So new...

not knowing
I know where you are coming from. When I was waiting to hear if I had breast cancer was over 4th of July and then my doctor went on vacation, so I waited almost 2 weeks...that almost pushed me over the edge. Then 4 years later to present date dx with lung cancer and had path reports on 2 different dates one over christmas holiday and then over the new year. The fear of the unknown. It is easy for someone to tell you not to fret over it, since nothing can be done until Monday...but that does not help! I am sorry you had to come to this site. Here you will find a great deal of support and help. Keep us informed and will keep you in my prayers!

wenchW said:

not knowing
@ ellenm4. Thank you so much for responding. I'm not sleeping very well at all, and constantly thinking about everything. But I have some wonderful supporters off line, and now I found people to reach out to online who can relate.

The weekend will pass...hopefully I'll at least be scheduled very soon to find out more

You are not alone in your
You are not alone in your journey. We are here to help, give advice and even just lend an ear if you need to vent. I am just starting my second journey and on the 20th I will be having another surgery to remove the upper left lobe of my lung. After which I am not sure if I am doing chemo or not until the path comes back again. Whatever your results, please do not let any doctor put an expiration date on your head.....I have read so many post here that Dr.'s have done just that and several years later they are still here, Thank God! You will soon get use to the "New Normal" and remember that everyone responds to treatment and or surgery differently. What will carry you and help you the most if your faith, your will and your support system. It sounds like you have that....so if you get down, tell yourself that you have a time limit to be down and then that is it. Please keep me informed and try to have a good day today with your family, for tomorrow brings another day!
Ellen
In Peace you will find Love....with both you will find Eternity! Blessings!

kado4 said:

You are so comforting, Ellen
Hello,Ellen

I just wanted to say that I find your concern with the people on this board so comforting and truely caring.You are so eloquent with your writing...I say this because I have read many of your posts...you also have responded to mine about about dad and you have made me think some better about things.Of course I still worry about my dad, but you have mentioned the "new normal" in the past, and it is true.Life is different now...but somehow we all try to adjust.Everyday is a new day...My dad started his Gemzar/Carboplatin on Wednesday,because there is a 8mm lesion on his left sacral bone.He isn't having any pain.but its still there.The pet/ct of his lungs wasn't clear either. Could be something new in the rt lower lung too.Worrisome.He is very tired the past 2 days.Sleeping on/off throughout the day.

Anyway,I pray you are doing well.Keep on the sunny side of life!

Stay strong,Cathy

The terror does diminish...
Ditto what Kathy said; Ellen, you are a comforting soul.

The intial diagnosis is terrifying, and as the others said, don't let doctors give you a time frame. Ours went out of their way to explain why they could never do that and explain how statistics work and that applying one individual case to a group of stats doesn't work because they encompass a large population. Please remember that--the median length of time survival for a given stage of cancer might be x months, but that was 5ish years ago, and there are so many factors that play a role in those numbers. There are many people on this board, including my husband, who do not fit those stats and are living full lives after a lung cancer diagnosis. Stats reflect trends of large groups, not individual cases.

Also, treatment options have come a long way. There are many anti-nausea drugs available to help with chemo if that's part of your treatment, as well as radiation that can be used to either with palliative or curative intent depending on the stage and type of cancer.

It may be easier to settle down with this information and get into some kind of "new normal" that Cathy describes once you have more details and a clear plan--my husband and I found this was the case once we had a concrete treatment plan that we began implementing. You will probably have a ton of questions as you learn about treatment and options, and you'll find a lot of support here and the ability to hear the "human" side of a treatment (not a replacement for the doctor's explanations, but it's so wonderful to hear how real people are coping). I'll be thinking of you this week.

Good luck
Will keep you in my thoughts.