MAY BE TIME FOR WAR AGAIN

luv4lacrosse
luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member
Been gone awhile as things have been going great. Sunday morning woke up with a huge cellulitis in my face, neck and upper chest. 4 days of hardcore antibiotics and was discharged on 10 days of oral antibiotics. While I was in, a CT was ordered to see if any of the infection required draining or resection which it did not, now for the SHOCK, the CT showed 3 nodules in my right lower lobe of my lung. One was noted back in March and treated like scar tissue or aspiration. Come forward 5 months and the one from march has grown to 1CM x.6 CM and the other two are so small even a fine needle biopsy would not work. Radiology opinion is they resemble lung cancer. I go to see my thoracic surgeon next thursday as he read the report and scan and says he is not 100% convinced it is Lung CA. (whatever that means)
I was told in the beginning that based on my cell type that if it did spread, it would be to my lungs and withing a 2 yr period.

Looking for someone who has had a simillar experience, and just trying to get they lay of the land. I know nothing about lung ca, but have always had the mindset it meant to go coffin shopping.

Hope there have been as many positive advances with lung CA as there seems to have been with head and neck CA.

Prayers and positive mojo is needed.

Best

Mike
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Comments

  • NoDuck
    NoDuck Member Posts: 134
    Sending Lots of Good Mojo
    But I can't answer any of your questions. Sorry. But the subject line you chose -- and in all caps no less -- tells me you are a fighter. And that is what it takes to get through all this thatbis being thrown at you.

    Encouraging thoughts, good mojo and prayers for you.

    Deb
  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    time to kick some _ _ _ _
    Hi Mike,

    Prayers and positive mojo, you got it.

    Sorry about the situation, but it sounds like the doctor isn’t surprised and has a plan too deal with it. I read here all the time about people getting treatment with good results, so keep the faith and stay in the game. I’ll be pulling and praying for you.

    Best,

    Matt
  • rush1958
    rush1958 Member Posts: 221 Member
    Mojo
    Hey old friend. Sending you all the positive MOJO in my arsenal.

    Rush
  • Tonsil Dad
    Tonsil Dad Member Posts: 488
    rush1958 said:

    Mojo
    Hey old friend. Sending you all the positive MOJO in my arsenal.

    Rush

    More Mojo,
    Hey Mike, Lots of prayers and positive vibes are heading
    your way. I hope you find the answers your looking for
    and they are all good ones.

    God bless
    Tonsil dad,

    Dan.
  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    rush1958 said:

    Mojo
    Hey old friend. Sending you all the positive MOJO in my arsenal.

    Rush

    Hopefully not
    Do hope it's not lung cancer, however, my brother was being treated at Mayo in Rochester for another primary cancer when they found a new primary in lower lobe of his lung at a very early stage. They removed the lower lobe of the lung and he has been NED more than 2 years now. No chemo no rads and as active today as he was before. Prayers sent your way.
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    A ton of positive thoughts....
    and prayers going your way Mike. The doc isn't "convinced" what he's seeing, so I'm keeping that in the forefront of my mind....it ain't cancer till they say it is.

    p
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member

    A ton of positive thoughts....
    and prayers going your way Mike. The doc isn't "convinced" what he's seeing, so I'm keeping that in the forefront of my mind....it ain't cancer till they say it is.

    p

    What Phrannie said...
    It ain't cancer till they tell you it's cancer. I started with one 'nodule' in my lungs, and the last PET CT showed three 'nodules.' These were all at or below the resolution level of the scan, and I was told that not every scan will show all the nodules. I am 2 years and 3 months out from end of treatment. For now, the doc says... if the nodules aren't causing any issues, he's not going to mess with them.

    It could be 'valley fever' scars, or the result of a long-ago exposure to TB.

    Deb
  • osmotar
    osmotar Member Posts: 1,006
    Dang
    Mike,

    Sending tons of blessing and light your way...

    Linda
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    osmotar said:

    Dang
    Mike,

    Sending tons of blessing and light your way...

    Linda

    Mike
    Been away a couple days, and come back to hear this...Nothing to mess around with, Mike, any time it gets in the lungs- if that's what it is. Sounds like your Drs have done their job in finding whatever it is early, and hope and Pray that's a good thing. From what little I do know, H&N C that shows in the lungs is not as bad as Lung C- different types of C, and Lung C is the worst of the two. Only advice I can give is what you know- monitor it closely, and urge your Drs to be as aggressive as possible in dealing with whatever it is- error on the side of the aggressive. You got a lotta life ahead of you, Mike, and don't let this thing get in your way. Hey, you and Greg are the only two good people in all of St.Louis, so the city cannot afford to let this thing knock you out (LOL). Prayers are with you, Brother.

    Believe

    kcass
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    Prayers You Way
    Prayers are with you Mike....

    Like Kent said, sounds like your MD's are on the ball.... Pro-active, not re-active.....

    Stay positive brother and fight the fight I know you can.

    ~John
  • luv4lacrosse
    luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member
    Kent Cass said:

    Mike
    Been away a couple days, and come back to hear this...Nothing to mess around with, Mike, any time it gets in the lungs- if that's what it is. Sounds like your Drs have done their job in finding whatever it is early, and hope and Pray that's a good thing. From what little I do know, H&N C that shows in the lungs is not as bad as Lung C- different types of C, and Lung C is the worst of the two. Only advice I can give is what you know- monitor it closely, and urge your Drs to be as aggressive as possible in dealing with whatever it is- error on the side of the aggressive. You got a lotta life ahead of you, Mike, and don't let this thing get in your way. Hey, you and Greg are the only two good people in all of St.Louis, so the city cannot afford to let this thing knock you out (LOL). Prayers are with you, Brother.

    Believe

    kcass

    THANKS FOR ALL OF THE GOOD THOUGHTS
    Kent, I have heard the same thing. I have allot of unknowns at this point in the journey. I guess getting the staph was actually a blessing as I ended up being scanned almost 3 months ahead of schedule. With my wife being very connected at the same facility I am being treated, she has been able to forward my scans to docs she knows, both surgeons and radiologists and the consensus is the nodules appear to be of a suspiscious nature and resemble a cancer, and not scar tissue or an old aspiration. I guess it is encouraging to hear they are too small to even do a fine needle biposy, so a wedge resection would most likely be in order. Just take out a chunk of lung that encapsulates the three nodes and send them off to pathology. I have refrained from doing any "panic researching" as I did that the first go around and I was a complete mess. I may look around the lung boards for some advice.

    As always, you guys are awesome.

    Best

    Mike
  • arndog64
    arndog64 Member Posts: 537
    Skiffin16 said:

    Prayers You Way
    Prayers are with you Mike....

    Like Kent said, sounds like your MD's are on the ball.... Pro-active, not re-active.....

    Stay positive brother and fight the fight I know you can.

    ~John

    damn damn damn!!! I only
    damn damn damn!!! I only hope for the best outcome for you. You are one tough fella, I have no doubt, you will come out on top.. Take care my friend....
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    Lock and Load
    Mike:

    I am a head/neck cancer (dx August 05) and lung cancer (dx June 07) survivor and am now NED (No Evidence of Disease). For the h/n cancer I had a sizeable portion of my tongue replaced along with a nerve transplant and a radical neck dissection, followed by 33 of 35 scheduled radiation session and several rounds of chemotherapy (cisplatin). Once the steroid wore off (I was like the Tasmanian Devil in terms of energy for about 24 hours following each chemo treatment) I was lying-on-the-bed-in-a-fetal-position-in-the-dark-with-thum-inserted-in-mouth-and-bucket-beside-bed sick for a couple of days. I met with ENT regularly and with OncoMan every 3 months following either a CT scan, a PET scan, or both. Eventually this was extended to six months and then ENT man, after five years said "You know where to find me if you need me" and we were done, with some occasional visits for dilations.

    I asked GP in June of 07 why I still had this nagging little cough since I had quite smoking two years prior. He immediately ordered xrays and CT scan. Now, I was seeing GP because of an infection in facial area (cellulitis?), and had begun taking an antibiotic. In any event, the reports back were not good. I've written of this extensively on my CSN profile and blog, but the bottom line is OncoMan said I had as little as 10 months to live. There were nodes throughout both lungs, all lobes. Palliative care, chemotherapy to try to prolong quality life was the one option. Then in August, following another CT to observe growth, it was discovered that all of the nodes but one were gone! Turns out the Keflex I took for cellulitis apparently also took out the lung infection that the docs had misread as cancer based on my previous history.

    They put me on a CT scanner to try to get a needle to the nodule for a biopsy, trying a number of awkward positions, but my ribs were not cooperative and it was on to a wedge via VATS surgery (video assisted, less invasive). The deal was, if it was the same kind of cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) and proved to be metastasis, they would not remove the lobe, since they could not know where else it might have gone. But if it was new, they would remove the lobe (lower right). They did the biopsy while I was still under and determined it was SCC, but not whether it was mets, and so elected to remove the lobe.

    Following a bout with MSSA (a relative of the staph infection MRSA), I was sent home with a man purse (24/7 picc line meds for the MSSA for a month) and regular rounds of chemotherapy to 'slay the strays'...carboplatin and taxol, nowhere as insufferable as the cisplatin, a walk in the park, in fact, by comparison.

    Longer answer than you wanted, but I am NED, still.

    Best wishes.

    Take care,

    Joe
  • luv4lacrosse
    luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member

    Lock and Load
    Mike:

    I am a head/neck cancer (dx August 05) and lung cancer (dx June 07) survivor and am now NED (No Evidence of Disease). For the h/n cancer I had a sizeable portion of my tongue replaced along with a nerve transplant and a radical neck dissection, followed by 33 of 35 scheduled radiation session and several rounds of chemotherapy (cisplatin). Once the steroid wore off (I was like the Tasmanian Devil in terms of energy for about 24 hours following each chemo treatment) I was lying-on-the-bed-in-a-fetal-position-in-the-dark-with-thum-inserted-in-mouth-and-bucket-beside-bed sick for a couple of days. I met with ENT regularly and with OncoMan every 3 months following either a CT scan, a PET scan, or both. Eventually this was extended to six months and then ENT man, after five years said "You know where to find me if you need me" and we were done, with some occasional visits for dilations.

    I asked GP in June of 07 why I still had this nagging little cough since I had quite smoking two years prior. He immediately ordered xrays and CT scan. Now, I was seeing GP because of an infection in facial area (cellulitis?), and had begun taking an antibiotic. In any event, the reports back were not good. I've written of this extensively on my CSN profile and blog, but the bottom line is OncoMan said I had as little as 10 months to live. There were nodes throughout both lungs, all lobes. Palliative care, chemotherapy to try to prolong quality life was the one option. Then in August, following another CT to observe growth, it was discovered that all of the nodes but one were gone! Turns out the Keflex I took for cellulitis apparently also took out the lung infection that the docs had misread as cancer based on my previous history.

    They put me on a CT scanner to try to get a needle to the nodule for a biopsy, trying a number of awkward positions, but my ribs were not cooperative and it was on to a wedge via VATS surgery (video assisted, less invasive). The deal was, if it was the same kind of cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) and proved to be metastasis, they would not remove the lobe, since they could not know where else it might have gone. But if it was new, they would remove the lobe (lower right). They did the biopsy while I was still under and determined it was SCC, but not whether it was mets, and so elected to remove the lobe.

    Following a bout with MSSA (a relative of the staph infection MRSA), I was sent home with a man purse (24/7 picc line meds for the MSSA for a month) and regular rounds of chemotherapy to 'slay the strays'...carboplatin and taxol, nowhere as insufferable as the cisplatin, a walk in the park, in fact, by comparison.

    Longer answer than you wanted, but I am NED, still.

    Best wishes.

    Take care,

    Joe

    allot in common
    Joe, your story is very encouraging. Sounds like we have allot in common with the cellulitis / staph. I have had 5 of these since my treatment started with 3 of them coming post treatment. The staph seems to hit me about every 6 months, and since I am MRSA positive combined with the high dose of bilateral neck rads, the docs tell me to just get used to getting the infections.My nodules are quite small and grouped very close together in one spot of the lower lobe of my lung. My doc told me going in that my type of SCC if it returned would go to my lungs and most likely within the first 2 years of my post treatment. If I were thinking, I would have bet the farm in vegas and came home a rich man with that type of inside information.
    I go to see my Thoracic Surgeon next Thursday to see where we go from here. Keeping this away from my two sons until I know more as I want to enjoy the last few days with my youngest son before he goes back to school, and I am moving my oldest son into his own place today, so no reason to take a dump on everyones good weekend.

    I will keep you posted.

    Thanks a bunch for your info.

    Stay strong

    Mike
  • Noellesmom
    Noellesmom Member Posts: 1,859 Member
    lots of prayers and good thoughts, Mike
    It's not cancer until they say it is so no coffin shopping yet, please.

    I know this was a shock but people get the "it looks cancer" nonsense all the time only for it to turn out to be nothing remotely related.

    Can certainly understand your concern - follow through with your doctors.
  • KareGiver
    KareGiver Member Posts: 301 Member

    lots of prayers and good thoughts, Mike
    It's not cancer until they say it is so no coffin shopping yet, please.

    I know this was a shock but people get the "it looks cancer" nonsense all the time only for it to turn out to be nothing remotely related.

    Can certainly understand your concern - follow through with your doctors.

    Similar experience
    Mike, but hope they find your "nodules to be nothing." My husband is now being treated for lung mets from his tonsil cancer (which he completed treatment for in June 2011.) He had a "nagging little cough" in April which led to a chest x-ray, chest ct and petscan. He now has chemo every three weeks - he is in a study - and just finished his fifth treatment. The last two ct scans have shown improvement. Yeah! They say he has "incurable head and neck cancer" which may be true, but he is fighting it with all he's got. Please keep us up to date and PM if I can be of any help. Prayers your way!
  • fisrpotpe
    fisrpotpe Member Posts: 1,349 Member
    shared
    i shared with a friend the other day who is a two time survivor as well as i am a two time survivor after he told the local group his scan did not come back clean. " reminder to keep in mind, IT'S NOT CANCER UNTIL IT IS BIOPSIED" everyone in the group agreed as they are survivors also.

    Mike, i did not have what you have, but i can say it's not bad before it's bad. keep the head up and believe it's not bad.

    john
  • Crazymom
    Crazymom Member Posts: 339 Member
    Prayers your way. Hoping
    Prayers your way. Hoping for the best. Ann
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196

    allot in common
    Joe, your story is very encouraging. Sounds like we have allot in common with the cellulitis / staph. I have had 5 of these since my treatment started with 3 of them coming post treatment. The staph seems to hit me about every 6 months, and since I am MRSA positive combined with the high dose of bilateral neck rads, the docs tell me to just get used to getting the infections.My nodules are quite small and grouped very close together in one spot of the lower lobe of my lung. My doc told me going in that my type of SCC if it returned would go to my lungs and most likely within the first 2 years of my post treatment. If I were thinking, I would have bet the farm in vegas and came home a rich man with that type of inside information.
    I go to see my Thoracic Surgeon next Thursday to see where we go from here. Keeping this away from my two sons until I know more as I want to enjoy the last few days with my youngest son before he goes back to school, and I am moving my oldest son into his own place today, so no reason to take a dump on everyones good weekend.

    I will keep you posted.

    Thanks a bunch for your info.

    Stay strong

    Mike

    Asking for the Best
    Hoping that soon you'll be telling us "we were so scared - thank goodness we didn't mention it to the boys - now we've got good news to share with them". I'm sure your heads are going wildly in different directions. I hate cancer. Hoping the spots have nothing to do with cancer, but I know the sick feeling we all get when we hear about "spots" is all about cancer. Hoping your docs are amazingly fast at getting to the bottom of it.
  • Greg53
    Greg53 Member Posts: 849
    Crazymom said:

    Prayers your way. Hoping
    Prayers your way. Hoping for the best. Ann

    Bro'
    Mike,

    You know you got those positive thoughts and good mojo headed your way from me! I also know you got a good team of doc's, so hoping your thoracic guy's intuition is right and it ain't back.

    Lot's of support for you here on this site Dude! But none more than from about a mile away from ya!! Need anything at all, let me know.

    Greg

    ps- sorry so late with this. Been outta town and no internet where I was. Sent you an email when I got back but that was acting up also