Bronchoalveolar Cell Carcinoma (BAC)

sunprairietina
sunprairietina Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Young Cancer Survivors #1
Hi,
Any survivors out there with Bronchoalveolar Cell Carcinoma?

Comments

  • tennislover
    tennislover Member Posts: 64
    #2
    Not me, I am a colon cancer club member. what is it? I havent heard of it before.
  • cabbott
    cabbott Member Posts: 1,039 Member
    #3
    I was just diagnosed last August with lung cancer, adneocarcinoma with BAC features. They said that BAC was a better kind of cancer to have because it rarely left the lung. On the other hand, it could also reappear in any spot in either lung, so monitoring was definately needed. They said it progresses slower than other cancers and that's good. It is the kind non-smokers, which I am, tend to get. We tested the house for radon, but our house tested okay for that too. We don't know what caused it. How are you doing?
  • KK30
    KK30 Member Posts: 2
    #4
    BAC
    My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer 5 years ago (BAC) and had her entire left lung and surrounding lymph nodes removed but not further treatment (chemo etc). She had 6 monthly checkups then yearly and was clean as a whistle for 5 years.....but I think it's back -- they found a 3 cm spot on her right remaining lung a couple of days and is about to get a PET scan and biopsy done.

    Per Cabbott's input, this strain is suppose to be the least aggressive and slow growing and confined to just the lungs....my only input is for you to be extremely be diligent getting your routine checkup. It does reappear.
  • KK30
    KK30 Member Posts: 2
    #5
    KK30 said:

    BAC
    My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer 5 years ago (BAC) and had her entire left lung and surrounding lymph nodes removed but not further treatment (chemo etc). She had 6 monthly checkups then yearly and was clean as a whistle for 5 years.....but I think it's back -- they found a 3 cm spot on her right remaining lung a couple of days and is about to get a PET scan and biopsy done.

    Per Cabbott's input, this strain is suppose to be the least aggressive and slow growing and confined to just the lungs....my only input is for you to be extremely be diligent getting your routine checkup. It does reappear.

    BAC and Radon
    Cabbott -- what's Radon?...like you. my mother is a non-smoker and no history of lung cancer runs in the family..do you or your doctors ahve a slightest hint of what's caused this?

    thanks
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #6
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • SAE1463
    SAE1463 Member Posts: 1
    #7
    KK30 said:

    BAC
    My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer 5 years ago (BAC) and had her entire left lung and surrounding lymph nodes removed but not further treatment (chemo etc). She had 6 monthly checkups then yearly and was clean as a whistle for 5 years.....but I think it's back -- they found a 3 cm spot on her right remaining lung a couple of days and is about to get a PET scan and biopsy done.

    Per Cabbott's input, this strain is suppose to be the least aggressive and slow growing and confined to just the lungs....my only input is for you to be extremely be diligent getting your routine checkup. It does reappear.

    BAC
    Yes I was diagnosed in Feb 2003 and had one of my right lobes removes, no chem but radiation
    This year in 2009 I was diagonosed with a another primary cancer in my left lung resection was done and YES BE VERY VERY DILIGENT IN GETTING CT SCANS
  • SIGIJEANNE
    SIGIJEANNE Member Posts: 1
    #8
    bronchoalveolar Carcinoma
    Just diagnosed. Very worried. Don't know what to expect. Have appointment with surgeon on June 9th. Had colon cancer in 2007.
  • 1jw2jwh3jws
    1jw2jwh3jws Member Posts: 1
    #9
    I had it
    I was diagosed with it in May; doctor thought I'd had pneumonia but CT scan showed mass in right lung. PET Scan showed it very clearly. I had surgery on 4 June to remove upper lobe of right lung. Have been told by one doctor that less than 10% chance it will return but another doctor told me I needed to take TARCEVA every day for the rest of my life to ensure I'll never have it again. TOO MANY SIDE EFFECTS!!!! I think I'd rather have a PET Scan every 6 months rather than deal with all of the side effects of that drug. One week after I was diagnosed my husband had a chest x-ray and he has Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma in his right lung and it is also in his liver. He has had 2 chemo treatments with 4 more to go. He is to have another PET Scan around the 10th of August to see if the treatments are reducing the tumors. I am glad I went ahead with the surgery......BCA Carcinoma may be one of the slowest growing cancers but I didn't want to take any chances.
  • fireflame1
    fireflame1 Member Posts: 2
    #10
    1jw2jwh3jws said:

    I had it
    I was diagosed with it in May; doctor thought I'd had pneumonia but CT scan showed mass in right lung. PET Scan showed it very clearly. I had surgery on 4 June to remove upper lobe of right lung. Have been told by one doctor that less than 10% chance it will return but another doctor told me I needed to take TARCEVA every day for the rest of my life to ensure I'll never have it again. TOO MANY SIDE EFFECTS!!!! I think I'd rather have a PET Scan every 6 months rather than deal with all of the side effects of that drug. One week after I was diagnosed my husband had a chest x-ray and he has Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma in his right lung and it is also in his liver. He has had 2 chemo treatments with 4 more to go. He is to have another PET Scan around the 10th of August to see if the treatments are reducing the tumors. I am glad I went ahead with the surgery......BCA Carcinoma may be one of the slowest growing cancers but I didn't want to take any chances.

    just had a lung resection
    Hi I was diagnosed with it and just had a lung resection done in July 8 weeks ago exactly.. I also have asthma and C.O.P.D. They say I don't need Chemo or radiation but it will come back. As an ex-hairstylist I'm sure the chemicals are the contributing factor. It is nice to read how positive you all are. I go tonight to talk to the doctor to see what he has to say now.
  • fireflame1
    fireflame1 Member Posts: 2
    #11
    left lung
    I should also add that it was in my left lung. It seems like everyone I've spokken with is in the right one to start.
  • katejo
    katejo Member Posts: 1
    #12
    fireflame1 said:

    left lung
    I should also add that it was in my left lung. It seems like everyone I've spokken with is in the right one to start.

    esophagus
    I had cancer in my esophagus 3 months ago. It was successfully removed, along with half of my esophagus. I use to chain smoke menthol cigarettes, this is surely the reason I got cancer. I just want to voice my opinion about smoking. DON'T DO IT!!!!! It isn't worth losing parts of your body over. Now I have to use an oxygen concentrator in order to breath. Also about 6 years ago I was involved in a terrible accident losing my sister, and brother in law. I was transported to the ER via helecopter losing half of a lung, 5 broken ribs, and a 15 day coma. All this combined makes me feel like I've lived through it all. God Bless you Linda, and Gerald.
  • nanaknits
    nanaknits Member Posts: 2
    #13
    How were you diagnosed?
    I have a lesion on my right lung that the pulmonologist has been following for a year now. Last CT showed enlargement. She wants to do a bronchoscopy to rule out BAC but some have told me ask for a Petscan first. What do you think?
  • lindakerry621
    lindakerry621 Member Posts: 1
    #14
    BAC
    My husband was just diagnosed with BAC - they said he had broncitis then pneuomonia and treated him for that for almost 3 weeks. With no results from the antibiotics, they put him in the hospital last Monday and did a bronch scope last Tuesday and Wednesday said he had BAC. He's going for a pet scan tomorrow and we will not have the results until Monday or Tuesday, but after reading a lot of this information, it says that BAC is a "mystery cancer" and sometimes pet scans do not give an acurate reading.
    Besides his doctors, I made a call to Sloan and they are going to look at his scans and reports. My husband has been a smoker for over 35 years -- he's 52 yrs old.

    Are there any special questions or tests I should ask these doctors. Does anyone recommend Sloan over anyone else -- or does anyone have the name of a good doctor who we can trust.

    Thank you all so much.

    Linda
  • Burp
    Burp Member Posts: 1
    #15
    nanaknits said:

    How were you diagnosed?
    I have a lesion on my right lung that the pulmonologist has been following for a year now. Last CT showed enlargement. She wants to do a bronchoscopy to rule out BAC but some have told me ask for a Petscan first. What do you think?

    bronchoalveolar carcinoma
    I just celebrated my 19th anniversary from the date of surgery for BAC on 1/16/92. I wonder how anyone could rule out BAC with a bronchoscopy. It was a CTscan that clearly showed the lesion up on the upper right apex of my right lung. Bronchoscopy and other tests uncovered nothing. It took a thoracotomy to open the lung to accurately biopsy it. The surgeon, who was the head of the hospital, a very experienced thoracic surgeon, said he would not trust a needle biopsy. I trust that you have had further scanning of your lung(s) and gotten on with your care. Good luck!
  • mangomove67
    mangomove67 Member Posts: 1
    #16
    nanaknits said:

    How were you diagnosed?
    I have a lesion on my right lung that the pulmonologist has been following for a year now. Last CT showed enlargement. She wants to do a bronchoscopy to rule out BAC but some have told me ask for a Petscan first. What do you think?

    Bronchoscopy BAC PET scan, CT, surgery
    My pulmonologist told me that the problem with doing a bronchoscopy for diagnosing is that the inside of the lung bleeds easily, and if that happens, they have to stop. I had a bronchoscopy and that's what happened, so it was "nondiagnostic." Still, I'm glad we tried.

    I have had CT scans and two Pet scans, the most recent Feb 1, 2011, The opacity/infiltrate did "light up." The "opacity" which has been seen since 2006 and which I was told could be anything (scar, pneumonia, TB, neoplasm, including BAC) has gotten bigger, so I will be having surgery to remove the opacity and look at it, test it for BAC. My Pulmonary doctor says that the only way to know for sure that it is Broncho alveolar carcinoma is to take out the dark spot and test it.

    Is this the experience of others who were diagnosed with BAC? Has anyone been diagnosed with BAC without surgery?
  • BonnieK1
    BonnieK1 Member Posts: 1
    #17
    mangomove67 said:

    Bronchoscopy BAC PET scan, CT, surgery
    My pulmonologist told me that the problem with doing a bronchoscopy for diagnosing is that the inside of the lung bleeds easily, and if that happens, they have to stop. I had a bronchoscopy and that's what happened, so it was "nondiagnostic." Still, I'm glad we tried.

    I have had CT scans and two Pet scans, the most recent Feb 1, 2011, The opacity/infiltrate did "light up." The "opacity" which has been seen since 2006 and which I was told could be anything (scar, pneumonia, TB, neoplasm, including BAC) has gotten bigger, so I will be having surgery to remove the opacity and look at it, test it for BAC. My Pulmonary doctor says that the only way to know for sure that it is Broncho alveolar carcinoma is to take out the dark spot and test it.

    Is this the experience of others who were diagnosed with BAC? Has anyone been diagnosed with BAC without surgery?

    BAC
    I had a bronchoscopy in October 2010, which was successful and that's when it was determined that it was cancer. My pulmonologist had been following me for about 1 1/2 years. I had VATS done in December 2010 and am boarderline IB/IIA. I had two small lesions in my upper right lobe but the lymph nodes and a test section of my middle lobe were cancer free. I also had a CT scan of my abdomen and neck and both were clear. I don't know of anyone who has been diagnosed without surgery. I started chemo on Feb. 4, 2011 but am unable to continue as my white cell count dropped after the second session. This has been the longest month in my life - nausea, fatigue, vomiting, etc. The only good thing is I didn't loose my hair - yet!
  • afieldson
    afieldson Member Posts: 2
    #18
    Burp said:

    bronchoalveolar carcinoma
    I just celebrated my 19th anniversary from the date of surgery for BAC on 1/16/92. I wonder how anyone could rule out BAC with a bronchoscopy. It was a CTscan that clearly showed the lesion up on the upper right apex of my right lung. Bronchoscopy and other tests uncovered nothing. It took a thoracotomy to open the lung to accurately biopsy it. The surgeon, who was the head of the hospital, a very experienced thoracic surgeon, said he would not trust a needle biopsy. I trust that you have had further scanning of your lung(s) and gotten on with your care. Good luck!

    BAC
    In 2006 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a recurrence of non-hodgkins lymphoma in the left shoulder. I had chemo and radiation for those cancers. I have been having PET scans every 6 months since. They have seen a spot on the upper right lung all along, but it did not grow; they were thinking it was scar tissue from the radiation hitting the lung. But when I had the PET in January of this year, they noticed the spot had grown slightly. A CT-guided needle biopsy was done and they have diagnosed it as BAC. At first they considered not doing surgery, but then reconsidered, just in case it started growing at a faster pace. I have not met with the surgeon yet; I will see him in early April. I am told the BAC is up against the chest wall. Don't know if they will have to take any of the pleura or not. Am wondering how they make sure they got it all. I understand chemo is not a reliable source of treatment for this. And am also told it could pop up in other places in the lung. I am encouraged by the person who is celebrating the 19th anniversary of the surgery. There is hope for all, isn't there?
  • fox220
    fox220 Member Posts: 1
    #19
    BAC
    Hi, I was diagnosed with BAC a week ago. I have the diffuse type through both lungs, most lobes. Diagnosis was by gathering cells in the bronchial wash/lavage during the bronchoscopy.

    Because there is not a single tumor/mass, my cancer is inoperable. I will be pursuing either targeted therapies (waiting on mutation testing results) or chemo. I will have PET scan results today to rule out cancer anywhere else. MRI has already cleared my brain. whew.

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