word the doctor said after you leave Some doctors are ok with you recording the conversation Ask if they are ok with it. What type of surgery they are recommending and why? Exactly what they plan to remove and why. How what they plan to remove will affect him near and long term. How many of these surgeries have they performed? What if any long term quality of life changes are possible. Recovery time? How long in the hospital? Do they anticipate the need for any follow up treatment? Any need for pre op treatments? Sometimes people will get radiation to shrink a tumor of it is in a difficult spot. How do you contact them to ask the questions you forgot to ask or get clarification on something? Surgery is a great option to have Its scary, but not nearly as scary as you are probably both imaging it is. Hang in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Thank you Curt!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted February 28, 2020 Author Share Posted February 28, 2020 OH WOW! This cancer diagnosis is COMPLICATED! First off, my husband misunderstood the Pulm. dr when he called the other day..its not adenocarcinoma (sp) its NSCLC/Squamous cell carcinoma. So I just wanted to get that corrected. We met the thoracic surgeon at Sammons today and we REALLY liked him! He was straight forward with us and we liked that. At this point he told us he needs more testing before deciding on the pneumonectomy. He said he has to be only stage 1 or 2 for him to do that and that he has to have a strong heart and remaining lung has to meet certain criteria, and the nodes have to be cancer free before he will do that surgery. At his point he says my husband is in the gray of a II or III. He needs to do another biopsy on 3 nodes in the middle of the chest to make sure there is no cancer there. Then an echocardiogram to check his heart, another test called something long but for short its called a VQ. And he has set up a consultation for us with a medical oncologist at Sammons after all the test are completed. They all start tomorrow with the last one next Thursday. THEN they will decide if he is a candidate for the lung removal. He says that is the best option so we are praying all tests come back with good news. Thank you for your support. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.M. Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 Best of luck to you, @TMC. We are going through this together. It's scary. Best, Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 TMC, I hope all of this goes well for you in terms of meeting the criteria. Please keep us updated. BTW, my cancer was NSCLC Squamos as well. Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 We met with our medical oncologist yesterday, seems to be really smart and on top of things. My husband liked him so that's a good start. He explained that surgery is still our best option but that the size and the place of the tumor makes surgery technically complicated. But said we have an excellent surgeon so hopefully he will tell us Thursday that he can do it. He said the best option is if the surgeon can do something called a sleeve resection but we won't know until Thursday. He told us if we can do the surgery he will have to have chemo afterwards and wants to see us 3 weeks after surgery. If we can't have surgery we go back and see him Monday, March 16. Other than the cancer my husband is in excellent health (he's 64) so we sure hope that helps with all the treatments he will endure. He is stage 2b N0 M0... the thoracic surgeon did a mediastenoscopy and the chest lymph nodes are negative (there were 3 but I forgot what he called them) but I got confused because the oncologist said those were clear but that there are nodes in the lung area that they can't biopsy beforehand ..it can only be done during surgery. So does that mean it could still have gone to his lymph nodes? Overall we are feeling confident and staying positive. My husband's biggest concern is he wants to continue to work and wonders how surgery and chemo will effect that. He is fortunate that a lot of days he is able to work from home. So hopefully that will help. Thanks for listening. We will know more Thursday so I'll update then. Take care everyone, T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 We had a follow up appt scheduled with our surgeon for tomorrow and we thought "ok, we had all the test, tomorrow we find out if he can do surgery" But his office called and said he wants ANOTHER PET CT scan in the morning and then come on to his office after that. Needless to say, my husband is really depressed right now because he can't understand why he wants another CT Scan when he just had one.... I'm just trying not to think about it this evening. Trying to stay positive. I know they had our case on the tumor board yesterday, so I'm really hoping he just wants to confirm that he "can" do the surgery! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers please. A bit of anxiety this evening for us 😟 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Focus on the positive. Having a scan immediately followed by a consult is a good thing. I read in it exactly what you do...trying to verify something. Could it possibly be a PET/CT scan combo versus just a PET. That was the last scan I had prior to surgery. It's better than having to wait days for the result....right? Chin up. Hoping for a positive outcome. Keep us posted. Peace Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 Tom, he has had both a CT scan (2-14) and the PET-CT scan (2-24) and I don't recall her telling me if it was just a CT again or the PET again...and I forgot to ask! Oh well, we will know at 8am in the morning LOL. I'm just gonna go with the positive on this one! Thanks! T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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