Surgery Cancelled - No longer an option

skipper85

My husband had a CT scan the day before his surgery. The surgeon called us up the same day to tell us he would be doing a wedge resection on left lung (lobectomy was supposed to be for right lung). If the left lung showed cancer, surgery would no longer be an option. Well - you guessed it - the left lung showed cancer. He is now stage IV but the doctors are waiting for results from pathology to determine if it is stage IV lung cancer or from the stage IV throat cancer he had. At any rate it's not good news. I don't think my husband has fully absorbed it since the doctor explained things to him when he was still a little woozy from the anesthetic. I think he got the drift though and I'm sure the doctor will expand on it during next week's visit.

I asked the surgeon for a timeline and he couldn't really say except that it could be 6 months - 24 months but certainly not 5 years. I guess it depends on what treatment (if any) my husband decides on. We brought oxygen home from the hospital but my husband isn't using it right now. He's even bucking using the spirometer to expand his lungs. The good news is that he is wearing the nicotene patch and was okay with me getting more for him. The surgeon told us "You didn't hear it from me, but if he enjoys smoking just let him." I don't think he can smoke at this point but that gives you an indication of the shape my husband is in. His lungs are speckled with what the doctor believes is more cancer but he couldn't be sure. This is very scary for my husband even though he doesn't let on. I know it's scary for me.

I don't know if chemo or radiation will keep him alive longer or if my husband should just go for quality of life. Any suggestions from those of you who are getting treatment?

Thanks for letting me vent. It's so sad. Next week is our 40th anniversary.

Skipper

hdbilly1

it's not over till it's over
Hi Skipper, I'm sorry to hear the bad news. I'm not sure about radiations (I never had that) but when it comes to the chemo, he will feel bad for a short time and then start feeling better. There is no time limit specific to cancer however we all have a time limit no matter if we have cancer or not. We as human beings are all terminal!!!! the only difference is some of us have cancer and some don't. I would personally take the chemo as it could very possibly kick the cancer in the behind enough to slow it down. Without it the cancer cells will surely grow faster. And one more thing, don't forget to pray, (ALOT). My thoughts and prayers will be with you and I'm always here if you need to talk, Bill

skipper85

hdbilly1 said:

it's not over till it's over
Hi Skipper, I'm sorry to hear the bad news. I'm not sure about radiations (I never had that) but when it comes to the chemo, he will feel bad for a short time and then start feeling better. There is no time limit specific to cancer however we all have a time limit no matter if we have cancer or not. We as human beings are all terminal!!!! the only difference is some of us have cancer and some don't. I would personally take the chemo as it could very possibly kick the cancer in the behind enough to slow it down. Without it the cancer cells will surely grow faster. And one more thing, don't forget to pray, (ALOT). My thoughts and prayers will be with you and I'm always here if you need to talk, Bill

Thanks Bill

Bill:

Thanks for your reply and insight. Yes I pray a lot. My husband came home from the hospital on Saturday. They set him up with oxygen which he refuses to use. He also has not used the spirometer yet. He says he'll start today but I'm not sure he will. He is using the nicotene patches. I think right now he's in denial. I know he could use the oxygen and he doesn't feel too good but he is working (we have a home based business and he just has to sit in a chair and work the phone). He is very hard headed but eventually he's going to have to give in. I'm not even sure he's aware just how sick he is. We'll go over that when we see the surgeon on his follow-up visit and his oncologist. He won't talk with me about it.

Your support is really appreciated. Hope you are doing okay. I'm here for you as well.

Skipper

hdbilly1

skipper85 said:

Thanks Bill

Bill:

Thanks for your reply and insight. Yes I pray a lot. My husband came home from the hospital on Saturday. They set him up with oxygen which he refuses to use. He also has not used the spirometer yet. He says he'll start today but I'm not sure he will. He is using the nicotene patches. I think right now he's in denial. I know he could use the oxygen and he doesn't feel too good but he is working (we have a home based business and he just has to sit in a chair and work the phone). He is very hard headed but eventually he's going to have to give in. I'm not even sure he's aware just how sick he is. We'll go over that when we see the surgeon on his follow-up visit and his oncologist. He won't talk with me about it.

Your support is really appreciated. Hope you are doing okay. I'm here for you as well.

Skipper

denial
It took some time for it to sink in when I was diagnosed. I was still going strong with my daily routine when I was diagnosed and was even out plowing snow late into the night the day before my surgery. To this day, even though the surgery and chemo have been done I still have a hard time believing that I have cancer. He is going to need a tremendous amount of support from you. His emotions are probably like a roller coaster inside even though he may not show it, I know they were for me! It's tough for me to realize that I just can't do what I used to do and he most likely will experience that too. I won't lie, the chemo will make him feel very bad. all people react differently. I thought, at the time, that I once hallucinated later to find out that I think it was a near death experience. All I know, what ever it was, it sure changed how I look at life. To give you a time line of my experience with cancer, I was diagnosed in jan of 2010 with stage IIb adenocarcinoma, had my surgery in feb of 2010 six weeks later I started my chemo (four 21 day cycles) and the picture you see to the left was taken in october of my wife and I at a halloween dance where she could not keep up with me dancing!!! just a little note to add to that before the cancer all my life I refused to dance or sing, now, you can't keep me off the dance floor and Lord help all those people if there is kareoke because I'll sing until they like me!!!!! If I haven't already, I'm going to add you to my friends list and I will keep praying for you and your hubby, God can do miraculous things. My thoughts will be with you, Bill