laurie2020 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I was diagnosed with 4th stage cancer metastisized at size 7 with 2 blood clots all in my left lung and lymph nodes. I was loaded with fluid at time of diagnosing believing I had pneumonia and learning my real diagnosis. I went into emergency surgury for a perichondrial window to keep the fluid building up around my heart and had over 4 cups of liquid drained out of my back that was surrounding my lungs. This was a little over 2 years ago. My oncologist refused to give me a time that my life may expire and for that I thank him everyday. A few months ago he told me my time expected was 3 to 6 months and that others he had diagnosed with 4th stage Lung cancer had passed long ago and I am considered ever so lucky. Before I left the hospital 2 years ago I placed my life in God's hands and refused to google lung cancer. I did not want Google telling me how and what I needed to feel and fill my head with the fear of what to expect. I chose treatment and continue to attend every 3 weeks. I tell myself that I will live my life until God decides otherwise. I prepared my will, moved to a smaller house and have spent these years making family memories and helping them prepare for my passing by letting them know that I am not afraid. They will move forward when I pass. I was forced to come to terms with reality the day I was diagnosed by myself in 2 separate hospitals due to Covid. All of this made me see that I wanted to move forward having a quality of life not a life of fear. Move forward with life in a positive manner.i believe it will help keep you alive. Stay strongl and off of Google. Tom Galli and Scruboak 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJN Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Hi Laurie, Google is a beast and you did well for staying away. Survival statistics are no longer relevant to most lung cancer patients as new treatments like immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and combinations of treatments are rewriting the script for many, many patients. I saw my main lung oncologist last week, and we talked about how different his job is now. Two and a half years ago when I was diagnosed, a stage 4 diagnosis was still considered a death sentence, and now they have no way of predicting the outcome. One major development is that oligometastatic LC patients (I.e. with fewer than 5 non-brain metastases) are now considered an entirely different category and highly treatable, with a real chance of remission. LouT, Scruboak, laurie2020 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurie2020 Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 Hello RJN I had the option 6 months ago to go off the immunotherapy or stay on it. I chose to stay on the Kaytruda as it has been helping me to date. I pray it continues as I have no intentions of dieing anytime soon. My Oncologist has a Stage 4 patient that Is on year 6 of survival. That patient and now you are clear examples of the hope and goals I hold on to. Thanks so much for your encouragement and I wish you well on your journey. It is relieving to be able to communicate with someone who really understands what I am expressing. Tom Galli, LouT and RJN 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.