Lung cancer.

[Tinkrrlulu]

Hi my name is Mary Diane Moore and I have lung cancer.i have had two surgery my right upper lobe and then a year later my lower left lobe,they could not get it all I took radiation and now they want to do keymo, Ian not sure about that.

[Serrecko Volunteer]

Tinkrrlulu,

First off, welcome to the forums. You have come to a very friendly place, with lots of folks willing to share your concerns or offer advice. You just have to ask and jump in and take part.

In the end, only you know what you want for treatment, but I would find out what your doctor's think your best options are, and then decide. Chemo affects people differently, and the results can be great, or only so so to nothing at all.

I personally am a firm believer in leaving no stone unturned because you can not return to the past to change your mind, either way. If you have been through two surgeries, and there is still chances of cancer being present, doing nothing is certainly an option worth looking into, but so is chemo.

You can always consider chemo, and start getting treated and if it becomes too much, you can always call it a day, and end your treatment. As someone that has terminal lung cancer, I get chemo once a week and when my doctor's finally tell me it is no longer working, I will at least know I did all I could, fought a good fight, and kept the Beast at bay as long as I could.

I will then spend time with my family before seeing my grandparents and father again on the other side my faith tells me is waiting for me.

Make the best educated decision you can make for yourself and just remember, you are in charge of your treatment and only you can start, and stop, what you want to happen to you.

Enjoy your time on the forums, and I am sure everyone is looking forward to hearing more about your journey.

Mike "Serrecko" March

mikeswebspot.com

Leader of The Skyline Gaggle of Noobs

TheSkylineGaggle.com

[janeike in reply to Serrecko]

What wonderful advice Mike has given you! When I was faced with the decision of chemo I went to my PCP and he told me to sit with the Oncologist and find out what the plan was and what the results would be for each plan from doing nothing, to chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Then you have the ability to make an educated decision on your own. My situation is not at all like yours but still scary none the less and I did opt for chemotherapy. I will do anything that I can to win the war with cancer as long as I have quality of life but that is my decision. You must make your own decisions but please be educated before you do that. I too am new here but had lung cancer back in 2002 where I had a RLL lobectomy and no need for any further treatment. It reared it's ugly head again in 2016 in the RUL with lymphy node involvement. Stage 111A Squamus Cell so I go weekly for chemo for four 28 days rounds and then 5 1/2 weeks of daily radiation therapy when the chemo is done. I pray that it works for me and I will also pray that whatever decision you make is the right one for you. God Bless, Jane

[GailO]

If your insurance allows for a second opinion, I would urge you to get one. My first oncologist didn't seem to know anything about molecular mutations (has the tumor been tested for these), so I went to the big university cancer center where they have oncologists that specialize in lung cancer. I found out I am ALK+ which is a game changer for treatment.

If you live in a state that allows for medical cannabis, I would explore that as well.

[Patches1 in reply to GailO]

Not many places offer medical anymore, mostly recreational. It does help with chemo side effects, but other than that its no cure.

[Steph60]

I agree with what everyone else has said prior to my posting- my only advise is your cancer will never be at the stage it currently is, so look into all options available to you at the stage you are currently at. Wishing you all the best and sending you a big hug!!

[FtB_Peggy]

Tinkrrlulu,

Welcome, I am so glad you joined this community - as you can see, people are eager to help. I cannot begin to add to or improve on what has been said already! I will, however, add my voice to those encouraging you to take time to think this over carefully, talk with your doctors to learn all that it means, and trust your instincts. If you would like some general information about chemo, take a look at freetobreathe.org/lung-canc....

Please keep us updated, we'll be thinking about you. Feel free to call me if you'd like to talk, 844.835.4325.

[Glynn2890]

Ask them about the new immunotherapy drugs. They are having good results from them. My husband didn't have the chance to. He only received radiation & 1 dose of chemotherapy. They told us it was too late to try it. The chemo had a terrible effect on him. Good luck ❤

[FtB_Peggy]

Glynn,

I am so sorry.

Glad you are still joining us!

[anrean]

Get a second opinion and then weigh the information you have been given by both teams. Most of the chemo we hear about relates to breast cancer, and I can attest to the fact that, having had breast ca twice, it is not nice. However, that is not always the case. Different chemos for lung ca, and it usually isn't near as bad. If you decide to do research on your own, don't read anything that is more than 6 months old - and be aware that even then it may be very outdated. There are new strides being made, Keytruda and Opdivo being two of them. You can always choose to stop treatment if it becomes too much for you to handle. I've been fighting cancers since 2002 (5 primary) and have thought long and hard about my choices...and they are choices. No one can force you into making decisions about treatment that you do not want to do. The thing you need to be most clear on is the limits you want to set on treatment; some of us choose quality very strictly because we have been through the mill and some of us choose quantity because the outlook is better. I pray you have success, regardless of the decisions you make.

[Jenniferroseolson in reply to anrean]

When I was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic NSCLC and the oncologist described the side effects of the two agents recommended for my cancer (I didn't have any of the mutations that have targeted therapies that are often so well tolerated), I told her that I had seen friends go through chemo for breast cancer, and I bet the side effects sheet says most of the same things (fatigue, nausea etc) but the words on the page don't describe how difficult it is. She told me that she agreed, but that the lung cancer agents are typically tolerated better. And in my experience this was very true. After about 8 months of the double-agent (which was difficult), I switched to single agent maintanence that I get every three weeks. The only vomiting I ever had was related to what was later found to be cancer in my brain. Zofran is a wonder drug for nausea, but I often only need one of two doses the entire week of chemo. Ask more questions so that you can make an informed decision based on the agents they recommend. (After you have had biomarker testing etc.) and ask to resource Palliative Care Services to help with pain and symptom management. Palliative care works to optimize quality of life at any age and any stage of chronic or serious illness. It allows your oncologist to focus on the cancer itself while palliative care helps with pain and symptoms and stress of the treatment.

[FtB_Peggy]

Anrean,

Beautifully said, thank you for sharing your thoughtful reflections.

[Ruthie1950]

Keep fighting and give chemo a try. If you feel it's not worth it, them stop it. May God give you wisdom in all your decisions.