Hi, I am new here and I am having a lobectomy of my top right lung on Monday, having it done at London Bridge Hospital as covid is causing problems at the other hospitals. The cancer was luckily found in a CT that was looking for something else. After a PET scan and needle biopsy it was found to be "early stage" and treatable.
I`m feeling a bit worried about pain, breathing, recovery time and other stuff I have read about post op. but I am humbled by the courage and strength of others on this site that are going through so much.
Hi Simon you will be fine I'm sure , and you certainly aren't a whimp. Have a good night let us know how you get on when you feel better good luck with the op😊 Bernadette xx xx
Best wishes Simon,my wife had an upper left lobectiomy to remove a cancerous coin spot lesion,you will feel a bit battered and bruised after,especialy if you are having the thoractomy procedure but most patients are good to go home within a week,if no complications,even quicker if you are having a vats procedure,less tissue damage.expect a 4 to 6 weeks slow recovery period with pain manageable by opiates based pain killers intially then normaly replaced with over the counter analgesics after a few days,being a right lung breathing may be slightley easier as the upper lobe is smaller and you have more lung left to compensate but you still have to take things steady and heal at your own pace.
Its understandable you are worried, cancer diagnosis alone is worrying and then there is the op trauma then its looking after yourself when recovering. But once the op is over the only concern left is recovery, and you will recover ok I'm sure, it will just take a little time.
Here's to a successful op and a good recovery - looking forward to hearing from you again when you feel up to it after the op.
Hope it all goes smoothly on Monday. I think waiting for any kind of procedure is very difficult and it causes me huge anxiety. It’s often worse waiting than actually going through it. I can’t offer you any insight as I’ve never had any operations on my lungs. I can offer you reassurance that you are certainly NOT a wimp in any respect. Keep us posted as to how you get on. 👍
All the best for Monday Simon. Remember the medical team are professionals at this. I am sure they will do their best to make you feel at ease. Take care. xx 🍀
Your no wimp, you wouldn’t be normal if you weren’t feeling anxious. I wish you the best of luck and urge you to think positive of the long term benefits you are going to get from this eventually . Take care
Give yourself and your worries to the medics. There is nothing that worrying will add or gain except waste your precious time. Good luck, I'm sure you ate in good hands.
You should never think you are a wimp.
I had a lobectomy in the exact same lobe in December 19 (actually carried out on my Birthday 🎂) It was a struggle for the first few months managing the pain .. but as time goes on you begin to feel as if normality is returning . And the best bit is knowing you have got rid of the alien that was in there. Good luck for Monday x
Nothing wimpy about that at all. As an ex senior theatre nurse, my advice to pain is still the same.....never skip any pain medication, take it on the dot, and take everything they offer you. If you keep on top of that, then you are part way there. That’s one of the main keys to recovery. Good luck with your operation and get well soon
Hi and welcome .I can assure you there is nothing to worry about. I had an upper left lobotomy in Oct. 2018 at The Brompton. Personally speaking I had very little pain and it is managed by your self administered morphine in the high dependency unit of which I was infor 4 days
. Then a normal ward . Breathing is good and you will be started on exercise as soon as you are on a normal ward. It's normal to feel like you do but here I am 20 months down the line and more or less fighting fit. . I am approaching 73 by the way . I wish you very good luck as I'm sure you will be fine . Best wishes Babs xx
Welcome to the support forum, it's a very normal reaction to feel anxious about health, I had a hernia op a couple of years ago and I got very anxious and nervous, theirs nothing whimpish about it, just natural reactions, however you will be fine, you are in professional hands who do these procedures every day. Do please let us all know when you're ready to post on here again, good luck and take care 🙂
I had exactly the same experience 11 years ago - lung cancer discovered while being treated for something else, a PET scan and then an upper right lobectomy. I was surprised at how pain free the whole thing was - very uncomfortable but not painful. The biggest problem I had during recovery was an inability to sleep laying down and breathe at the same time so for about 6 weeks I slept in my very comfortable reclining chair. I became very familiar with the rubbish that goes out on TV during the night! When I felt able I started to take very short walks, gradually increasing over the weeks until I was able to walk to the end of our road - a massive 4 - 500 metres! I suffer from COPD anyway so shortness of breath became an increasing problem. When I mentioned this to the Thoracic Team who were giving me regular check ups they were adamant it had nothing to do with the surgery, although 11 years later I still have my doubts about their assessment! I am now free of the cancer so however unpleasant it was at times it was infinitely preferable to the alternative!
Good luck for next week - it is quite natural to be apprehensive about such an invasive procedure but stay positive and keep reminding yourself how lucky you were to have been diagnosed in the early stages.
Best wishes and I look forward to seeing a post from you in a few weeks time telling us how you are.
Oh dear Simon has gone, hope he re registers later. If you are reading this Simon, we will all be thinking of you on Monday, best wishes and hope to hear from you again soon.
How strange Mine was found in exactly the same way ...had a cat scan for neck problems and found a 4 cm tumour on my left lung.I am unable to have surgery
81 y/o but had radio therapy.No results yet but feel pretty good. Don't be afraid of the surgery..
I am sure it will go well.be a bit painful for a few weeks. If I could have had it I would ..... at least they will get all of it.
Best wishes for Monday. I dare say after the op you will feel in need of a little tlc and rest. Pain meds are pretty good nowadays though. Try not to worry too much you will be in really good experienced hands and before you know it back to good health again.💐🍇keep in touch Cx
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