Hello

[Fredsr]

I am Fred on April8 they remove a segment of my left lung. I am in recovery now. Trying my best to grasp how I got here. Guess it was genetic or from the field I worked in, never smoked. Those around me don’t seem to grasp what I am experiencing or feeling. They tell me about people who had or have it worse. Somehow that just doesn’t comfort me. 
Anyhow I am a 65 year old by myself. Enjoy photography, art, music and travel. Was looking for someone to wall through life with now just looking at options till I know more about this visitor that stopped everything.

[BridgetO]

Hi Fred and welcome. Glad you found us. People here will have a better idea what you've been through and probably a better understnding of your feelings that the people you've been talking to.  We've all experienced lung cancer one way or another, as a patient/survivor or as a  caregiver.  Let us know how we can best support you. That's what we're here for!

Bridget O

[Jesse L.]

Let me welcome you to the forums... you will find many, many here that know just exactly how you feel. To those unaffected by cancer it doesn't seem that they get it much at all, but then think how we used to feel before we got our diagnosis; it just didn't cross our mind at all. And whether any of us smoked at all just doesnt seem to have anything much to do with it anymore. If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer...period. So lets face it, we were just too busy thinking of other things like how we were going to enjoy our retirement, how much money we had to enjoy that retirement, and how long our health would hold out to enjoy that retirement. But, here we are and now we have to deal with something else entirely...

At my current age of 64 I'm about the same age as you. As a result of an annual CT scan on 12/15/20, I was found to have a suspicious 18mm by 12mm nodule in my RLL. After numerous follow up tests it was determined to be adenocarcinoma at stage 1a. On 2/25 I had a lobectomy to remove my RLL and while they were in there, they also found and removed two affected lymph nodes as well. Of course the progression they found now had me at a stage 3a and now I'm going through 4 courses of chemotherapy every three weeks consisting of Carboplatin and Alimta. While after the operation they could not find any discernable cancer growth throughout my entire body, the chemotherapy is being used to eliminate any possible rogue cancer cells that may be moving about my bloodstream. My first infusion was 4/5 and with the side effects it is no fun at all. I've also had other issues as well that I never had before. I now am being checked for AFIB and I've just been diagnosed with DVT as a direct result of my cancer and it's treatment. In any case, my next infusion is 4/28 and my last infusion is 6/7. And after that is more scans to see where I'm at and depending on what they find will determine where I go from there. If they find any cancer at all I'll receive more treatment or if not I'll go on an intense schedule of scans for at least the near future. 

And before all this I was retired, having fun, traveling, going to the gym three times a week, walking some 20 to 30 miles a week, eating good, etc. It is amazing how fast life can change with cancer...believe me I know.

But persevere we must...there is virtually no choice. Have faith and know that there are others like you. You are not alone...

[LexieCat]

Hi, Fred,

Welcome from me, too. I was a longtime smoker, and no matter what, a lung cancer diagnosis is always shocking and scary. You will adjust to a new normal.

Do you have your pathology results back? What happens from here will depend in large part on those results--what specific type of lung cancer, stage, whether any lymph nodes are affected (and if so, where and how many). Do you know whether a sample of your tumor was sent out for genetic testing? It's a good idea to push for that (though insurance companies sometimes push back, especially for early-stage cancers), since having a targetable mutation can mean additional treatment options are available to you. 

If you had VATS surgery, you should be feeling almost as good as new in short order. 

I had a VATS lobectomy four years ago and it was Stage Ib (adenocarcinoma). After following with twice-a-year scans for three years, the cancer returned in the other lung. It had also spread to a tiny spot on my sacrum, which made me Stage IV at that point. After a course of chemo and immunotherapy and moving on to maintenance therapy, the cancer began to progress, so I'm now preparing to participate in a clinical trial. The one bright spot in all of this is that the landscape for lung cancer has drastically changed for the better in the past few years. 

Glad you found us--we can help you navigate the road ahead.

[LouT]

Fred,

As you are already learning from our forum; you are not alone in everything you are feeling.  Smoker or non-smoker, people get lung cancer.  And I always laugh when people would tell me that someone else has it worse.  I'd remind them that a whole bunch of people also have it better than I do.  Can you tell us a bit more about your cancer (stage, genetic mutations, recommended course of treatment, etc.)?  And, also feel free to ask any questions you have.  There is a very broad base of experiences here and someone will be able to share their's with you and believe me it can help to allay fear and discomfort to hear from others who have traveled the same path and are here as a testament to the fact that LC does not have to be the death sentence it once was.

So, take a deep breath, your feelings are 100% normal and you've found a place where you are welcome to learn, rant or just unload and get support when you need it.

Lou

[Tom Galli]

Fred,

Welcome here. You've already received a lot of good information from forum members. My message for you is hope. I was diagnosed in February 2004 and experienced a multitude of treatments, most of which did not work the first time. But one treatment did and I'm a 17-year survivor. If I can live, so can you! I normally provide this piece of information to the newly diagnosed.

Stay the course.

Tom