Lung Cancer Support Group

Your husband was fortunate he could have surgery. I was diagnosed in April 2008 w/ stage 3B lung cancer - non-operable because lymph nodes are cancerous too. (I am an ex-smoker) Had chemo all last summer - June thru Sept. Off treatment Oct. & Nov. cancer active again so beginning of Dec. had radiation therapy daily for about 6 1/2 weeks. In my experience it's worth having, it left me very weak & no taste for food but, I'm recovered from all that - at the end of Feb. had a Pet&CT scans & it showed new tumor in adrenal gland of R kidney so I'm back on Chemo every 3 weeks followed by a shot of Neulasta after each chemo. I'm pretty strong & hopeful & will do all I possibly can to extend my life. In May I'll have another Pet/Ct to see how it's going, if it's going well I'll continue w/ chemo as a "maintenance" program. I'm 67 & love life.
I hope your husband will do whatever it takes because it sounds to me like he has a good chance of survival. Best to both of you.
Ginny

My mom was diagnosed this past Oct. with stage A non small cell lung cancer. She had her entire left lung removed. She is just now getting back to "normal" from the surgery and all the pain meds, etc. She is 68. She was supposed to start chemo on New Years Eve, but at the last minute (literally) decided that the 8% increase in benefit, that it was not worth it for her. SHe chose quality over quanity. As far as I am concerned, the chemo would have done her in. She is living as she normally has, no side effects except for some nerve pain, and we just pray that they got all the cancer. She will have a pet scan done in a couple months. If your husband is thinking that it is not a good idea, there is a reason. Maybe he is not feeling strong enough yet, or, like my mom, the benefit is not worth the risk to him. Talk to him, and ultimately accept what his wishes are. Chemo is NOT always the best option, IMO. Lindsey

lindsey, i pray your mom stays cancer free. my husband thinks the 8% increase from chemo is worth it, but its the radiation he is unsure of even tho the increase from that is 20% (on some web sites). your right, that i have to honor his wishes, i just think that a friend scared him. i just want him to take the 20% seriously. i think he is in denial as to how serious his cancer is. when he tells the story, he still says the dr's got it in the early stage. after reminding him once, i caught on and keep quiet. maby that is how he is trying to keep positive (thank God, he is positive!) he is 60 and is half way done with chemo and has been doing pretty good with the anti nausea meds. he is willing to get a second opinion. also the thing that turned him off was the cavalier attitude of the radiologist who talked with us. he acted bored and unintrested.

ginny, i am not sure they would have operated on him if they knew he was stage 3. they originaly gave him a stage 1 based on the pet scan and cat scan. after surgery, the dr talked to me and said he took 9 lymph nodes (turned out he took 11) and they all looked good. we could not have been more shocked when we found out one. he never smoked, but worked for rc cola and they would run the trucks with diesel fuel while the guys inhaled all the fumes. i think he has a good chance as well, especialy since the chemo (he is half done) has not weakend him much.( thank God). they would have gotten an even better boost if they ran the chemo concurrently with the radiation, but 4 weeks after surgery was too riskey for that.(chances of esophagitis were too great when done concurrently. you sound as tho you have a real zest for life. what a gift to enjoy it. you said the radiation made you weak, do you think too weak for my husband to go back to work? he is getting bored at home but his job does include some physical labor (lifting some cases of pop for displays etc...) and they said 5 1/2 weeks every week day. they said it would be short sessions. did you get weak because you had esophagitis and could not eat, or just lost the tast? i am so glad to have someone to talk to about these things. no one in my circle of people has gone thru this. just hope we all have sucess stories.

Hi Deborah, I want to tell you about my Dad. Five years ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was about the size of a 20 cent piece. My father also has emphysema and was at the time 75 years old (you wouldn't know it though!) Because of the emphysema which is throughout his lungs, they couldn't operate. They also thought that chemo was not an option for him due to his physical state. So here we are faced with no operable lung cancer in a 75 year old man, with emphysema....

They radiated him once.... he took an approach that he would do all he could to help himself. He read heaps of advice online and in books and changed his diet. Miso (1 tblspn) in water every morning, was one of his changes, but there was many I guess, lots of raw foods, vitamins etc.

It's 5 years on now and his doctor has just told him in disbelief that he is cured... I am crying while I write this, because frankly, he didn't really have a chance and I think we knew that. So we think radiation works and so does Miso... who knows we just are grateful we still have him..

Wishing you all the best with your husband xx

Again, I am in the very same boat. I did have surgery, although they only thought I was Stage 2 at best, but no, I was Stage 3 with 14 lymphs removed, 3 were cancerous, 1 in hilar region, other 2 in APWindow or mediastinum area. Don't think if they knew they would have done the VATS surgery on me. However, I am now going for 30 radiation treatments, 5 days at 6 weeks, in conjunction with 4 chemo treatments at 3 weeks apart. Wish me luck, as I now have a 60-70% of no reoccurence once completed. I can only hope the very best for you and yours..