Cancer survivor

[lespa]

I know I got cancer from smoking! I quit but I despise the tobacco companies for their greed regarding the money they make off of these death sticks!

[lespa]

The picture is of a machine connected to a chest tube used to remove fluid from my chest after my lobectomy in 2015.

[Feelingblessed2013]

I smoked for over 30 years, quit 13 years before my emphysema diagnosis and my first battle with squamous cell lung cancer. My oncologist told me that the cancer may or may not have come from smoking, no way to know for sure. But the emphysema was most likely a given because of my almost constant exposure to second hand smoke as a child. She also told me my fireplace was off limits because the smoke from burning wood is a known carcinogen.

My PCP thinks it's possible the cancer was from radon exposure (I lived 8 years in an area known for high radon levels).

Well I have been a non-smoker for about 18 years now, we don't use our fireplace, I stay inside when the family has a bonfire in the yard, and the house we have lived in for the last 10 years has been tested for radon. But I still had a new squamous cell lung cancer and lost another lobe.

So, don't do what everyone else does, don't assume you got cancer because you smoked. Yes, chances are the 2 are connected, but there are other causes, other possibilities as well.

[thila]

It's not important from a moral standpoint whether the cause of the cancer is from smoking, but regarding your question in your profile, it might interest you to do some research on the basic differences between the different types of cancer cells (eg., small cell vs. non-small cell). Many of the treatments are the same, but there are some differences. I've read that small cell tumors tend to grow faster but are more responsive to chemotherapy.

Importantly, I hope you have or will be able to get genetic testing on your tumor. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I got the impression from your various posts that you've only had surgery. Hope you won't need further treatment, but if you do, genetic testing will tell you if you have a mutation in one of the genes that will make you a candidate for one of the various target drugs (e.g. tyrosine kinase inhibitors) or a candidate for one of the immunotherapy drugs) before going to traditional chemotherapy.

Feel free to tell me if this is something you already know, but genetic testing got me directly to the right treatment. Just this last Feb, I was diagnosed with stage 4 adenocarcinoma (a type of non-small cell lung cancer) that has metastasized to my bones, but after some radiation treatment to just target the bone pain and 4 months on a targeted drug (Afatinib), my chronic cough and bone pain are gone. Just need a little physical therapy to regain strength from lounging around in bed, but I'm feeling pretty good (almost normal some days) just 4 months after diagnosis at stage 4.

[thila]

lespa, my bad, I see you had already had chemotherapy awhile back, forgive me if I thought you were a "newbie" because you only posted recently. I'll blame it on my stroke, fine now, no paralysis or anything, but I misunderstand things when I try to skim through posts. Argghh!