Please introduce yourself to the community!

[SimoneHU]

Why not leave a short comment below and introduce yourselves. Give as much or as little information as you like. Feel free to ask your own questions here: healthunlocked.com/write/lu...

- This is your community!

[merilee]

I have joined group before, name is Mary, live in Wisconsin. USA. Diagnosed in May 2015. Lung Adenocarcinoma Non Small Cell stage 2A. Surgery done June 2015 to do wedge section to remove tumor and lymph nodes around the area, 1 out of 7 positive...Surgery followed by clean up chemo 4 rounds. My second CT showed enlarged chest lymph nodes..biopsy done. 8 / 2 positive..local reoccurrence the original diagnosis... not spread anywhere...more chemo lower dose X 6 along with radiation X 6..hoping this gets it..have heard from others looks promising. So I pray, and read others stories on several sites for stories of success....all so very comforting, I know I am luck mine was caught fairly early where I had the opportunity to have the main tumor removed...so thanks for reading I will continue to read and post on here and get help and possibly help others in their journey.. M. M

[mperk]

I'm an older gal still out there dancing with lungcancer. I was diagnosed 14 months ago with stage IV NSCLC . given a few months to live. biopsy showed a genetic mutation, EGFR, I was on taraceva for 6 mo. then iressa, I take iressa every other day. On the full dose the side effects were too much for this body. All is fine with me right now, side effects are minimal, awaiting ct scan in a couple weeks, a little anxious. I read everything I can find about it.

[DoggyFoster]

Hi, folks! I may be a little late to the party but here is my story. I was in the emergency room December, 2013, with chest pains and shortness of breath. After heart problems were ruled out, the ER Dr ordered chest x-Ray and then ct scan. He was the first to tell me I had a well differentiated mass in my lower right lobe. Long story short, I traveled from MS to MD Anderson in Houston for treatment. I was not a candidate for surgery so I joined a clinical trial called STARS, stereotactic ablative radiation therapy. I had 3 treatments in 3 days giving the same amount of radiation that is usually delivered over 6-8 weeks. That was great for me since I was traveling back and forth. The problem is there is not much information out there relating to side effects from this type of treatment.  I felt like I was going thru this alone. However, at my last check up October, 2015, my doctor said I was in remission. The one thing I remember is that recurrence of the cancer is higher than with standard delivery. Has anyone else had this type treatment?

[rlcrawford47 in reply to DoggyFoster]

I had this treatment in June 2014. Same amount, 3 treatments in 3 days. In September the doctor said the tumor was gone. 

This last January it came back. Same right upper lobe. I took a regular course of radiation - 15 treatments. Now waiting to see when I do chemo. 

[DoggyFoster in reply to rlcrawford47]

Sorry to hear your cancer returned. My tumor was small enough and early stage so chemo wasn't needed for me. So you were 18 months in remission and then it came back?  Did your Dr. say anything about repeating the sbrt treatment or is that a one time deal? I am 2 years post-treatment and always have the threat of recurrence in the back of my mind. 

[JStorey]

I was diagnosed with adeno carcinoma in my upper left lung a year ago. I have severe sarcoidosis of the lungs and have been seeing. Pulmonologist every 3 months for it. My lungs are pretty scarred because of it but my doctor found a spot that didn't look right and biopsied it and found the cancer. Never smoked. They did a petscan and I only had one tumor in the lung. They were going to remove the upper left lobe but when they got in there the scarring was so bad on the lung and pulmonary artery it was too risky because he could nick the artery so they did a resection and took as much as they could. Fortunately they were able to get all the cancer and I didn't have to go thru chemo. It has been almost a year now and I still see the pulmonologist quarterly to monitor the sarcoidosis and adjust meds accordingly and no signs of cancer returning. My next appt is in June. I am very fortunate and blessed it was caught early. 

[MinnieW]

Hi

My name is Rose.  I am a Stage IV NSCLC survivor.  Original dx 2011 treated with lobectomy followed by chemo.  Recurrence 2013 treated with pneumoectomy and chemo.  Glad to be here in this group. Connecting with other LC survivors has been a great encouragement for me!

[Chiefsmomma54]

HI my name is Gwen. I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in March 2011. I had chemo and radiation.  I am in remission. I hate this disease and I feel bad for anyone and everyone that has it or had it. It takes a toll on everyone who has ever had it and the caretakers who take care of us. Attitude does make a big difference. I lost my son to Leukemia when he was just 24. He concentrated on the chemo he had being poison and felt like he could not fight this disease. He gave up. I have way to much to live for so I would not go down the same road he did. Yes it was hard and at times I felt like quitting but I did not.  I continue to fight the good fight and I will not quit. Stay strong and positive it really does help. It is okay to be down and out as long as you don't stay there. Best wishes to all.