VATS

Good evening all,

Hoping this posts finds everyone doing well. 

I saw my thoracic surgeon last Friday and I have VATS scheduled next monday. Amazing fast! I am very comfortable with my surgeon. He seems very knowledgeable and experienced. I have two nodules in my lower left lobe. He's assuming they are colorectal cancer but will not know until tested. He will perform wedge surgery in two places and preserve as much of the lung as possible while getting good margins along with most of the lymph nodes in that lung. He believes he will get all the cancer but recommends chemo afterwards but will ultimately leave that decision to my oncologist.

I expect a 2- 3 day hospital stay. He said after a week I should be ok on my own. I don't know how long recovery will be. If anyone has experience with this surgery, I would love to hear about it. I don't know what chemo. Previously I did oxaliplatin infusion with 3 weeks xeloda pills, then 1 week off. The oncologist said it might be the same chemo, maybe different, depends on tests. He tells me that chemo therapy has advanced since 2016.

It's not an understatement to say I'm scared. I had APR Surgery for the rectal cancer (removal of anus, sphincter and some colon) and have a permanent colostomy. I had a hard 3 weeks in and out of the hospital after surgery because my system had difficulty restarting but I finally adjusted. I thought I had this beat but the doctor told me that a micro cell could have gotten past the surgery and chemo. I want to believe I can do this but I'm scared. I have a wonderfully supportive husband and son. I have a beautiful granddaughter and grandson that I need to get well for. So I will continue this fight. I'm just feeling a little low.

As always, thank you for listening. 

K