BetsyB22 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Hi and thank you to everyone who helped me manage my anxiety in the lead up to my segmentectomy on January 6th. You kind support was incredibly helpful to me. 😊 My final path report was "pT1mi": minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (1.4 cm with a predominantly lepidic pattern and 2 mm of invasion). My thoracic surgeon said it was the earliest stage lung tumor he'd ever removed. All of my nodes were negative, but they showed evidence of "non-caseating granulomatous inflammation", which makes my doctors suspect I have an autoimmune disease known as sarcoidosis. I have ulcerative colitis, so having another autoimmune disease wouldn't be a big shocker. Mostly I have been warned that it can be hard to tell the difference between inflamed lymph nodes and cancerous lymph nodes on imaging, so this could be a diagnostic challenge down the road. My oncologist and surgeon have each said that no further treatment is necessary, but I'll be followed with CT scans - first of which is this summer. Evidently there are two additional ground-glass areas in my right lung that are too small to biopsy, so they'll need to be followed. This March will be three years out from my breast cancer diagnosis, so I am ever watchful on that front. I am just grateful that so far I'm in NED-land. And speaking of grateful, everything I was told about recovery here was 100% true. I know everyone's body is different, but my experience was very much what y'all described to me. And it was nowhere close to as painful as a mastectomy. Not even in the same ballpark. So I'm incredibly thankful for that! And speaking of pain, I got an epidural for pain control and it was awesome. It prevented me from having to take much of anything in the narcotic family, so my GI tract was spared - very important for someone living with colitis. I'm walking every day - including some big hills and my breathing is already greatly improved. I'm still coughing a bit, but I hear that's typical so early on. I find your stories of surviving and thriving to be the best medicine for me. Thanks so much for being here and caring!❤️ Tom Galli, WalkingHorse, ChiMama and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Betsy, I'm very happy to learn you had a tolerable and successful surgical procedure and that you are well on the way to recovery. Also, glad to know you are involved in a post surgical screening program that is wise for lung cancer regardless of your diagnosis stage or successful surgery. Stay the course. Tom BetsyB22 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Betsy, That's a nice report and glad things are going well for you. I look forward to your future updates and any questions you have along the way. Lou BetsyB22 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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