Hello

[Lisa B-Schulz]

Hi. I was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma (estimated Stage 1b) on November 9th and had a lobectomy on November 17th. I am home recovering from the surgery and should be getting my full pathology report in about two weeks at which time I will learn whether I’ll be needing chemo or not. 

[LouT]

Hi Lisa,

Sorry you need to be here, but glad you found us.  Well, you've already gone through the diagnostic process as well as the lobectomy so you are well ahead of most folks that post for the first time.  I hope your recovery is going well and I believe you'll here from your doctor on a final stage and any next steps (e.g., adjuvant treatment) they may recommend.  In the meantime feel free to ask any questions you may have or share any concerns.  The folks here are survivors, many with years since their initial diagnosis.  In my case I was diagnosed and had my lobectomy in early 2019.  At the present time I am still NED (No Evidence of Disease) and able to live my life pretty fully.  

Take a look around at some of the post and there may be some hints and tips you may pick up.  In the meantime I'm going to share a blog written by one of our long time survivors, Tom Galli.  It's great information titled, "10 Steps to Surviving Lung Cancer; by a Survivor" and it can be found here.

Welcome again and we look forward to learning more about you.

Lou

[Tom Galli]

Lisa,

I echo Lou's words of welcome.

But, and unfortunately, nothing I can say will relieve you of the anxious waiting that attends this disease. Regardless of the pathology report findings, you'll likely have scheduled scans perhaps quarterly for a while and waiting for results might be a burden. It certainly is for me. I was diagnosed in February 2004 and after just shy of four years of continuous treatment, reached our goal of no evidence of disease (NED). I mention this because if I can live, so can you.

Monitoring after surgery is normally the domain of a medical oncologist. If you've not consulted with one yet, I'd arrange a consultation. The medical oncologist will devise a program of scans to screen for reoccurrence. Hopefully, future scans will show no evidence of disease and your life will return to normal. But be mindful, the worst things you can do is fail to attend to your screening scans because lung cancer is known for its high recurrence rate, even after curative treatment. And one key to addressing recurrences if finding them early--thus the importance of screening scans.

I believe knowledge is power and therefore suggest you read into our disease. Lung Cancer 101 is a good place to start. It is compact but comprehensive and explains our disease like no other resource. After reading in, you may want to read about our experiences. Do take time to visit our blog space. There is a lot of accumulated wisdom in this body of writing.

Stay the course.

Tom

 

[Lisa B-Schulz]

Thank you for your replies, Lou and Tom! I was surprised to learn from Lou that I was ahead of most folks that post here for the first time. But it makes sense - I went from CT scan to PET scan to biopsy and then surgery in just under one month. As I sit hear recuperating from the lobectomy I realize that my physical treatment is well ahead of my emotional processing of the fact that I have lung cancer.  Getting onto this forum and reading the wealth of available materials is the beginning of that process.

Lou, thanks for your suggestion about seeing a medical oncologist. So far, I have just met with the thoracic surgeon who did the lobectomy. I should be receiving my pathology report within the next week or so. I know that if there is evidence of cancer in the lymph nodes I will be referred to an oncologist for what would likely be chemotherapy treatment. But, I think he was envisioning that if the lymph nodes were clear he would manage my monitoring himself. I will certainly ask about that when I have my follow up appointment on December 9th.

[LexieCat]

I totally LOVED my surgeon who did my lobectomy and asked if I could have him do the followup monitoring. He said, well, I COULD do that, but if there is a recurrence, you would be looking at chemo or other drug treatment, not surgery. That made sense to me--and it helps to establish the relationship before you need chemo or drug therapy. Just my two cents.