Adam Shake Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Good morning everyone. Just a quick hello. 15 year Vet. Desert Storm, Desert Sheild, Panama, Somalia and Bosnia. 53 years old and live in the most beautiful place in the world, Estes Park Colorado. My day job is Economic Development and I also run a nonprofit for Veterans and First Responders called Flinch Forward. Married with three adult children. My oldest is active duty Warrant Officer, Blackhawk pilot, daughter works corrections in FL and youngest teaches English in Japan. I've been recently diagnosed with Stage IV NSCLC and am scheduled to talk to the Oncologist tomorrow about treatment options. Here's to the fight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryG Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hi Adam: Welcome to our place. Good to know you are a fighter by profession and you have the right attitude. That's half the battle to beat lung cancer. What a wonderful resume you have and thank you for your service to our country. You come to the right place where many of us share experiences and knowledge and never hesitate to answer questions or give advise. I assume you did all the necessary scans, blood tests and Biomarker Testing. If not please spend some time to read the section "Recently Diagnosed what to do now" on the main page of the website. If you have any questions at anytime please do not hesitate to ask. Again welcome and I wish you the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Adam, Well met indeed. I'm a 22 year veteran with ODSS, Panama and a brief excursion to Somalia (worst smelling place I've ever been, Haiti was pretty bad also)! My youngest brother is a retired Blackhawk driver commanding both Combat Aviation Battalion and Brigades during multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and my nephew (his son) is an Aviation Captain driving Blackhawks with the 82nd AB. We are an Army family (Dad was Army Air Force in WWII). I'm also a lung cancer survivor so we have a lot in common. I'll just throw this out there as a vet-to-vet challenge to prime you for the fight: if I can live, so can you! Ok, you've got to master a new vocabulary and here is the best place do do that. Read in; ask questions. You mention NSCLC so you've had a biopsy. What flavor of NSCLC (adenocarcinoma, Squamous cell, large cell) do you have? OBTW, first question to your med onc: has my biopsy be submitted for follow on laboratory testing to identify targeted therapy targets or PD-L1 expression? This is an EEI! Here is the closest thing we have to battle drill on the site. Abide by #3 through #10. Here are our SOPs. And you'll know what these mean. ESSAYONS and stay the course. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgetO Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hi Adam, You've gotten some good advice here already, so I just want to add my welcome. Let us know what questions you may have and how we can support you. That's what we're here for! Bridget O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Adam welcome to the group & thank U for your Service my oncologist is going to video call me tomorrow afternoon I am stage 4 also & it is Metastasis in my right lung hope to beat this I had Slavery duck carcinoma in 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Shake Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 Thank you all. So I originally went to the doctor for right side chest pain and they found degeneration of the right 4th rib. The initial thought was that it was a single pleural tumor. Then I had the CT and they found two more tumors, one on the left lung and one somewhere in the center. I went back in for an ultrasound / CT with iodine and they determined adenocarcinoma. I haven't seen the marker test yet and we have an appointment with the Oncologist tomorrow and a PET scan on Wednesday. That's all I know right now and I'm still learning!! Thanks for writing back everyone, I'm off to check the links you sent and others I'm finding on the site. A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Haines Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hi Adam, Nice to meet you, but sorry that it's because we both have Stage IV Lung Cancer. Welcome to the LUNGevity Forum - you'll find some really wonderful people here and we can all related to everything you are now experiencing and will go through over the next few days and weeks. I wish you the very best and hope your Oncologist has a great treatment plan. You've already received some great information and always feel free to share your questions and concerns. I highly suggest you seek at least one second opinion and that you also have full genomic testing done, if not already in the process. This is especially important before you begin treament, because certain cancer mutations now have drugs/treatments that target those directly. I am now a 5 1/2 year survivor with Stage IV, all of which came on very suddenly and with very little warning. You can read my story by clicking on my Bio. I noticed that you have not mentioned having a biopsy (only CT Scans), so I am confused how they determined you have Adenocarcinoma without any tissue. I know that many times they will find tumors or nodes that appear to be suspicous of cancer on CT Scans, however the standard for diagnosing cancer is a biopsy. You would also need the "tissue" from this biopsy to be sent our for the Genomic profile to determine any biomarkers/mutations you have have. Please let us know how things go tomorrow and good luck on the Pet Scan -- we'll all be hoping for the very best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rower Michelle Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Hi Adam, Just wanted to say hello and welcome. My husband is former Army, got a nephew in the AirForce studying for his PhD at AFIT, ultimately will have a permanent station at the Academy. We usually say to avoid the internet, in the beginning, Dr. Google is not our friend. Research is moving fast, science is on our side. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Shake Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 On 9/7/2020 at 3:05 PM, Lisa Haines said: Hi Adam, Nice to meet you, but sorry that it's because we both have Stage IV Lung Cancer. Welcome to the LUNGevity Forum - you'll find some really wonderful people here and we can all related to everything you are now experiencing and will go through over the next few days and weeks. I wish you the very best and hope your Oncologist has a great treatment plan. You've already received some great information and always feel free to share your questions and concerns. I highly suggest you seek at least one second opinion and that you also have full genomic testing done, if not already in the process. This is especially important before you begin treament, because certain cancer mutations now have drugs/treatments that target those directly. I am now a 5 1/2 year survivor with Stage IV, all of which came on very suddenly and with very little warning. You can read my story by clicking on my Bio. I noticed that you have not mentioned having a biopsy (only CT Scans), so I am confused how they determined you have Adenocarcinoma without any tissue. I know that many times they will find tumors or nodes that appear to be suspicous of cancer on CT Scans, however the standard for diagnosing cancer is a biopsy. You would also need the "tissue" from this biopsy to be sent our for the Genomic profile to determine any biomarkers/mutations you have have. Please let us know how things go tomorrow and good luck on the Pet Scan -- we'll all be hoping for the very best. Hi Lisa, and thank you. Yes, I had a biopsy and they went in through my back to my chest wall and took 5 samples. There's just so much that's happened in the last two weeks that it's hard to keep track of it all when I write about it. Congrats on being over 5 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Hi, Adam! I'm originally from Colorado Springs and an AF brat. I went to Air Academy High on the Air Force Academy--I was in college before I ever dated a civilian, lol. Most of my family (including my kids, except for my daughter who just moved in here to help me out at least through the end of the year) are still in the Springs and/or Denver Metro area. I've been going out at Christmas for years and years, but not this year, sadly. I'm also Stage IV adenocarcinoma, no mutations. I had a lobectomy three years ago and have had good scans up until this last one. So I'm starting treatment next week, I believe, with Carboplatin, Alimta, and Keytruda. May also get some radiation after chemo, including a 7 mm met to my sacrum. Sorry you had to join the club, but this is a great group here--I've been on the forums now for over 3 years. Lots of collective experience, knowledge, and support to be had here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabacat Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Hi Adam and thank you for your service! I am pretty new, also stage 4 with no useful mutations, and just starting on my initial chemo and immunotherapy journey. This place was the most informative and hopeful I have found anywhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Hi Adam, Thank you for your service!! I have stage IV NSCLC squamous and am now under going my 2nd round of treatment. When I was first diagnosed I scoured the internet for info and it was terribly depressing. I found this site and it changed my whole outlook. It gave me the hope I so desperately needed. These are real survivors who are winning this battle. So, welcome and ask any questions you have, somebody on here surely has the answer. Babs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Adam, First of all, thank you for your service, a great resume. Second you've met some of our great family here so please stay connected. There is an amazing group with a mass of experience to share. We look forward to good results and outcome for you. Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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