Anyone ever have RFA treatment ?

mykidsmommy

Hi All ~ I am having RFA for a lung nodule - and I am wondering if anyone has had this done - I have a pretty good chance of lung collapse due to the spot being so small and the fact that I have breast implants - who knew THOSE would get in the way - so I am also wondering if anyone has had a lung collapse and what the recovery is like? I appreciate all your experience and knowledge when you have a minute to share.

CherylHutch

Lung RFA
Hey MKM!

Funny you should bring this up... I'm having an RFA for two lung nodules on Dec 30th. Well, that's the plan except the hospital hasn't called me yet with a pre-admission appt. which is suppose to happen a week before the procedure. I don't know when they are planning on doing this since, if they are going to do it, it has to be done either Mon or Tue of this week because the procedure is the following Tues!

Anywho... according to my Radiologist who is doing the procedure, he says that I will not feel anything during the procedure. You are given the "conscious sedation" medication that you are given during a colonoscopy where you don't remember the procedure afterwards. Well, I am wide awake with that stuff and never do fall asleep, so I remember everything... but when I had the needle biopsy on my right adrenal gland (same basic procedure), I was totally comfortable. Wide awake, but totally comfortable. As for pain/discomfort afterwards... he says I won't notice anything and if I do, nothing that a simple OTC Tylenol wouldn't take care of (since I'm on pain meds for my arthritis, I highly doubt I'll feel anything).

Now, the radiology dept. did tell me I'd be in the hospital overnight... whereas the radiologist said I'd probably be discharged later that day. I'd have to stay for a few hours for observation and there's a SMALL chance he might have to put a drain in if the lung were to have a "leak". But the drain would only be for a few hours. He says it's not uncommon for a partial lung collapse, but most times it doesn't happen.

You say the spot on your lung is so small... just out of curiosity, do you happen to know how big/small it is? I'm just curious because one of mine is between 17-19mm (between 1/2 - 3/4 inch) and the other one is under 6mm (1/4" or smaller). Those are the two he is going to be taking out on Dec 30th. I have a few others but they are all under 5mm so are too small to be ablated yet. Do you have any other spots, or just the one?

Hugggggs,

Cheryl

mykidsmommy

CherylHutch said:

Lung RFA
Hey MKM!

Funny you should bring this up... I'm having an RFA for two lung nodules on Dec 30th. Well, that's the plan except the hospital hasn't called me yet with a pre-admission appt. which is suppose to happen a week before the procedure. I don't know when they are planning on doing this since, if they are going to do it, it has to be done either Mon or Tue of this week because the procedure is the following Tues!

Anywho... according to my Radiologist who is doing the procedure, he says that I will not feel anything during the procedure. You are given the "conscious sedation" medication that you are given during a colonoscopy where you don't remember the procedure afterwards. Well, I am wide awake with that stuff and never do fall asleep, so I remember everything... but when I had the needle biopsy on my right adrenal gland (same basic procedure), I was totally comfortable. Wide awake, but totally comfortable. As for pain/discomfort afterwards... he says I won't notice anything and if I do, nothing that a simple OTC Tylenol wouldn't take care of (since I'm on pain meds for my arthritis, I highly doubt I'll feel anything).

Now, the radiology dept. did tell me I'd be in the hospital overnight... whereas the radiologist said I'd probably be discharged later that day. I'd have to stay for a few hours for observation and there's a SMALL chance he might have to put a drain in if the lung were to have a "leak". But the drain would only be for a few hours. He says it's not uncommon for a partial lung collapse, but most times it doesn't happen.

You say the spot on your lung is so small... just out of curiosity, do you happen to know how big/small it is? I'm just curious because one of mine is between 17-19mm (between 1/2 - 3/4 inch) and the other one is under 6mm (1/4" or smaller). Those are the two he is going to be taking out on Dec 30th. I have a few others but they are all under 5mm so are too small to be ablated yet. Do you have any other spots, or just the one?

Hugggggs,

Cheryl

How Ironic
Hi Cheryl,
So guess what we are both having our RFA on the 30th - how weird is that???? I looked at my spot paperwork - hee hee - and it says that it is 1.3 cm.... not sure how that relates to your, as I am not good with math...any ideas???
Anyway, the other glitch for me is that I have "enhancements" as my doc said - also known as fake boobs, so that means he may have to go in through my back which increases the chance of lung collapse - great. Oh well, not a HUGE issue in the scheme of things right??? I would rather come home and go camping with my family, but we can't have it all right?
So I will be anxious to hear how your goes, and I hope we both come home Tuesday afternoon! There's no place like home!
Hugs from chill Southern California -
Mommy

CherylHutch

mykidsmommy said:

How Ironic
Hi Cheryl,
So guess what we are both having our RFA on the 30th - how weird is that???? I looked at my spot paperwork - hee hee - and it says that it is 1.3 cm.... not sure how that relates to your, as I am not good with math...any ideas???
Anyway, the other glitch for me is that I have "enhancements" as my doc said - also known as fake boobs, so that means he may have to go in through my back which increases the chance of lung collapse - great. Oh well, not a HUGE issue in the scheme of things right??? I would rather come home and go camping with my family, but we can't have it all right?
So I will be anxious to hear how your goes, and I hope we both come home Tuesday afternoon! There's no place like home!
Hugs from chill Southern California -
Mommy

How Ironic Indeed!!
Hey Mommy ... ok, your 1.3 cm would be approx. 1/2", so is similar to my largest one too. My second one is approx 1/4". In the big scheme of things, it doesn't really matter what the size, if they can be ablated then they will be nothing

My radiologist is not sure yet whether he will be going in through the front or back, but I think that has more to do with the fact I'm a full-figure gal, and probably where these lesions/spots are situated.

I'll be checking in at the hospital at 8am and the procedure will be at 10am PST. If I am released that afternoon, I'll be staying at my friend's house since the hospital is about a 40 min. drive away from my home. It never dawned on me... I guess I could have gotten someone to drive me out and then come back to get me, but it just seemed easier to drive myself out and stay with a girlfriend and then drive myself home when I could. This way, she can also look after my dog while I'm in the hospital .

I will be going out tomorrow (Mon) because I have the pre-admission appt. at the hospital... and then back to the hospital on Tues for the procedure. Hence, I'm staying at my friend's the night before rather than have to get up at the crack of dawn and worry whether it will be snowing or not

Sooooo... if all goes according to plan, I will be coming home to my own apartment on Wednesday and will check in here to see how it went with you Then I'll have to spend some time getting myself all gussied up for New Year's Eve

Huggggggs,

Cheryl

PS: That is just sooooo coincidental that we both are having the same procedure done on the same day, on the same morning! And it's not like this is a common place procedure

VickiCO

Good Thoughts
Prayers, hugs and good thoughts for both of you! You will do fine, I just know it.

Vicki

CherylHutch

VickiCO said:

Good Thoughts
Prayers, hugs and good thoughts for both of you! You will do fine, I just know it.

Vicki

Good Thoughts
Thank you, Vicki! I'm sure I can speak for both of us, but I'll only speak for me and the good thoughts are what I find super important. I'm a firm believer that thoughts/prayers are our mind's way of sending energy out to the universe (which is Grand Central Station). The more good energy that goes to Grand Central, the more we get back tenfold. Likewise, this happens with negative energy too. The more negative thoughts/energy that get sent out, the more negative energy that gets directed back at us. Hence why it is never any good for anyone to dwell on the negatives, or send out thoughts about, "Oh, what's the use, it probably isn't going to work for me anyways". The old cliche, "Be careful what you wish for or think of..." is soooo true!!

So, I'm pumped! I'm going into this knowing that, no matter what the challenges may be, we both are going to come out of this with positive stories to tell! I've made plans so that I'm not putting myself in any kind of stressful situation like being late for the procedure because of weather ... that's why I'm going ahead of time, the day before... and while I'm in the hospital, I can be totally aware of what's going on and take in all the "hospital life". Sort of like being on Gray's Anatomy, no??? LOL!

I know it's kind of late at night and I'm still procrastinating, but I am going to make sure the apartment is all tidied because I have every intention of coming back on Wednesday to settle the dog back in at home, feed her and then get myself all ready to celebrate New Year's Eve with really good friends at a house party... in my NEW party frock!!

Oh, I did have one little problem pop up tonight that could have stressed me out big time! My little schnauzer, Bridget, who is the apple of my eye, was obviously not comfortable and kept looking at her back end. Oh no... it might mean that her anal glands are acting up and she'd need vet attention. Here it is, the night before we would be gone for a couple of days and when we get home on New Year's Eve day, the clinic is only open for 1/2 day and closed for New Year's Day... so the soonest I could get her in would be Friday! This is not something you want to put off because it could cause infection or an abscess if not looked after!

So, I called her vet, who also happens to be a good friend of mine, at home and said, "Ack! Should I be worried?" So Joan said, "Well, you certainly don't need to be worried about Bridget while you are at the hospital and I know you will be, so how about if I come over to your place, check her out and if I need to clean them I'll do that at your place?" What a sweetheart! So Joan came over, gave Bridget an exam, did the gland thing, checked her paws because of the cold we've had and all the salt on the road, and gave Bridget a clean bill of health. So all is well and I don't have to use energy worrying about the doglet

Cya all in a couple of days!!

Hugggggs,

Cheryl

msccolon

CherylHutch said:

Good Thoughts
Thank you, Vicki! I'm sure I can speak for both of us, but I'll only speak for me and the good thoughts are what I find super important. I'm a firm believer that thoughts/prayers are our mind's way of sending energy out to the universe (which is Grand Central Station). The more good energy that goes to Grand Central, the more we get back tenfold. Likewise, this happens with negative energy too. The more negative thoughts/energy that get sent out, the more negative energy that gets directed back at us. Hence why it is never any good for anyone to dwell on the negatives, or send out thoughts about, "Oh, what's the use, it probably isn't going to work for me anyways". The old cliche, "Be careful what you wish for or think of..." is soooo true!!

So, I'm pumped! I'm going into this knowing that, no matter what the challenges may be, we both are going to come out of this with positive stories to tell! I've made plans so that I'm not putting myself in any kind of stressful situation like being late for the procedure because of weather ... that's why I'm going ahead of time, the day before... and while I'm in the hospital, I can be totally aware of what's going on and take in all the "hospital life". Sort of like being on Gray's Anatomy, no??? LOL!

I know it's kind of late at night and I'm still procrastinating, but I am going to make sure the apartment is all tidied because I have every intention of coming back on Wednesday to settle the dog back in at home, feed her and then get myself all ready to celebrate New Year's Eve with really good friends at a house party... in my NEW party frock!!

Oh, I did have one little problem pop up tonight that could have stressed me out big time! My little schnauzer, Bridget, who is the apple of my eye, was obviously not comfortable and kept looking at her back end. Oh no... it might mean that her anal glands are acting up and she'd need vet attention. Here it is, the night before we would be gone for a couple of days and when we get home on New Year's Eve day, the clinic is only open for 1/2 day and closed for New Year's Day... so the soonest I could get her in would be Friday! This is not something you want to put off because it could cause infection or an abscess if not looked after!

So, I called her vet, who also happens to be a good friend of mine, at home and said, "Ack! Should I be worried?" So Joan said, "Well, you certainly don't need to be worried about Bridget while you are at the hospital and I know you will be, so how about if I come over to your place, check her out and if I need to clean them I'll do that at your place?" What a sweetheart! So Joan came over, gave Bridget an exam, did the gland thing, checked her paws because of the cold we've had and all the salt on the road, and gave Bridget a clean bill of health. So all is well and I don't have to use energy worrying about the doglet

Cya all in a couple of days!!

Hugggggs,

Cheryl

Friends in high places!
You definitely are lucky to have a vet friend that will come over to help ease your mind! What a wonderful friend and so glad your baby will be taken care of and comfortable! I am a Christian, but your comments on good thoughts/bad thoughts are definitely interesting. We all know negative nellies and it is very obvious that their expectation of doom and gloom becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. My ex was one of those miserable people. It just brings you down to be around him because he ALWAYS expects the worst! I used to think I was a pessimist until a decade with my ex! It got to where I just was amazed to see just how constant his negativity was! I don't doubt in the least that the stress of that marriage added to my cancer problems; i was diagnosed 9 months after giving him the boot! There is no way I could have gotten this far being straddled with that kind of negativity on top of the difficulties the battle presents! I wonder now about the woman he is living with; she either has a very strong denial instinct, or her first husband was even worse! After spending 21 1/2 years with my ex, there is NO way I would settle for someone like that again! I suppose we all have our blind spots though! I always thought the worst thing would be if your spouse cheated on you! I found out there were worse things for your emotional health than infidelity! Anyhow, a few of my thoughts on this morning!
mary

mykidsmommy

msccolon said:

Friends in high places!
You definitely are lucky to have a vet friend that will come over to help ease your mind! What a wonderful friend and so glad your baby will be taken care of and comfortable! I am a Christian, but your comments on good thoughts/bad thoughts are definitely interesting. We all know negative nellies and it is very obvious that their expectation of doom and gloom becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. My ex was one of those miserable people. It just brings you down to be around him because he ALWAYS expects the worst! I used to think I was a pessimist until a decade with my ex! It got to where I just was amazed to see just how constant his negativity was! I don't doubt in the least that the stress of that marriage added to my cancer problems; i was diagnosed 9 months after giving him the boot! There is no way I could have gotten this far being straddled with that kind of negativity on top of the difficulties the battle presents! I wonder now about the woman he is living with; she either has a very strong denial instinct, or her first husband was even worse! After spending 21 1/2 years with my ex, there is NO way I would settle for someone like that again! I suppose we all have our blind spots though! I always thought the worst thing would be if your spouse cheated on you! I found out there were worse things for your emotional health than infidelity! Anyhow, a few of my thoughts on this morning!
mary

Hi Ladies ~
Ok Ready Team??? I will be sending you hugs - my RFA friend - knowing you are out there doing the same thing - and thinking the same positive thoughts, will be very comforting, and since I am a Christian too, I will throw in a prayer for you too for good measure! I will look forward to checking in with you Wednesday knowing that al is well and your back with your furry baby. I have two furry babies, one border collie and one yorkie, and I have two real kid, nine and four, so our house is busy! I wish you safe travels in the weather, but you should know it has been 65 here in San Diego during the day, so I MIGHT need a sweater tomorrow..... wish me luck!
Love and hugs and happy Tuesday to us both!
Honor

CherylHutch

mykidsmommy said:

Hi Ladies ~
Ok Ready Team??? I will be sending you hugs - my RFA friend - knowing you are out there doing the same thing - and thinking the same positive thoughts, will be very comforting, and since I am a Christian too, I will throw in a prayer for you too for good measure! I will look forward to checking in with you Wednesday knowing that al is well and your back with your furry baby. I have two furry babies, one border collie and one yorkie, and I have two real kid, nine and four, so our house is busy! I wish you safe travels in the weather, but you should know it has been 65 here in San Diego during the day, so I MIGHT need a sweater tomorrow..... wish me luck!
Love and hugs and happy Tuesday to us both!
Honor

Waiting to hear from Honor!
Honor... I hope all went well for you and I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about your RFA procedure! Me, I'm sooooo po'd today.... I'm going to copy and paste my blog entry here in this post that explains why I'm po'd

+++++

Well, now I'm po'd! The Lung Ablation surgery was canceled and rescheduled Apparently an emergency came up and, of course, as we all know (and I certainly don't disagree with it), emergencies get top priority. If I was the emergency, I would hate to bump someone's surgery but would be ever so grateful that I was getting treated because it was something that required immediate attention. But what I DO have a problem with is that the departments within the hospital, that supposedly should be working together are working in total isolation.

Before I could have this procedure done, I needed to have a pre-admission appt. where they do the paperwork, and do the tests that the radiologist has ordered. I needed bloodwork, a chest xray and an EKG, as well as a consult with an anesthesiologist, and a consult with a nurse. All together, this took about 2 1/2 hours and I had this done yesterday, in preparation for today's procedure. At no time was anyone I saw yesterday aware that there was, or might be, a cancellation of the procedure.

While I was going through all these various tests that had been requested, the interventional radiology dept. was trying to reach me at home to tell me that the procedure had to be rescheduled. While they were calling me, I was actually AT the hospital that they were calling from. Not only was I at the hospital, but I was in the radiology department for awhile at one point getting my chest xray done.

This is what has irritated me more than anything. How can a system be so lacking in communication that the patient they are rescheduling is in their department doing what had been requested... not only there for the pre-admission appt. but actually in their same dept. getting the tests done that the radiologist had requested for the procedure? But the right arm doesn't know what the left arm is doing... and to me, that is scary. I am no wizard, and certainly am not a doctor, but I KNOW if I were to observe what their current systems are, I would be able to tell them exactly what was falling between the cracks and could come up with a system myself that this kind of simple lack of communication could be corrected.

I KNOW they are busy. I KNOW that working in a hospital can be stressful. And I KNOW many patients are not the most fun to work with because for whatever reason they are there, it makes them irritable, cranky and sometimes downright gnarly. But there is no reason something like this should ever have happened when I was right there on the premises for 2 1/2 hours. Had I not been at the hospital and say was just out yesterday, so they couldn't reach me by my home phone and maybe I had left my cell phone at home, then I could understand it and would have been disappointed but perfectly ok with it. But I WAS AT the hospital in the same department and I DID have my cell phone with me and it was fully charged!!

I was just talking to Dr. Halkier's administrative gal just now to get the time for the new date and I asked her why she didn't call my cell when it was obvious I wasn't at home when she did call. She apologized and said that she didn't have a cell number for me on my chart, which I told her that not only did I give it to the pre-admissions clerk yesterday so it would be in the computer, I had also given it to the radiology clerk a couple of weeks ago when I went in for my CAT scan and consult appt. with Dr. Halkier. But, for whatever reason, it was not on my file that she had.

Anywho... I am very disappointed. I was looking so forward to getting this procedure done, and let's be honest, getting it over with. I'm not nervous about the procedure itself... it looks like there's a good chance they are going to put me under a general anesthetic for it and not the conscious sedation. They might start out with trying the conscious sedation but I am going to have to hold some positions for a fairly lengthy time, like with my arms positioned out of the way, so the anesthesiologist said it might end up being more comfortable for me to be out for the procedure (also, depending on how long the procedure will take).

I guess one of the positive things I can look at... the fact I was bumped, my situation is not considered life and death. With cancer, you never know, and too often the doctors do seem to talk doom and gloom... whereas I refuse to look at the doom and gloom side, I will only look at the positive side. Another positive... I really, really liked and clicked with this anesthesiologist, but he was scheduled for another OR area of the hospital for today. But maybe one the 20th, he will be my anesthesiologist and that would make me very, very happy. I'm sure the other ones are great too... but since I've met this one and like him, I want him to be in the room

So, January 20th is 3 weeks today... it's really not that far away, but it was a kick in the gut to go in this morning fully expecting to have the procedure done and then to find out it isn't going to happen. Thank goodness I have a good friend, Nancie, who was just a doll... having me stay over at her place overnight so that I'd be close to the hospital and not have to worry about the weather, I could bring Bridget with me and she will take care of her while I'm in the hospital (and took her for walks when I wasn't), drove me to the hospital and back both days... and took the time off work to do this extra running around. The doll is actually going to have me back on the 19th and we'll do it all over again for the 20th!!

Ok... just thought I'd let everyone know the latest update and why it hasn't been done yet. Yes, I'm still grateful that I have the opportunity to be a candidate for Dr. Halkier to do the procedure, but there definitely are some drawbacks when he is the only radiologist in BC who does this procedure. Should an emergency come up, it's not like someone else can take over and cover his Lung RFA procedures.

Huggggggggs,

Cheryl

tootsie1

CherylHutch said:

Waiting to hear from Honor!
Honor... I hope all went well for you and I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about your RFA procedure! Me, I'm sooooo po'd today.... I'm going to copy and paste my blog entry here in this post that explains why I'm po'd

+++++

Well, now I'm po'd! The Lung Ablation surgery was canceled and rescheduled Apparently an emergency came up and, of course, as we all know (and I certainly don't disagree with it), emergencies get top priority. If I was the emergency, I would hate to bump someone's surgery but would be ever so grateful that I was getting treated because it was something that required immediate attention. But what I DO have a problem with is that the departments within the hospital, that supposedly should be working together are working in total isolation.

Before I could have this procedure done, I needed to have a pre-admission appt. where they do the paperwork, and do the tests that the radiologist has ordered. I needed bloodwork, a chest xray and an EKG, as well as a consult with an anesthesiologist, and a consult with a nurse. All together, this took about 2 1/2 hours and I had this done yesterday, in preparation for today's procedure. At no time was anyone I saw yesterday aware that there was, or might be, a cancellation of the procedure.

While I was going through all these various tests that had been requested, the interventional radiology dept. was trying to reach me at home to tell me that the procedure had to be rescheduled. While they were calling me, I was actually AT the hospital that they were calling from. Not only was I at the hospital, but I was in the radiology department for awhile at one point getting my chest xray done.

This is what has irritated me more than anything. How can a system be so lacking in communication that the patient they are rescheduling is in their department doing what had been requested... not only there for the pre-admission appt. but actually in their same dept. getting the tests done that the radiologist had requested for the procedure? But the right arm doesn't know what the left arm is doing... and to me, that is scary. I am no wizard, and certainly am not a doctor, but I KNOW if I were to observe what their current systems are, I would be able to tell them exactly what was falling between the cracks and could come up with a system myself that this kind of simple lack of communication could be corrected.

I KNOW they are busy. I KNOW that working in a hospital can be stressful. And I KNOW many patients are not the most fun to work with because for whatever reason they are there, it makes them irritable, cranky and sometimes downright gnarly. But there is no reason something like this should ever have happened when I was right there on the premises for 2 1/2 hours. Had I not been at the hospital and say was just out yesterday, so they couldn't reach me by my home phone and maybe I had left my cell phone at home, then I could understand it and would have been disappointed but perfectly ok with it. But I WAS AT the hospital in the same department and I DID have my cell phone with me and it was fully charged!!

I was just talking to Dr. Halkier's administrative gal just now to get the time for the new date and I asked her why she didn't call my cell when it was obvious I wasn't at home when she did call. She apologized and said that she didn't have a cell number for me on my chart, which I told her that not only did I give it to the pre-admissions clerk yesterday so it would be in the computer, I had also given it to the radiology clerk a couple of weeks ago when I went in for my CAT scan and consult appt. with Dr. Halkier. But, for whatever reason, it was not on my file that she had.

Anywho... I am very disappointed. I was looking so forward to getting this procedure done, and let's be honest, getting it over with. I'm not nervous about the procedure itself... it looks like there's a good chance they are going to put me under a general anesthetic for it and not the conscious sedation. They might start out with trying the conscious sedation but I am going to have to hold some positions for a fairly lengthy time, like with my arms positioned out of the way, so the anesthesiologist said it might end up being more comfortable for me to be out for the procedure (also, depending on how long the procedure will take).

I guess one of the positive things I can look at... the fact I was bumped, my situation is not considered life and death. With cancer, you never know, and too often the doctors do seem to talk doom and gloom... whereas I refuse to look at the doom and gloom side, I will only look at the positive side. Another positive... I really, really liked and clicked with this anesthesiologist, but he was scheduled for another OR area of the hospital for today. But maybe one the 20th, he will be my anesthesiologist and that would make me very, very happy. I'm sure the other ones are great too... but since I've met this one and like him, I want him to be in the room

So, January 20th is 3 weeks today... it's really not that far away, but it was a kick in the gut to go in this morning fully expecting to have the procedure done and then to find out it isn't going to happen. Thank goodness I have a good friend, Nancie, who was just a doll... having me stay over at her place overnight so that I'd be close to the hospital and not have to worry about the weather, I could bring Bridget with me and she will take care of her while I'm in the hospital (and took her for walks when I wasn't), drove me to the hospital and back both days... and took the time off work to do this extra running around. The doll is actually going to have me back on the 19th and we'll do it all over again for the 20th!!

Ok... just thought I'd let everyone know the latest update and why it hasn't been done yet. Yes, I'm still grateful that I have the opportunity to be a candidate for Dr. Halkier to do the procedure, but there definitely are some drawbacks when he is the only radiologist in BC who does this procedure. Should an emergency come up, it's not like someone else can take over and cover his Lung RFA procedures.

Huggggggggs,

Cheryl

That stinks!
That just stinks. I know it's orrible to have to wait.

*hugs*
Gail