I was poorly all over November and December with a terrible cough and flu like symptoms. Contacted the Dr's numerous times x rays show pneumonia. A and e visit as in agony on right side, 2nd xray was worse antibiotics not working. CT scan the following day to be told 28th Dec I have a large mass lung cancer. Well to say my world ended is probably an unbderstatment. I have had an mri, just waiting on pet which is next Friday, biopsy Monday praying for answers by the 19th. I'm obviously really struggling to sleep, 14 hours in 5 days, I can't switch off. I have an amazing amount of love and support and I am extremely lucky. But I'm absolutely devastated. I can't be alone as I'm a worrier and overthink everything. I honestly feel like I'm just living in a nightmare. I've come here as I am wanting to speak and gain advise from people in the same situation as me xxx
Scared newbie: I was poorly all over... - Lung Conditions C...
Scared newbie
Just want to welcome you to the forum Rubyjean. What a shock for you to have a diagnosis of lung cancer. I hope you get all the help you need and it’s great you have lots of love and support around you. Try and get help with your sleep problems if possible as sleeping well is better. Xx
Welcome. So sorry that you've had such bad news. I hope some of our members who've had similar experiences will be along soon and that you will find their posts comforting. xxx
Welcome to the forum Rubyjean28.
Really sorry for the plight you are in. It is understandable that you will be scared, Sassy mentioned sleep, it really is important.
In 2020 I was having symptoms, I was told three times I had an infection. I saw my GP and she referred me to a Urology Consultant and he did tests, and told me I had bladder cancer.
It was high grade also.
The point of this post is - I am still here 3.5 years on .
You have love and support, you need to be around these people who will try and lift your spirits.
I hope they do tests that makes your cancer low grade, or treatable. Worry is normal but it does not help. Again try and sleep.
I had a trick, I have a TV in the bedroom, at times I watch TV until I drop off, you also may want to ask your doctor for a sleep aid, it helps me.
Anytime you are down, post on here you will be answered and get a sympathetic ear.
Thankyou and much appreciated. I have been in contact with the doctors as given the shock; u can't rest. I'm now 5 days 11 hours sleep the prescribed sleeping tablets but I'm awake still after a couple of hours xx
I take Zopiclone but you can wake up after a couple of hours. I take the 7.5 mg, but I cut them in half and use the other later in the night. When you get the news you got, sleep can be hard but it does come back. x
Yes this is exactly what has been prescribed I tried the other night i did get 2 hours. The next morning I tried a glass of water and the water tastes so strange in my mouth repulsive, yet I'm so thristy due to morphine. I requested if doctors could just swop the pills for something else. She advise no and has given me an insomnia sheet and a list of meditation exercises i could complete. Xx
Thankuou I'm do great full for all advice as I feel like we have been given this news and then left to our own devices as it was bank holiday new year. I'm sure I would feel a lot better if I could just get a little rest xx
Yes bank holidays have got me in the past. You have sleeping pills, take them and if your head is hurting, take two paracetamol, it all helps and with a warm drink.
You are going to feel better when you know where you are, when tests have been done and you know what is what. Try you hardest to get some sleep. watch a bit of TV until you start going, can work. Look after yourself x
Thank you I will try and get some rest.much appreciate and will keep you all posted take care all xx
Welcome to the group. I don’t have any personal experience of lung cancer, but I’m a good listener so if you want to message me please do. Thinking of you and your family.
Thank you very much appreciate xx
Ahh very warm welcome ❤️. I'm so sorry what your going through x
Thankuou xx
the suggestions about sleep may help,particularly the one about tv in the bedroom.I’m so sorry you’ve had such dreadful news x
Thank you xx
That is a terrible thing to be told and you have my deepest sympathy. I’ve never had cancer but have been told I have limited life expectancy in the past but I’m still here at 92. The truth is nobody knows how long we have but getting the thought out of one’s head is the big problem. I hope some of the distraction methods suggested help. Do keep in touch there’s always someone lurking around here. Don & fat cat Smudge xx
Thankyou and yes I believe its my head that is Iover thinking and now causing the problem for me to not rest at all. Which I need as I need as much of my strength tight now. Typical xx
It sounds daft but I tend to regard my mind and my body as totally separate the body being able to pretty much take care of it’s self (with a bit of help from the medics). Controlling the mind is most important especially if it is needed to monitor what the medics want to do with my body. Has worked for me for a long time.
I toowas told I had a mass on my right lung 30 years ago. It was cancer despite being a non smoker. I was only 42. I went on to have my right lung removed. 8 years later it returned in my left lung. I had a wedge section to remove just the tumour. It was a miracle. At the time I was like you totally distraught. I wish I had taken it differently. I was crying all the time convinced I would die right away. The point I am makeing is take on e. step at a time. Scans,tests etc. Listen clearly to what they have to say.I didn't and was miserable in fact so much the nurses told me to stop crying as I was upsetting the ward. Treatments today are incredible. My brother has terminal lung cancer and was told he had 3 months to live. That was9 years ago. He's just booked another holiday and getting on with his life. Good luck tou you. I am thinking of you.
Thankyou so much for your reply. And I am glad you are doing well. I think it was the initial bloody shock and now how do I deal with this bomb shell. We have said to take on eachd ay at a time and listen to everything they say. Just trying to be positive has its difficult moments. Really appreciate your reply tho x xxx
wow - that is amazing.. I had a lobectomy and wedge on the right 6 years ago and had another small recurrence on the right removed in October! I was convinced due to the recurrence that it is bad news and more recurrences are inevitable. Daily struggle to manage my mental health. SInce both times were stage 1 a only surgery was an option - blessing and a curse. Continued heathly years to you and your brother!
Hi Rubyjean, I'm sorry you've had this awful news. I don't post much on here but I read posts daily and everyone is so lovely and have such great advice. I'm a big worrier and often on my own at night which can make me worse and I agree with ern007's idea. I always put my TV on with a timer as it sometimes makes it easier to fall asleep. I hope you get some answers soon and once you know what's what, hopefully it will ease your mind a little. xx
Thank you for posting. The sleeping is horrendous as I can't seem to shut my mind off at all. I've managed the odd couple of hours here and there. I'm an avid reader but that's impossible to concentrate. I am trying some podcasts and will also try the tele tonight. I feel I need as much strength as possible atm xx
I also find the more tired I am, the more emotion and worried I am which meant less sleep! It's a viscous circle. I hope you manage to get more than a couple of hours tonight. We surprise ourselves with where we get our strength from, sleep or no sleep xx
Fingers crossed 🤞 I'll keep you posted. And thanks again xxx
I’m so sorry you are going through this terrible time. 🙏 help .
hello Rubyjean, huge commiserations for what you are going through at the moment, and i hope you are managing to get a little more sleep. I also do what others have mentioned with the television on a timer at night as it does help to get you back off to sleep, Gogglebox especially good. Are you able to get stuck into some hobbies to help divert your attention from the worry? Thinking of you and sending positive vibes. x
I’m so sorry to hear of your problem. Of course you feel distressed and worried. Any human being would feel that way! It would be unnatural and abnormal otherwise.
I had a very large breast cancer 17 years ago. My brother had a highly aggressive bowel cancer 34 years ago and told me it’s like being in a long dark tunnel and you just have to push through to get to the light at the other end. That helped me cope in the darkest days.
I found and still find Paul McKenna’s hypnosis discs really helped me to relax and sleep. You can get them from links in his books or by downloading them direct from his website I think.. I personally found the deep relaxation and self confidence boosting ones particularly useful. At the end when he tells you to wake up I just pull the ear plugs out and usually drift off. Otherwise I listen over again!
I had nearly 9 hours of surgery and was then heated up to 39 degrees post op which was very painful and uncomfortable and it did really help then and for months afterwards.
Sending you much love at this awful time. Good luck.
Hi and welcome Rubyjean. I have nothing to add except to say that you will always find a listening ear and support from this forum.
hi Rubyjean
Welcome to the group. So sorry you have been given this awful news. I am an over thinker and worrier and know how hard it is to shut your brain off. I have started to look into herbal things such as kalms, dr said it won’t clash with other medications, to help with anxiety, I have only just started it so don’t know If it will help but I thought it worth a try.
I hope you get all the support you need to help you through this anxious waiting time to find out what’s what. Do keep us posted
Take care
Hazel x
Hi Rubyjean28 and welcome to the site . I am so sorry you have been given such bad news, I can't advise but wish you well and hope your tests results will be positive x
What an awful situation you are in. Lack of sleep is, as you say, not going to help matters. I always fall asleep to the TV, the more boring or repetitive the programme is, the better! I have found that an antidepressant has helped me hugely, maybe discuss this with your doctors?
As you can see, there is a lot of care and advice here, and sometimes things to make you laugh! I hope you find it a help, please keep in touch 
Laurie xx
Hi Rubyjean, I can only tell you about my experiences, 20 years ago a consultant after reviewing an x-ray told me that I had lung cancer, he booked me in for surgery the following day after a CT scan and broncoscopy. After the examination I was expecting to be moved to a ward and be prepped for surgery only to be told there is no cancer go home. I was treated for TB instead. Move forward 10 years and I found my self sitting in front of a different consultant at a different hospital. He told me that my chest x-ray showed a large mass, so I did tell him what had happened previously. He then explained that scans can only show anomalies they can’t tell what the anomaly is, and he would not be diagnosing any thing until he had completed further tests. After a broncoscopy he advised it was not cancer and required further tests, after a biopsy he was able to diagnose the anomaly as an aspergillioma (fungal ball) and I had aspergillosis. Good luck for the biopsy which will confirm the diagnosis either way, and remember cancer is curable. In my case aspergillosis is not curable
I was going to reply however I'd like to add to Biker88's to say that in 2013 I was referred with a suspected diagnosis of aspergillosis (a non curable but manageable fungal growth) and warned that if I saw black on my CT scan &/or the consultant suggested cancer then I must try not to panic because aspergillosis was sometimes wrongly dx as cancer because they look the same.I'm definitely not trying to say its not cancer but just hint that it could be something else .
I really feel for you Rubyjean and completely understand you devastation and fear.
Medicine has come on leaps & bounds in the last few years, survival rates are now very high.
Thinking of you and hoping you'll stay in touch to let us know how you're doing.
So pleased you have loving support 💜 💛 💚 🧡
Thank you xx
Wow what a shock. I am grateful for your reply thank you xx
Welcome Rubyjean. It must be a terrible shock. I feel for you. There is a specialist lung cancer charity, The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, who are really helpful and have a helpline. They also have a group on here. There is also Macmillan Cancer Care with a helpline. You will be supported through this. Take all the help you are offered. Be kind to yourself. X
I fully understand exactly how scared and shocked you are feeling because I was diagnosed with mass on left lung and cancer in my left ribs just before Christmas, as you say a living nightmare, worse Christmas Present ever. Trying to take one day at a time. Like you sleeping isn't easy as it just keeps going round in my mind on a loop, brain won't seem to switch off. I have been told that it is inoperable and uncurable but I do so hope your outcome is better than mine. When I read your post it was like reading about myself. I hope that if yours is only in the Lung that your prognosis will be better than mine as I would not wish this journey on anyone. 7 years ago I had Cancer in the upper right lobe of the lung and I was referred to Papworth Hospital where they removed the upper right lobe and I had been Ok until recent diagnosis just before Christmas. I do so hope for a good outcome for you. xx .
So sorry to hear this. I hope the prognosis is better than they say. Thinking of you. xxxx
Thinking of you and hoping. Thankyou for your reply. I literally have no words at all, just wish it was all a dream. Here if you need anything at all xx
Likewise I m here for you and also hoping. When I wake sometimes I try to tell myself that I have dream't the whole thing, then reality sinks in. I really am hoping that the medical profession can give you some hope. Please let me know when you get all your test results. I am hoping for you. xx
Thankyou. I will keep you updated. I am exactly the same, thinking its a dream and then bang ! Slaps you right in the face. Sending love xx
Sorry you are going through this. Must be scary to find that out. Hope there can be some treatment that will help. You never know what they can do or give yo you. Wishing you very good luck and healing prayers
Hi
You’ve definitely came to the right place it’s scary waiting to find out you have cancer let alone knowing you have but there are plenty of treatments out there now and operations that can be done mine is very complex so I don’t know what the next step will be I don’t worry anymore I play solitaire till I drop off and watch films and dramas so please try to sleep you can’t change what’s happened you just have to go with it.
Take care
Wendy x
Thanks you xx
hi , this must be so very hard , and it’s understandable that you are worried and can’t sleep . Are they certain it’s a cancerous mass - until they do the biopsy they won’t know for certain ?
My niece was similarly diagnosed with a large mass in her lung and told it was most likely cancer.
After tests and a long operation - they removed a whole lobe of the lung, and the mass was not cancer. I can’t recall how they described it but it was benign. She was fully recovered within 6 months . So I hope there is a chance your lung mass is benign too.
Xx
I have only just had my brain scan. My Pet scan is booked for the 12th Jan and biopsy 15th. They said that I will find out 19th xx
Will keep positive thoughts for you cxxx
Wow! That`s a lot to take in, in one go. Ask someone in your family to contact McMillan Nursing. They really are the experts in cancer care, and if required palliative care. They were brilliant with my brother-in-law when he had mesothelioma. Take care, and as others have said, try to get some sleep. That dosn`t mean go to bed, but in your favourite comfortable chair. My mum when she was seriously ill, spent about 3 months sleeping downstairs in a reclining chair, lightweight duvet. curtains open so that she could see what was happening outside, in between dozing.
Welcome, and I'm sorry you have had such devastating news. I'm sure others with the same will be along soon with advice, but all I can say is that I have 2 friends with lung cancer. Try and get some help with your sleep as sleep works wonders.
Hi and welcome Rubyjean What a shock for you. Sleep is important I have had zoplicone which I found I was okay the next day I did sleep but found after taking them for a while they stopped helping. There are people on this forum more able to advise than I am. Take care and vent on here or talk on here whenever you have the need. 🤗🤗
Welcome to the forum and I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Waiting for more information is such a worrying time and you will find great comfort and support on here from our members.
If you would like to chat to our helpline, and speak to one of our Clinical Team for advice, you are very welcome to give us a call.
Take care
Helpline Team
Thankyou xx
So sorry to hear this, I haven’t been diagnosed at any time with cancer, but, I do empathise with how your feeling at the moment, I can only say what others have said, if you want to message me feel free, always here to chat if you need to xx 💐💐
Thankyou xx
Hi I’m so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. What a terrible shock for you it’s no wonder your head is all over the place. I overthink things too & have awful problems getting to sleep with stuff going round in my head. I have Camomile tea before bed then once in bed I take Clonazepam tablet usually just half one & then I listen to Calm app on my I pad. There are lots of sleep stories music to relax you etc. previously I would have said how’s that helpful but I actually find listening to Harry Stiles soft voice reading a story sends me off to sleep 🤷🏻♀️I believe Spotify have a similar app. A few years ago I had a call just before Xmas from a consultant to say they found a small mass on a chest X Ray & they did a high resolution CT a week later. It turned out to be a lung nodule which has been monitored for past 3 years. I know the state I was in so have a little insight into how you must be feeling. As others have said there are organisations many with helplines who can offer support. I found this group so friendly & helpful for advice. Take care.
Thank you xx
Welcome to the forum Rubyjean28, that is a shock for you. Glad to hear you have support not everyone does . I am like you had a sudden return of cancer in the summer but it was treated quickly. Now I am having an Xray on Monday to check my lungs so really appreciate how you must be feeling , having had one diagnosis followed by such a more serious one. Hopefully it is one of the slower growing tumours that they can treat quickly . Do try to get help with sleep if only a relaxant from your GP as rest helps healing . Remember theres always someone about on here to chat and sadly some of us know what its like to get such a shock. Have you in my thoughts and fingers crossed for you that it can be successfully treated as quickly as possible. Every best wish to you and your family.
Thank you xx
Hello Rubyjean, My thoughts are with you and hopefully you feel less isolated from the many supportive folk on this forum. Keep posting. A gentle hug. x
Thank you xx
Just want to wish you the very best and hope you have best outcome possible for test results and treatment.
Thank you xx
Hi Rubyjean,Your post takes me back to October 2018,I too was Dxd with LC.Same as yourself I was in shock,couldn't sleep,GP prescribed sleeping pills until my mind settled down .We are all different and my cancer journey which followed may not replicate yours but I do sincerely hope you have the same positive outcome.I had x-rays,CT and PET scans,followed by a course of chemo and finally a upper right lobectomy in Jan 2009.
On the completion of my treatments I had to have checks ups every year for five years and on my very last check up my consultant said Eric,I can tell you there is no signs of cancer you are cancer free now go away I don't expect to ever see you again we shook hands and parted good friends.
Now here I am 15 years down the line doing well.There can be light at the end of the tunnel,I wish you well on your journey,take one day at a time and don't encourage that overactive imagination of yours,
Best Wishes
Eric
Thank you so much. I hope and pray constantly. I appreciate you taking the time to reply to me xx
Hello Rubyjean, you are clearly in shock and who wouldn't be after such news. Some years ago I had some terrible family news and just like you I couldn't"sleep. Eventually I came to terms withe the event and back to my normal sleeping pattern. I truly hope that treatment offered helps with your peace of mind and then a good nights sleep. Best wishes Marlybee.
Thank you xx
so sorry to hear this Rubyjean bless you 🥰sending you love & a warm hug 🤗🥰🙏🙏
Thank you xx
Sorry to hear you're having a difficult time the forum a great place for support
Keeping you in prayers empathizing with how devastating this must be. Do you have lots to do before you can go? I'm finding comfort in cleaning up my house stuff, so my kids dont have to deal with it And my 90 year-old husband freaking out at a 3-5 year prognosis. He really wants to go before I do. Who knows! He has more stuff to clean out than I do! Yarn sand fabric stashes, for projects i'll never get to. Actually feels good! Obviously wasnt a priority if not done by now.
Hard to tell family. Do you have children?
Will keep you in the light - Patricia
Yes I've always got things to keep me busy luckily. Two girls 15 and 20. 3 dogs, 1 amazing partner. We run our own business so that keeps me busy and my mind occupied. It's such an awful thing we are going through, sending love and prayers to you xxx
I'm joining hands with everyone who has replied - we all want to say something that supports you and your family. I found it interesting what Don has said ...separating the brain from the body. The shock of this news must have thrown you sideways, we can't take the news! Life is seen from a different perspective; but it is still life. A life we live through. I sometimes wonder how I might react with such news. Part of me tells me to be grateful for the life I have lived. I've just turned 77 so it's easier for me to say that. Eric has said there can be light at the end of the tunnel. We all say things to give us strength. But i won't use the word "tunnel" because that diminishes us, or constrains us. I like to think big! Bless you, young Rubyjean, we are all here for you. ❤️
Thank you for your reply. Xx
Welcome to the forum.You've a lot to come to terms with.
I always try to think of aNy diagnosis as a positive - when I know what I have, I find a way through to accept it and see what can be done.
I hope you can learn to adjust to your ' here & now', taking one day at a time.
It's not easy. But, it will help ease Yr mind and prepare yrself for whatever avenue the drs decide is best.
Cbt taught me - just because Yr mind is telling u something,doesn't mean its true.u can say STOP! to Yr mind & change the needle.
Do I like music,or follow tv series,read? Distraction is a gd tactic to help calm Yr mind
All the best x
I am trying series, pod casts etc. But the thing that is actually helping me the most is this forum. Its helping so much, especially in the early hours when my mind is awake with worry. Xx
Yes it's such a gd forum and paintings,poems,photos and tales to brighten it up.im glad it's helping you x
Such horrible news for you to get. .... I hope things improve for you soon. Wishing you all the best
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
Newbie
Newbie
A newbie
Wondering as a newbie
pseudomonas lung infection - and scared!
Very scared
Scared about lung nodules
Very breathless lying down
