A Plan - Finally!

z said:

John
I hope that the spots in the right are just inflammation, but if not then the chemo could still knock them out and the future could still have a vats procedure in it. Theres a poster that her husband will have 2 vats procedures 1 on the right and 1 on the left. Now I was told that the lungs will expand by 30% to compensate for the loss of a lobe. Our bodies are truly amazing. I hope your biopsy will be good news. I wish you well. Lori

cabbott said:

Keep hoping
I have read more than one story where the chemo reduced the size and number of tumors so that surgery was an option later. So don't give up hope! I had surgery with VATS back in 2006 and still see the docs at Hopkins. The nurses are outstanding. Well, so are the doctors, but the nurses are the ones you see most often. They are great at answering questions and do their best to make you comfortable. Don't be shy about calling them whenever you need them. The folks on this site also are good at helping with day to day problems that sometimes crop up.

By the way, I'm glad to hear the VATS procedure is still available at Hopkins. Just in case I may need it on the other side. . . my original surgeon moved away awhile back and I am now seeing someone that is great at research but does "regular" thoracic surgery. If you have to have surgery, I greatly recommend the VATS surgery. Recovery is much faster and side effects are less. I have had both one VATS surgery and one modified VATS surgery on the right side. Since I had the chance to compare "bandaide" incisions with a 4 incher, I can tell you from experience that smaller is better! Mind you, the nurses tell me that since the two operations were within 2 weeks of one another the drugs probably slowed me down more during the modified VATS. But I still prefer the VATS and think it is a better option when possible. I will probably not be a candidate for VATS on that side in the future (so I was told back in 2006). However, I have learned to take one day at a time and who knows what they will be able to do should I need surgery in the future. Every day there are new discoveries both in drug research and in surgery advancements. So who knows what will be possible next month, next year, or in five years or whenever I need help again!

The same is true for you and your treatment. Advancements are so quick that the outlook for cancer patients can totally change from one month to the next for the better. You never know what great discovery is just around the corner. That's why you go to the best place you can and talk to researchers on the cutting edge. So take things one day at a time.

By the way, it came as a bit of a shock to me to learn that cancer takes a long time to grow and develop. By the time I was diagnosed, the doctor said I had probably had cancer for several years. I was worried that ignoring getting it out for even a few days would make a terrible difference. In fact, when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2002 (yep, I'm lucky twice!) I wasn't sure if I had a month or a year left to live. I was seriously scared! The doctor insisted that most lung cancer takes weeks to months to double. One cell doesn't show up on a scan. Neither do two, four, sixteen, or even twice that. It takes lots and lots of doubles before even stage 1 cancer shows up. The doctor said I may have had lung cancer for two to eight years before it finally showed up in the first scan. So the few weeks I had to wait to see him weren't worrying him and shouldn't worry me. I worried anyhow and looked up information about cancer doubling times. Of course, it showed he was right. Some cancers are more aggressive than others and none of them should be totally ignored. But a week or even a month waiting for an appointment doesn't make a hugh difference with lung cancer.