Lifelong non-smoker with possible lung cancer

PBJ Austin said:

Thank you
Thank you so much for your kind replies. I hope it didn't sound like I think this shouldn't be happening to me for being a non-smoker. I only meant that it adds greatly to the shock of hearing this news. I certainly do not wish this on anyone, smoker or not.

I will try my best to follow your advice and to stay optimistic and upbeat. I appreciate your comments and if anyone has more to add, your words of wisdom are most welcome.

possible lung cancer
my prayers are with you. I smoked about 31 years ago, but I live in the Ohio Valley, where there are a lot of chemical plants. The exhaust fumes that come from there. In Doing test down at the hospital for something else, came up with two nodules in base of left lung.

I have been coughing a lot lately, I am just back from the hospital had a chest ex-ray done, my doctor will have the results in two days.

I am a colon cancer survivor, my sister just passed away this past may with ovarian cancer.
I am getting nervous.

Ladybug

It happens
I am a non-smoker too. As an educator, I preach to the kids frequently not to smoke. You know the speech: 9 out of 10 cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking. Guess what! I'm the 1 out of 10. Some studies say that it is closer to 2 out of 10 cases of lung cancer happen to non-smokers. Does that mean you should have gone ahead and lit up? Of course not! Friends that I know that were diagnosed with lung cancer had to quit smoking so that they could breathe, a difficult task at any time, but even worse when you are stressed out with a cancer diagnosis. If you have been doing things to stay healthy (eating right, exercising, seeing your doctor and so forth) you are probably in better shape to weather whatever it takes to beat the beast. I hope that your biopsy shows that all you have is a lousy infection easily cleared up with some antibiotics or other meds. But if it is lung cancer, know that Joe is right. It is what it is. Spend your time figuring out what you can do now. I have been very lucky. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. Major surgery took care of that one. Then in 2006 I had a shadow on an chest Xray. They thought I had stage 4 breast cancer in my lung after my first lung operation. Further testing indicated that I had stage 1A lung cancer. More surgery took care of that one. Major surgery isn't fun or easy, but this morning I was at the gym lifting weights. Then I ran around Vacation Bible School with 15 hyper 3rd graders. Finally I worked around the house all afternoon. Now I'm about to go for a mile walk at the park. I'm missing some tissues here and there, but you'd never know it. It took awhile to get my energy back. Folks who have chemo take longer to recover. Also I was lucky enough to have a surgeon who knew how to do VATS procedures (like laprscopy on the lungs). But even folks I've met with regular surgery and major chemo routines recover. So don't give up hope! It isn't cancer till the pathologist says it is. And then it is only some crazy cells that need medical treatment and you just do what it takes, one day at a time. Good luck!

C. Abbott

PBJ Austin said:

Biopsy results
UPDATE: I heard from the hospital today and they told me the biopsy results were inconclusive as the sample was inadequate. They did not find any cancer cells but they did not find any cells to indicate what is going on either. She said to call my primary care physician on Monday and determine further testing and treatment.

Keep us posted
Dear PBJ Austin,

Thanks for the update! Did you get a copy of your report? It is time to start collecting those reports in a 3 ring binder so you have a record of what was done when and what they found. So far it almost sounds like good news. They haven't diagnosed cancer. However, if they are getting "snot" it sounds like they need to keep doing some tests. You may have an infection that needs some serious treatment. Or you may have the "c" that causes an infection not to clear up and they just haven't found the right tissue yet. I was not happy when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. Alright, "not happy" is a gross understatement. I cried several times a day for weeks and couldn't sleep, couldn't enjoy anything, didn't feel like I would live...I was miserable! By 2006 when I was diagnosed with lung cancer I was emotionally in a totally different spot. I was actually tear-free and joking with the surgeon when he called to tell me that I had to have more surgery because the tumor tested stage 1 lung cancer rather than stage 4 breast cancer. (I lived 100 miles from the hospital so it had to be by phone. Also, it was 9 o'clock at night because he had had surgery all day and bedtime was the soonest he could get to a phone.)It wasn't because my odds were better. There are many drugs that are fairly successful on stage 4 breast cancer and my odds were about the same in terms of survival. It was just that then I knew that finding the "beast" is better than not finding it when it is there. Then you can fight the enemy. When you don't know where it is or what it is, the enemy can keep attacking without anything stopping it. Also, I knew he didn't enjoy giving me the news that I needed more surgery. My biopsy had not been the sort with a needle. I had had a VATS procedure to remove the nodule which was to be followed by whatever surgery was needed to remove the lung lobe or lobes if it was obviously lung cancer. Sometimes they just can't tell and with my luck, I had the kind of lung cancer that looks the same under a microscope as the kind of breast cancer I had previously. Reading a lot beforehand gave me nightmares, but it also prepared me more than my surgeon expected which is why I was just shaking my head and not cussing the poor guy out when he called me with the news. Anyhow, I hope you can get in to your physician and find out what tests will be needed to clear up what you have and what can be done about it. Be aggressive so that you are sure you are getting the treatment you need. Then you can rest easy knowing you have done all you could. I hope you have a thoracic lung cancer specialist at a university teaching hospital or lung cancer clinic that is working with you. If not, now may be the time to ask your primary for a referral to one. Seeing one doesn't mean you have lung cancer. They test you for everything else and know more about lung diseases and tests on the lung than other doctors could possibly know. Good luck!

C. Abbott

PBJ Austin said:

Another biopsy through the nose
The biopsy they did last week didn't reveal much. They didn't find cancer cells but the sample was inadequate for cancer testing so they are doing a second biopsy on Monday. This time it will not be a needle biopsy like the last one, instead they will send a tube through my nose and into my lung.

Has anyone else had this type of biopsy? How long was your recovery and how bad was the pain? Also, did anyone else have a lot of dead tissue in your sample?

They are still testing for fungus or infection, but those results will take 6 weeks since the cultures grow very slowly. I hate this waiting but I'm doing the best I can.

Thanks in advance for your help, I appreciate all input.

Hi Austin
I did get a broncoscophy (don´t know if the right word in English) but the same as the one that you are going to have.
I spend only 4 hours at hospital and felt nothing, I was sleeping and when recovered I walked back home. No soars and no damage to my throat neither to my nose or lungs.

Don´t worry, it is not a dangerous one and it is the best way to get samples and get an accurate diagnosis.

Best luck mate.

Cheers

Mario

PBJ Austin said:

Thanks Mario
That's a relief, I was worried this would knock me down for a few days.

Thank you for posting and I love your pic, the baby is adorable. :-)

I had a bronchoscopy, too,
I had a bronchoscopy, too, and it's just as Mario said, it's a very easy procedure; it will be over in the blink of an eye for you and leave no pain behind, the best kind of procedure

cabbott said:

Thanks for the good news!
YEAAAHHHH! Your post is a good reminder that it isn't cancer until the pathologist sees it under the microscope. Take your meds just as prescribed and call the doctor if you have any side effects or concerns. I hope the meds knock your infection out pronto!

C. Abbott

PBJ Austin
Hi PBJ

I'm very interested in your follow up - I'm in a very similar situation to you.

I'm 37, non-smoker and was diagnosed with NSCLC in my left lung and active lymph nodes in the mediastinum a month ago today. I had a bronchoscopy that showed a lot of imflammation and mucous and subsequently had a CT-guided biopsy. I had 3 samples taken from the mass they found but all 3 samples came back as negative.

However, the next day I had a PET scan which showed hyper-metabolic activity in the mass (SUV 12) and the lymph nodes (ranging from 2 to 5). I was subsequently told I had stage 4 adenocarcinoma of the lung left with lymphangitis. I was told I had a few weeks to live. I was told to go home and enjoy the sunset - to give up and die. I'm never going to give up.

I had a second opinion a week later and was told by the oncologist that he didn't believe I had lymphangitis and that my staging was most likely 3b, potentially 3a if the one lymph node (of the 5 active ones) on the right side of my mediastinum is not cancerous. I've headed to New York (where I am currently) to seek out treatment options. I have another bronchoscopy on Monday with mediastinoscopy and EBUS (Ultrasound).

I've read that PET scans can and do sometimes provide false positive reports - whereby glucose is absorbed showing what looks to be cancerous activity when it's actually in response to infection only. The glucose uptake shows metabolic activity, not necessarily cancer.

I guess by the end of next week I'll know for sure.

Wishing you good news and everyone else the best of luck.