My wife was just diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma in her lungs.

Adenocarcinoma

I was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma back in 2012, stage 4. My tumors are in both lungs, are inoperable and radiation wasn't an option. 

I have been on Opdivo for the last nearly 3 years and feel great and am doing great. Please tell your wife that if we have to have lung cancer, now is a good time for it - there are many new and effective treatments available.

GGN opacities

I have GGN opacites in my lungs.  one is 1cm and that is the size that is considered cancerous.  And I'm scared as hell.  Its all I think about.  Ive known since February and my Dr.doesnt even want to see me until August.  Lord knows what it will be by then

I was diagnosed with

I was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma May 24th of this year, which is inopperable.  I began chemo treatements consiting of cispaltin and alimta, September 8 2016 and thus far the side effects for me have been rough. I am trying to stay possitive, because I do want to survive this, and I pray for all of you to survive this a well. 

Adenocarcinoma

I had a left upper lobectomy on the 12th of this month, due to a GGO. When it was first seen, 3 years ago, it was under .5cm, and "suspicious for primary lung cancer or metastatic disease".  My oncologist for my stage 3 Chromophobe kidney cancer said it was too small to do anything with and we would just watch it until it was 1.0 cm.  We did just that, and after 2 more years, it was 1.7cm, and according to the radiologists, "concerning for primary lung cancer or metastic disease." When I approached my oncologist about it, he said we would just continue to watch it. That was last April. I made an appointment at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL., and saw a kidney cancer specialist, who immediately referred me to a thoracic surgeon.  They ran another CT and the thing had grown to 2.3cm.  The radiologist summarized that it was most certainly an adenocarcinoma.  I was not a candidate for a wedge resection, because of the nodule's location, so we opted for a lobectomy. (The frozen section during surgery proved it was indeed an adenocarcinoma) I'm recovering well and getting stronger every day....but still have not gotten the pathology report back telling me what stage it is, or the path report on all the lymph nodes that were removed.  If they are clear, and the path report shows no invasiveness of the tumor, then I'm golden on the lung cancer front.  If there is activity in the lymph nodes or in the tumor, then we will decide what direction to go next.  

Hopefully, your wife's nodules are small enough for either VATS or wedge resection.  Make sure you have a really good oncologist that specializes in thoracic surgery.  Prayers, white light, and good thoughts going up for your wife and you.

This is my first post to the lung cancer section of CSN....I'M usually found on the kidney cancer site.  My older sister passed away in September, 2012 from small cell lung cancer.  My name is Tillie and I have both lung and kidney cancer as primary cancers.

Warrior Woman said:

more details

Could you explain what side effects your "cocktail" gave you? They are the 2 I start tomorrow. I know we are all different, but I've only been given a handout.

Warrior Woman
Are you referring to the entry that mentioned cisplatin and alimta? I had cisplatin as one of my doublet. The platinum will make your food taste funny. Using plasticware will help reduce that. My hair thinned, it didn't all fall out. When the metallic taste sticks around between meals I found lemon drops helped relieve that. I don't know if alimta will cause it to thin or not.

If you develop a ringing in your ears, let your oncologist know. Also watch for neuropathy, if you develop a cold burning sensation or pins and needles in your hands or feet you need to report that. If caught early the cisplatin can be switched out for carboplatin and the damage does not have to be permanent. Stay well hydrated, it will help flush the chemo through your kidneys and prevent damage. Take all steroids exactly as directed to avoid severe nausea. Use a stool softener daily, the chemo will bind you up and a blockage could be life threatening.

dennycee said:

Warrior Woman
Are you referring to the entry that mentioned cisplatin and alimta? I had cisplatin as one of my doublet. The platinum will make your food taste funny. Using plasticware will help reduce that. My hair thinned, it didn't all fall out. When the metallic taste sticks around between meals I found lemon drops helped relieve that. I don't know if alimta will cause it to thin or not.

If you develop a ringing in your ears, let your oncologist know. Also watch for neuropathy, if you develop a cold burning sensation or pins and needles in your hands or feet you need to report that. If caught early the cisplatin can be switched out for carboplatin and the damage does not have to be permanent. Stay well hydrated, it will help flush the chemo through your kidneys and prevent damage. Take all steroids exactly as directed to avoid severe nausea. Use a stool softener daily, the chemo will bind you up and a blockage could be life threatening.

This is about how it is going

This is about how it is going with me.  I have a different kind of aggressive lung cancer.  I started Topotecan friday as part of fighting small cell lung cancer's comeback after an initially successful period of chemo.  I get constipation instead of diarrhea.  I never needed my anti nausea drug but I started taking it pro-actively since I started something new (the topotecan). 

So far it has been constipation with the topotecan.  I haven't used any stool softenerand haven't had a blockage.  I've had some incredibly hard blockages in the past.  This was while regularly using prune juice (a favorite of mine).  I will be on the lookout.

Worth mentioning, I have initially had very intense fatigue and "chemobrain" with the start of the topotecan.  I just finished taking a steroid.

I will needa  short procedure for the lung with the cancer so I can talk normally again.  It is coming up soon.  This was to be expected.  There will always be a slight chance of lung collapse as this goes on.  Very slight.  Something called a partially collapse.

It's spread into my liver.  I'm glad it hasn't spread into the other lung.  I drink a lot of liquid but temper that to keep my saline level normal.  I have to watch out for that.

My hair was coming back like gangbusters until this second wave started.  I suppose it will fall out again.  I am a guy and look pretty good with no hair so it is no problem for me.  I like not having to get haircuts or shave.

I've been staying away from detox's until I finished the prescrips I have that came with the new chemo (potassium supplement, steroid, some other stuff).  I will start them up again soon.

- I follow the Budwig Diet except I don't believe in the Flax Seed oil that you buy refrigerated.  I think it is impossible to have absolutely non-rancid Flaxseed oil squeezed by any process and I think what you get at the store tastes very suspect and not "nutty at all". I am good with taking it in capsules from the pharmacy.  I love the cottage cheese, yogurt, smoothies, nuts, dried fruit, etc., that comes with the diet.  I like dandelion root tea.  That is he only detox you can take while using another one.

-  I will probably do another 6 week Essiac Tea regimen soon, after I start to feel less fatigued.

Good luck to your wife my friend.  You will be great support for her.

Mother-in-law

My mother-in-law was diagnosised with Stage 4 adenocarsinoma non-small cell lung cancer in both lungs in early 2015. We were told it had spread to her lymphnods between the two lungs but no where else. After a couple of scans and a biospy, she beagn treat in early April. We were told that surgery and radiation were not an option and she was on two chemos, carboplatin and alimta, every other week for about 4 months and then they took her off of the alimta and she stayed on the carboplatin every other week until Mid November 2015. She did not loose all of her hair, it just got very thin. She did experience the metal taste in her moth and using plastic silverware and eating lemon drops did help that. From what we understand she was very fortunate as her only major side effect was that she stayed extremely tired. the treatment would completely wipe her out for about three or four days. She HATES to drink water so staying hydrated for her was a problem. Becasue staying hydrated is so important during chemo, they would do her chemo treatments on Thursdays and she would go back for 4 - 6 bags of fluids on Friday.

 She opted to go off of treatment for the holidays in 2015 and when we returned to the doctor in January 2016 they told us that her current treatment wasn't an option anymore and that they were putting her on Opdivo. So she began that the next week and does it every other week. She still stays tired but defiantly not like when she was on the chemo.

We were told when we started this journey that it was incruable and that they would give her the best quality of life they could for as long as she had left. They said she could have 6 month or 6 years...they did not know. To be honest they made her diagnosis seem dire; and I don't mean that in a negative way becasue she has cancer and that is dire. But the doctors just made it sound like they thought she was more on the 6 months to a year end of things and just didn't want to say anything. In reality, she is doing good. So at the moment she just continues treatment and wait. 

She choose in the beginning to not really want to know how bad she was and didn't want the dr's to say anything negative about her situation. So for a long time we lived in this bubble of not really know how she was doing; and still live there to some degree today. Living this way can be very difficult for your family. She may not want to talk about the end, but we need to know her wishes. Having cancer stinks, and sometimes you have to have some tough conservations, and sometimes you have to hear some tough answers, but there are some decisions that need / have to be made. We have tried to allow her to have control of her health care and keep that until she is no longer able to do it for herself. But in order to do that we as her family have to have all of the inforamtion. 

I've herad people say that things can change in a instant with cancer and that it can go from good to bad very quickly...so she contiunes with treatment and we wait.

Best wishes to everyone on here affected by this truely horrible disease!