my brother

onlysister
onlysister Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Lung Cancer #1
Hi - we are very new to this. My brother has just been diagnosed with stage IIIA lung CA. He starts massive treatments in a few days...then maybe surgery, maybe. I want to get him to talk to someone...possibly here in this message group..any suggestions? I never asked a prognosis because I didn't want him to hear like 20% or something. Trying to keep his spirits up. He's 50, 3 kids, divorced with ex going through chemo for MS.

Comments

  • karenlee3sons
    karenlee3sons Member Posts: 35
    #2
    Hi, I am a lung cancer survivor. I also had stage 3A. I had a lobectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. A pet scan showed some "hot" spots, thats why I had the chemo and radiation. That was all 5 years ago!!! I am 61 now and in good health with absolutely no sign of a recurrence. Please tell your brother. I know how important it was to me to hear survivor stories. If he would like, he can e-mail me at karenlee3sons@aol.com and I would be happy to talk with him
  • onlysister
    onlysister Member Posts: 3
    #3
    karenlee3sons said:

    Hi, I am a lung cancer survivor. I also had stage 3A. I had a lobectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. A pet scan showed some "hot" spots, thats why I had the chemo and radiation. That was all 5 years ago!!! I am 61 now and in good health with absolutely no sign of a recurrence. Please tell your brother. I know how important it was to me to hear survivor stories. If he would like, he can e-mail me at karenlee3sons@aol.com and I would be happy to talk with him

    Karen thank you so much for answering me. My brother starts Tuesday chemo/rad first then to see if they can shrink it enough to operate. His tumor is 9X4! He has some lymph node involvement in his medistium but nothing elsewhere. I will give him your email address and hopefully he will contact you because he will be home. He does need to hear stories, I've been telling him but I don't think he quite understands all that's out there - this is so new to him. But thank you from the bottom of my heart and God bless you!
  • AJL
    AJL Member Posts: 13
    #4
    Hi I'm Andy
    I was diagnosed with stage 3A limited small cell lung cancer,the size was 8.3x4.1 in 2001. I went through chemo and radiation therapy for 6 month. After the therapy was completed I was told that the cancer was in remission.Within 4 month my tumor grew back and was told that it was incuarable. I decided I was not going to give up and fight till my last breath. So now I went through round 2 of chemo in 2002 and that seem to stop the growth of the tumor. Since my last chemo on Jan 2003 my cancer has been stable. I go for a CT SCAN every 6 month and so far everything is find. I was 44 years old when I was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and now I'm going on to 47. I'm a big time runner before all this happen and I'm back running and weighlifting.
    So, tell your brother to stay positive. He is not alone in this fight.
    You can e-mail me @ andylee57@yahoo.com
    If you or your brother want to talk to me.
    I will pray for you and your Brother

    Andy
  • Plymouthean
    Plymouthean Member Posts: 262
    #5
    Hi,
    At age 67, I was dx w/stage IV non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). With "massive doses" of chemo and radiation, the tumor was shrunk by 75% and surgery removed the rest. I'm 2 1/2 years "out", and so far, no problems.
    Forget the prognosis. I have a friend who is still with us three years after being given six months, at best. Better still, consider the prognosis the call to battle. Your brother has all the incentives to fight for a return to good health, - kids, family, etc.
    He will hear, over and over, that a positive attitude is important. He's got to believe. In himself, his medical team, and those close to him who are trying to help.
    The journey can be rough at times, but not impossible. It's seldom as tough as we imagine, going in.
    We, the survivors, would love to have him come join us!

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