Following on from my previous post when I was eventually (after 6months) diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma of my lower left lobe, I had surgery 3 weeks ago to remove the lobe - called a Lobectomy. I’d just like to say even though the lobe was ‘sticky’ and therefore the surgery took 4.5hours, which was longer than expected, the recovery has been phenomenal. I was out of hospital 2 days later and I haven’t needed pain relief for the past week. I get the results of the biopsies (also of enlarged lymph nodes) on the 22nd but I’m hopeful that they will be positive because I’m feeling so well. Questions that I’ll need to ask are;
Were the margins clear?
Were the Lymph Nodes clear?
The staging?
Will I need Chemotherapy/radiotherapy?
My prognosis?
If you could let me know of any other pertinent questions I should ask, I would be very grateful. Thank you for reading. X
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HoneyYorkie
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It is encouraging to read that you are recovering well from your surgery and that you fell well. The questions that you will be asking all seem relevant and there is usually standard follow up with initially 3-6 monthly scans for 5 years then yearly follow up up to 10 years, this can vary between hospitals and oncologists.
Some surgeries require follow up treatment or adjuvant chemotherapy ( to mop up any loose cancer cells that have not been detected) however this is not done for everyone and some people require no follow up treatment.
You may wish to ask if there were any specific cell mutations present, this can sometimes direct treatment choices such as Immunotherapy or Targeted Therapies; if at any point they are needed in the future, but again these are not always required as it can depend on the size of tumour removed and for some, surgery is the only treatment required.
You may wish to look at this booklet on lung cancer diagnosis, it has questions that you can ask at the consultation on pages 48 and 49: roycastle.org/app/uploads/2...
If you would like to discuss anything you can call ask the nurse on 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600, alternatively you can email us at lungcancerhelp@roycastle.org
Well done on your recovery to date. I remember asking my surgeon in January 2011 what I might do to avoid recurrence - i.e. any lifestyle adaptations - he said there was no evidence about particular diets/foodstuffs but keeping active was important to redevelop the lungs. I personally found swimming good for my mental and physical health. Even if you're not used to physical activity, walking, yoga and pilates can be good for focusing on breathing and distracting the mind. Wishing you a continued recovery ... good luck.
I was also diagnosed with adenocarcinoma after my right lower lobe was removed on 27 April 2022. As Janette said it is important to exercise and keep an healthy diet. Your hospital and MacMillan should be able to maybe direct you to a local fitness group. I go to a fitness course partly founded by LEAP for cancer patients. Walking is also very good.
I confirm that it is important to get your full histology report to know if you have certain mutations. They are so important for any potential treatment you might require and will also affect you prognosis. Also, it is good to have someone with you that can listen as sometimes it is difficult to digest all the information given to you.
Since my last post I have undergone adjuvant Chemotherapy both in IV and Oral form and I receive my last dose of the tablets this coming Friday. I am happy to say that I have tolerated them very well with the main side effect being tiredness and aching in my joints but nothing that can't be dealt with so I consider myself fortunate. I'm also pleased to report that I am totally recovered from surgery to remove the left lower lung lobe which was carried out in April.
My question has been brought about since receiving a letter from the Thoracic Department where the surgery was carried out. It states that the staging is via the TNM system and that my stage is T3 (which is the 6.8 size) N 0 (which indicates no spread) and R 0 !!! Unfortunately I cant find any reference to "R" so I wonder if anyone can throw any light onto what this means please.
Many thanks and keep positive each and every one of you.
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Update, Good News
Biopsy Results 
Lobectomy in3 days
exon 19 deletion mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor 
Another nodule immediately after chemotherapy.
