Z (Lori) How ya doing?

Lovekitties

Lori had VATS 9/23/. Post when you can.

Hoping all is going well.

Marie who loves kitties

z

Marie
Hi Marie,

Thanks for asking. Yes I had VATs on 9-23 and was out of the hospital on 9-26, and am recovering very well. I am an anal cancer survivor and when I had a follow up PET/CT on 5-4-10, a 7mm lung nodule was found. Well I then had the 3 month follow up ct scan on 8-11, and the nodule had grown to 11mmx9mm, so it was decided by the tumor board that it must come out. In the OR 2 pathologist dx it as squamous cell, which would be the same as the anal cancer. The ? is primary lung, or metasis. Of course praying for primary lung, as the whole lobe was removed. The extensive pathology testing has not yet come back, but I will post when it does. I signed a consent to be in a total cancer care program with Moffitt Cancer. They study the tissues and and cells to determine the best tx for the patient, and for further advancement of treatment for particular types of cancer. I sure hope that my tissues will help someone else. Lori

Buzzard

z said:

Marie
Hi Marie,

Thanks for asking. Yes I had VATs on 9-23 and was out of the hospital on 9-26, and am recovering very well. I am an anal cancer survivor and when I had a follow up PET/CT on 5-4-10, a 7mm lung nodule was found. Well I then had the 3 month follow up ct scan on 8-11, and the nodule had grown to 11mmx9mm, so it was decided by the tumor board that it must come out. In the OR 2 pathologist dx it as squamous cell, which would be the same as the anal cancer. The ? is primary lung, or metasis. Of course praying for primary lung, as the whole lobe was removed. The extensive pathology testing has not yet come back, but I will post when it does. I signed a consent to be in a total cancer care program with Moffitt Cancer. They study the tissues and and cells to determine the best tx for the patient, and for further advancement of treatment for particular types of cancer. I sure hope that my tissues will help someone else. Lori

Z
if its any consolation to you when they called me (or actually I called them)and they informed me that mine was a met from colon cancer it never bothered me. I do know that we wish for primary (bad to wish for cancer but ya know what I mean )so that we hopefully exclude the thought of it being in the bloodstream, but when I spoke with the nurse and she informed me that they were all surprised that it had CRC cells in it that I never had any kind of upsetting feeling. I am fully aware that cancer can take my life, but I am also fully aware that if it does, I know where I will end up, so, cancer will not beat me, one way or the other, it will not win. If I die, it dies with me, so its a stalemate but I have more plans after I die and cancer is not included so I beat it in any event.....If you wrap your head around a wonderful saying that I have found to be very true, "You have to learn how to die before you learn how to live" then the prognosis, the pathology reports, etc, are just part of the journey.
If you learn how to die then any consult, report, scan, surgery, or treatment is part of a journey traveled, it just happens to be a different type of path than is usually considered the norm from most...but if we are ok with our own mental and emotional stability, then the ride you take through this , the people you meet through this, and the life that you live through this , can be the most joyous portion of our life that we have had(excluding the cancer)and I wouldn't trade these past 2 years for anything...I have found myself and my life is finally starting to mean something to me and the people around me....so be ok with whatever it tells you, for only one knows what will actually take place, but you can control how you live before and after diagnosis and path reports, no matter what they turn out to be.......Love, Hope, and Peace for you and yours.......Clift

z

Buzzard said:

Z
if its any consolation to you when they called me (or actually I called them)and they informed me that mine was a met from colon cancer it never bothered me. I do know that we wish for primary (bad to wish for cancer but ya know what I mean )so that we hopefully exclude the thought of it being in the bloodstream, but when I spoke with the nurse and she informed me that they were all surprised that it had CRC cells in it that I never had any kind of upsetting feeling. I am fully aware that cancer can take my life, but I am also fully aware that if it does, I know where I will end up, so, cancer will not beat me, one way or the other, it will not win. If I die, it dies with me, so its a stalemate but I have more plans after I die and cancer is not included so I beat it in any event.....If you wrap your head around a wonderful saying that I have found to be very true, "You have to learn how to die before you learn how to live" then the prognosis, the pathology reports, etc, are just part of the journey.
If you learn how to die then any consult, report, scan, surgery, or treatment is part of a journey traveled, it just happens to be a different type of path than is usually considered the norm from most...but if we are ok with our own mental and emotional stability, then the ride you take through this , the people you meet through this, and the life that you live through this , can be the most joyous portion of our life that we have had(excluding the cancer)and I wouldn't trade these past 2 years for anything...I have found myself and my life is finally starting to mean something to me and the people around me....so be ok with whatever it tells you, for only one knows what will actually take place, but you can control how you live before and after diagnosis and path reports, no matter what they turn out to be.......Love, Hope, and Peace for you and yours.......Clift

Clift
Hi Clift,

Have you decided what your next steps will be. I know if this is a met, I think I will just wait until something else happens before I start any kind of chemo. I should hear from the dr this week about the primary, or met dx. I know I feel very good for just having a part of my lung removed. Thank you for your spiritual explanation of how you feel. I have taken a good look at my mortality, and I agree with the saying You have to learn how to die before you learn how to live. It really puts life in a new perspective. I wish you the same as you've wished me. Lori

Buzzard

z said:

Clift
Hi Clift,

Have you decided what your next steps will be. I know if this is a met, I think I will just wait until something else happens before I start any kind of chemo. I should hear from the dr this week about the primary, or met dx. I know I feel very good for just having a part of my lung removed. Thank you for your spiritual explanation of how you feel. I have taken a good look at my mortality, and I agree with the saying You have to learn how to die before you learn how to live. It really puts life in a new perspective. I wish you the same as you've wished me. Lori

Z, since never being in this situation......
I am first going to listen to what he has to say about all of this and the nodes and margins and take it all in to determine a solution for myself.....Right now I am looking at no more chemo...They will have to really show me more than simply what they think before I approve of doing anymore. I understand that they are more knowing about what is necessary and what isn't than I am, but I also know that I too have a little common sense and they need to show me some proof other than just jibberish and jargan to make me go through anymore just to make me think that all will be well forever. I fell into that misnomer the first time , I won't do that again.....Clift


Oh and BTW.....I think that tissue donation is the ultimate gift that a patient can give back to their fellow man.....To me it shows a love for others...bless you for that gift, it will serve someone well someday, you can count on that........Clift

z

Buzzard said:

Z, since never being in this situation......
I am first going to listen to what he has to say about all of this and the nodes and margins and take it all in to determine a solution for myself.....Right now I am looking at no more chemo...They will have to really show me more than simply what they think before I approve of doing anymore. I understand that they are more knowing about what is necessary and what isn't than I am, but I also know that I too have a little common sense and they need to show me some proof other than just jibberish and jargan to make me go through anymore just to make me think that all will be well forever. I fell into that misnomer the first time , I won't do that again.....Clift


Oh and BTW.....I think that tissue donation is the ultimate gift that a patient can give back to their fellow man.....To me it shows a love for others...bless you for that gift, it will serve someone well someday, you can count on that........Clift

Clift
Hi Clift,

My dr called today and said it was a primary lung cancer. The only marker they were looking for was the HPV virus which is shown to be the precurser for anal cancer, and there wasn't any. The lymph nodes were benign. When they did the resection for biopsy there were already clear margins and then when they removed the entire lobe, this was curative and I will not need any further treatment. The nodule was 1.1 cm and too small to give any tissue to the total cancer care (Moffitt) bank. But the good part about being in this bank, is that any new treatments or information pertaining to this cancer will be shared with me. Because anal cancer is so rare I will be a good speciman to watch for the rest of my life, and I hope that any information they may obtain from my health history will benefit any other cancer patient with the same condition. I like you if I had a metasis would really have to examine the benefit of adjunctive chemo. I really don't think I would have had any more chemo and would prefer being monitered with pet/ct scans, as I will be anyway. I hope you get all the answers you need from Vanderbilt to make a confident decision on what to do next. For now I say your cancer free, until proven otherwise. I wish you the best, and I have you in my prayers. Lori