Husband recently told he has lung cancer

feelingscared14

I am new here, I would never have thought that I would be going through this, and I am very scared!

At this time we really do not have much info other than there is a mass on my husbands right lung, (middle lobe) and it is pressing against his bronical tube and causing him shortness of breath.

He had a bronocolscopy done on Monday (9/15/2014) and tissue samples were taken, he is to be scheduled for a PET Scan this week, and then on Monday we go for results of test.

Although I am trying to be positive it is very hard not to think the worst.

 

geanie

lung cancer diagnosis

Dear Scared,

This is the hardest time for you and your husband.  I was diagnosed with lung cancer March 2014 after a metatisis was found at the base of my spine.  I am on my 2nd chem drug and will have a CAT scan soon to see how it's doing.

Even after all these months I am still scared a lot of the time.  What has helped is the fact that I am still here, and things haven't got any worse (that I know of) .  My oncologist has a very calm, laid back manner which helps a lot.

There are so many more treatments now than there used to be and chemo has been made so much more tolerable.  They give you several drugs to conteract the side effects so there aren't many with the exception of being more tired.

Things will get better, but never let yourself forget that it's OK to be scared!  It's also OK to have your emotions bounce all over the place!  We are human after all and that lousy "C" word is scary as hell!  Time will help to settle your nerves somewhat (and you do have time) and as my oncologist says: One in six people get cancer.  Believe me, we are not alone!  Look for all the help and support you can find, it does help!

Best wishes for you and your husband going forward.

dennycee

Welcome to the ACS survivor

Welcome to the ACS survivor boards!  This is a list of questions you will want to take with you.  Write down the answers.  This is survivable.  I've stage 4 and was diagnosed 4 years ago.   You've gotten good advice do far.  It's okay to be afraid and to admit it to each other.  Then you can move forward together to fight the disease and not the fear.  

Dawn50

Prepare for the worst but believe the best will happen

I'm sorry to hear of  your husband's diagnosis. I have worn your shoes so I know what you are going through. The best advice I can give is prepare for the worst (wills, medical power of attorney, if you don't know learn about banks, investments, bills/payments, talk about his wishes, etc - these are things that need done even without the diagnosis) but believe the best will happen. Don't be over protective, if he feels like doing something let him. Get a support group for YOU - friends, family, people you trust to talk to this will keep you strong to be his support. Come on here and vent - these people are great to give you support, answer questions, etc.

 

Dawn

jrzgirl1

My daughter was dx with lung cancer

she had her upper right node removed on Oct 1, 2014,I am so scared ffor her, they have a 3 yr old girl. she goes to the surgeon on Monday for a post op checkcancer they found, actually, I did not know about it until after her surgery, I received a call from my son in law. what comes next, she changed her bandage and it was all yellow and green stuff on it, she called the dr office,the service said he will talk to her mon and he cannot be reached

 I am so mad, angry, hurt > I don't know what to do, I know she will never tell me th entire truth  up, I do no know what type of cancer she had. please help me undrstand

 

DebbraC

Same Feeling When My Husband Was Diagnosed

Hi!

I'm also new in this forum. My husband was also diagnosed with lung cancer stage 2 on 2011. I was also scared then, I thought that he was going to die. I was too naive then. It's good that we had a good doctor. It's been three years since his chemotherapy and he's doing fine.

Be positive! Prayers also help. We''ll be praying for you and your husband.

 

 

jrzgirl1

DebbraC said:

Same Feeling When My Husband Was Diagnosed

Hi!

I'm also new in this forum. My husband was also diagnosed with lung cancer stage 2 on 2011. I was also scared then, I thought that he was going to die. I was too naive then. It's good that we had a good doctor. It's been three years since his chemotherapy and he's doing fine.

Be positive! Prayers also help. We''ll be praying for you and your husband.

 

 

my daughter

I do not know what kind of cancer they removed and stage?

Ex_Rock_n_Roller

Good answers already ...

... especially what Dawn, Denny, and Geanie said. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, educate yourself, and keep pushing on. This is not necessarily an instant death sentence.

kikirio

sorry you have to go throught this

I am so sorry that you are going through this. I just had the worse year of my life, my father and his his brother were dignosed with stage 4 lung cancer in March. My fathers cancer was from asbestos and my uncle from smoking. This will be a very trying time for you & family, my advice would be reach out to people that will listen to you, when sad or otherwise. Don;t let time go between dr. visits. Keep on them, they did this with my father. if you need a shoulder, please feel free to reach out. You can message me on here. I hope & pray that you get good news and they can help your husband.

nanaof7

jrzgirl1 said:

My daughter was dx with lung cancer

she had her upper right node removed on Oct 1, 2014,I am so scared ffor her, they have a 3 yr old girl. she goes to the surgeon on Monday for a post op checkcancer they found, actually, I did not know about it until after her surgery, I received a call from my son in law. what comes next, she changed her bandage and it was all yellow and green stuff on it, she called the dr office,the service said he will talk to her mon and he cannot be reached

 I am so mad, angry, hurt > I don't know what to do, I know she will never tell me th entire truth  up, I do no know what type of cancer she had. please help me undrstand

 

there is hope

I got dx in 2009 with stage 2 lung cancer had surgery  im doing great I sm 62 stay positive

nanaof7

jrzgirl1 said:

My daughter was dx with lung cancer

she had her upper right node removed on Oct 1, 2014,I am so scared ffor her, they have a 3 yr old girl. she goes to the surgeon on Monday for a post op checkcancer they found, actually, I did not know about it until after her surgery, I received a call from my son in law. what comes next, she changed her bandage and it was all yellow and green stuff on it, she called the dr office,the service said he will talk to her mon and he cannot be reached

 I am so mad, angry, hurt > I don't know what to do, I know she will never tell me th entire truth  up, I do no know what type of cancer she had. please help me undrstand

 

there is hope

I got dx in 2009 with stage 2 lung cancer had surgery  im doing great I sm 62 stay positive

Deaniedeanie

Hi. I know how you are

Hi. I know how you are feeling unfortunatly. My hubby was diagnosed in Asugust 2014. after exrays and cat scan then followed my pet scan and MRi.  Also had the broocoscopy. Then was scheduled for  thoracic surgery which they removed a large tumor, left lung and 2 ribs. Then had a 4 rounds of chemo which did no good as he had a cat scan after chemo and he had another tumor growing about 2 inches long. Chemo will do him no good in the future as it didn't work and he was on the strongest two meds. He just had surgery again and removed. The tumor that was reoccurring ( same location) and while the surgeon was in there,she found two more small rumors that the pet scan did not detect. They were bigger than pea size so the pet scan should have detected it. Ugh.  he will now have 6 weeks of radiation. The scary piece is that it has spread to additional places although on the same side. He is currently staging is 3 B N1.

I do know how you feel! It's very scary and although he is a fighter, staying positive and has a strong faith in God, there are times that we get frightened due to every step it appears to be worsening by getting more rumors and tumor is resistant to chemo. It limits the choices. I am very scared and often not sure how to stay strong for him and positive as it seems my emotions are everywhere. I did start going to counseling to deal with my fears,death etc.. we have had some hard talks and putting things in order as anyone should. But I,don't want my fears and roller coaster emotions to be focused on me. I want him to know I am here for him yet I have a place to share.  if you,would,like.. You can leave your email addy and we can correspond . 

Misbetty

dennycee said:

Welcome to the ACS survivor

Welcome to the ACS survivor boards!  This is a list of questions you will want to take with you.  Write down the answers.  This is survivable.  I've stage 4 and was diagnosed 4 years ago.   You've gotten good advice do far.  It's okay to be afraid and to admit it to each other.  Then you can move forward together to fight the disease and not the fear.  

Squamous cell lung cancer

hello

what kind of lung cancer did u have?

my dad has stage 3b squamous cell lung cancer

what chemo drugs did you do?

glad to hear u r doing well

dennycee

Misbetty said:

Squamous cell lung cancer

hello

what kind of lung cancer did u have?

my dad has stage 3b squamous cell lung cancer

what chemo drugs did you do?

glad to hear u r doing well

4.5 years with stage 4 adenocarcinoma.

When dx was told I had ten-15 months with treatment.  Remember they base survival expectations on a bell curve created by 10s of thousands of patients.  There is no way to predict which side of the curve he will fall on.