newly dx

catcon49 said:

finally I got the
finally I got the constipation thing under control 5 weeks later. Cancer type is T1a nomo. Adenocarcinoma. no met no lymphnodes involved. They said no chemo or radiation. I don't know what to make of this, but it makes sense that if the cancer was in that part of the lung and that lobe is gone what would they give me chemo for. I know it can come back in another area of the lung or body. I don't know what to think. Any body with any thoughts out there.

Great news!
That is really great news! I checked up on T1a when that was the diagnosis I got. Usually no chemo is recommended for that level. That is because surgery has a great chance of being sufficient at that level. If it comes back in another part of the lung, they can do more surgery if your lungs can manage it. If not, they can discuss whether chemo or something else that might work to stop or slow down the cancer. If it somewhere else in the body, you are dealing with stage 4 cancer and chemo and maybe radiation are usually used. Hopefully you will not have to go there, but many of my friends from this website can share how chemo and radiation are helping them survive cancer in spite of a stage 4 diagnosis. The doctors will keep a very close watch on you especially over the next two or three years. My surgeon warned me that I would continue to see him for probably 8 years because sometimes my kind of cancer can take that long to show up. That's if it ever does show up again. He doesn't want to take chances and neither do I. So I will make my appointments and get all my CAT scans done as scheduled. But the rest of the time I'm making plans for Thanksgiving with my family, skiing this winter, buying a new car, and ...well, you get the picture. Cancer happened, but it isn't all there is of me. The doctors worked hard to get me well enough to go do all that other stuff. So don't worry too much about cancer coming back and what you'll do then. That's what the doctors get paid to do. Thanks again for sharing your great news!

catcon49 said:

I was wondering, it will be
I was wondering, it will be 9 weeks since my vats surgery. My right breast is still sore underneath my back muscles are still weak. I also have a little shortness of breath after some activity. I am walking the mall (it's a small mall under 1 mile) 3 times twice a day. I also start very small exercise at curves. My doctor released me for work on 11/10/08, but my work is giving me a hard time about my restrictions that I have they say they have no light duty work for me. I have a very strenuious (?) job at the Post Office. My sick leave and vacation time are all used up. I have to use my right arm constantly to sort mail. This is one of my restrictions. Did anyone run into any of this at work?

It takes a while to recover from major surgery. You don't want to over-do things by attempting too much too soon. It will take longer to recover if you have a set-back. Getting part of a lung removed is mighty major, even if it is a VATS procedure and you did well. I know I was "guarding" my right side through the end of October and my operation was during the first part of August. By the following summer I was feeling a whole lot better. Right now (two years later) you would never know I had part of my right lung removed (well, unless you saw me in a bathing suit. I have a couple of interesting scars in various places and they haven't disappeared completely). Anyhow, I had an job that didn't involve much lifting or carrying. Yours does. I may have recovered slower because I had two back to back surgeries before my lobe was completely removed, but it will still take a while for your stitches to heal. You will know you are over-doing things if they hurt. I tried pulling up a weed in my garden a month after surgery. One yank and I knew without a doubt that it was a very bad idea to proceed. Now I can yank as much as I want. (Too bad that isn't as often as I have weeds. But I digress.) You might consider calling your local American Cancer Society and ask what the disability laws are that might protect your job while you are recovering. A good lawyer in the field of disability could also explain what you could do, but lawyers sometimes cost a bunch. It would be great if they could move you to a position where you do something that didn't involve any lifting or carrying. Can you learn to use your left hand to sort the mail? Are there any machines or lifts you could use so that you could sort mail without using your right arm? The same laws that protect the handicapped protect folks with cancer, but they do need to get the job done. Think outside the box and see what might work. Good luck!

C. Abbott