richinsdakota Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 Hi all; My first post here...moving over from intro board, since the dx is in...NSCLC (adenocarcinoma). Consultation with Dr. Tues. for options.. If I may; could I ask the burning questions that I suppose we all have, and you have all had...? Before going into surgery, which Im sure will be urged, is there a quick way to get a 2nd opinion, without repeating tests, and traveling afar? Has anyone opted out of surgery, in favor of alternative treatment...like RFA, Thalidomide trial, or anything else? The stats Im seeing on adenocarcinoma suggest survival rates beyond 10/12 months are very low....are folks beating these odds by any long term survivals these days? I know this is depressing subject, and sorry if my questions adversely affect anyone....myself, I want to know all the straight facts, and welcome anything you wonderful folks can offer to me., as some have already done on the into board. I look forward to sharing/caring with you all....thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloesmom Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 Hi Rich, Sorry for your diagnosis, but there are many many long term survivors of what you have here on the board. That's not counting the long term survivors who don't have access to a computer (I know two personally here) and those who have dropped off and live their lives without the use of the board. Do you have any idea what stage you are? Second opinions are available--usually they just want to see scans or path reports or something like that--you don't need a new bronchoscopy. If you are able to have surgery, it is the best chance of a CURE. That's a tough surgery, but I have to tell you, I was back at work in 2.5 weeks with the peace of knowing that nodule was gone, gone, gone. Get that thing out if you can, and the sooner, the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 Before going into surgery, which Im sure will be urged, is there a quick way to get a 2nd opinion, without repeating tests, and traveling afar? Try your GP... Has anyone opted out of surgery, in favor of alternative treatment...like RFA, Thalidomide trial, or anything else? Probably, but probably not anyone that will respond here... The stats Im seeing on adenocarcinoma suggest survival rates beyond 10/12 months are very low....are folks beating these odds by any long term survivals these days? Sixteen months out from surgery, so far, NED (No Evidence of Disease) My strongest suggestion would be to go with surgery if at all possible. My best, Becky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 Hi Rich, My name is Jamie and my Dad has NSCLC stage 3b. He has just come out of a successful surgery (lobectomy) on Tuesday, and prior was recieving both chemo and radiation for 8 weeks. The chemo and radiation cleared up the cancer in surrounding tumor tissue and also in the lymphnodes. (dont know if you have any lymph. involvement.) The surgery took out the tumor, and so far, everything looks great. I would definitly try the surgery. From what Ive gathered, its the most probable way of trying to get "all of it". Not alot of people have that option, and i would take full advantage of it. Cancer is not something to play with as im sure you know. Best of Luck Hope this helps! Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Wood Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 Hi, Rich! I am assuming you are Stage I or II, which means the cancer is confined to the lung and has not moved elsewhere. If that is so, you have a good prognosis. Just as comparison on the 10/12 month deal, my wife is Stage IV, was given 9 months with treatment, and she is now 21 months out, still battling the beast, but still here and productive. Good luck, and keep us posted. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nancy O. Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 Hi. I'm not sure about the second opinion, but I certainly would consider the surgery if you are eligable. I had surgery over 3 years ago and still here alive and kicking. Most believe that if you can have surgery to remove the tumor it's a very good thing. The recovery was difficult for about 6 weeks for me but others have an easier time of it. Hope I could help somewhat. Love Nancy O. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenl Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 Hi Rich If you are being considered for surgery, then, as Don says, you are probably early stage (have you had other investigative procedures - CT or PET scans??). If your cancer is early stage, then surgery is indeed your best option for a cure. Post-surgery, if you are still interested in alternative and complementary medicine, check out the relevant forums on this message board - there are lots of things you can do to help your body fight this disease and prevent recurrence. As for survival times - toss the statistics out the window. If you are early stage, your prognosis is good. Even if you are late stage, there is still no way that a doctor can tell you how much time you have - my mum is stage IV, and she is still asymptomatic almost 12 months post diagnosis. Rich, I am a very strong proponent of alt/comp therapies, because I have done alot of research following my mum's diagnosis of inoperable lung cancer. But, if surgery is presented as an option for you, I would strongly urge you to have it. Keep us posted. Wishing you well. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljdub Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 Hi there! I, too, questioned the need for surgery and/or was interested in other options, but my surgeon was straight up with me....surgery offers the best chance for a cure. I was thought to be stage 1, ended up stage 2 because of a lymph node found during surgery, but still, he and my oncologist tell me "I am at very high risk for living a very long life". When they tell you that, it's hard to argue! Also, in reading the posts on this site I have since come to appreciate how very lucky I am that surgery WAS an option, since many are not so lucky. I have to say, prior to diagnosis I was a life-long believer that I would refuse extreme measures (extensive courses of chemo, etc.) because I also kept hearing and reading the survival stats were so bad for some (not all) kinds of cancer, vs what was given up in quality/extension of life. I know not everyone agrees with me on that, and it's a very personal choice. At this point, I agreed to a course of radiation and a low dose 6 week course of chemo, and just finished in my 1st week of that. The expectation is that these adjuvant treatments after my successful surgery will cure me. If not, then that is something I will have to address as we go along. But I will say, as far as the surgery, it was a bear, but outside of the first few days, pretty tolerable, and I made a fantastic recovery. I am now 9 weeks post surgery, and there isn't really anything I can't do, except exercise really heavily. I have no residual pain and my movement isn't inhibited at all. If I try to exercise too heavily, I get short of breath, but then I did that BEFORE surgery! My advice, along with most of the others, is have the surgery if it's an option, and get that nasty stuff OUT of there, AND don't try to be brave - ask for all the pain meds you can get - it will truly get you through until you can do some healing. I was off all pain meds at 5 weeks, but I can't imagine it without them for the first 2 - 3 weeks, anyhow. I, along with so many other supporters here, will be waiting to hear how you are doing. age 50, dx 4/04 adenocarcinoma - 3 cm tumor right lower lobe 4/15 mediastinoscopy - benign 4/29 thorocotomy right middle and lower lobes - found right hilar lymph involvement 6/04 - radiation and carbo/taxol - six weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justakid Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Rich - I never questioned surgery. The Dr told me there was a tumor, I told him to get it out immediately! Went is as Stage I!, came out Stage IIIA, what a change (3 out of 17 lymph nodes are infected, only one outside the lung). My Radiation Oncologist told me she felt I was curable. My Oncologist could only tell me bad things and nothing positive, got rid of him pretty quick! My feeling is that if you can handle surgery, GET IT OUT! I won't kid you, it hurts BUT it is well worth it! Get out of bed as soon as you can after surgery and start walking the hospital halls, even with your chest drain tube still inserted, put it in a wheel chair and push it in front of you. I was walking loops around the Nurses station the day after surgery and my night in ICU. It really helped recovery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 One of the most important things is to get "staged" correctly. You don't want to go into surgery thinking you are Stage I and then find you are stage III. Surgery is always the best option, if possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alisa Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 As you can see from my signature information, I opted for conventional and complementary care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connie B Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Well, let me just mention to you to look at my signiture. It speaks for itself! I'm gratefully and happy to be coming up on my 9 years of being CANCER FREE! There are a LOT of people in this world just like me! You can be too! NO one wants to go through surgery, of ANY kind, but look at the alternatives! Oh, I would like to say one more thing, STOP reading those OUTDATED STATISTICS PLEASE????!!!!! Do you know and have ALL the information on the stats your reading, like the age group they ran those stats on, and how long ago they did those stats, over all health of the people in those stats, etc.....? WE here try to stay clear of STATS! Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna G Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Hello, If you look at my signature you will see I had surgery plus. It will be 7 yrs soon for me since diagnosis. Yes, we are surviving and enjoying our friend NED ( no evidence of disease.) I also vote surgery and whatever else you need. IN some cases they can do the surgery through a scope, and with this the recovery and discomfort is much less . Not all Doctors are trained and able to do it this way . We do have one here in Minneapolis at the University Hospital. It is also now recommended, even if you are Stage I, that you have chemo to cover you for micrometastasis that may show up later. Keep in touch. Donna G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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