Subtle Changes

mamacita5
mamacita5 Member Posts: 254
in Lung Cancer #1
I went in for my 3 month check up today and the doctor said there are "subtle changes" seen on the chest x-rays I had last week. He has ordered a ct scan next week and of course told me not to worry. Easy for him to say, but easier said than done. He said that my tumor marker has not changed and he was pleased that I was not losing any weight which are both good signs.

In February I had a bad experience with Advair and stopped taking it after 2 weeks. It caused my asthma to worsen, gave me a dry cough, headaches, dizziness, and some depression. Once I stopped taking it these symptoms have gone away. I am hoping the changes might be due to taking the Advair.

I has been almost exactly one year from my initial diagnosis and I feel very frightened.
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Comments

  • bradygirl
    bradygirl Member Posts: 31
    #2
    Positive thoughts
    I just went thru this, waited 3 weeks for followup CT scan it showed no cancer. My subtle changes were from radiation. I know exactly how anxious you are! I prayed alot and told myself to not have any what if its back thoughts! Takes alot of positive energy. You seem like a strong person I know you can stay in today! Sending positive mojo your way. MaryAnn
  • bradygirl
    bradygirl Member Posts: 31
    #3
    Positive thoughts
    I just went thru this, waited 3 weeks for followup CT scan it showed no cancer. My subtle changes were from radiation. I know exactly how anxious you are! I prayed alot and told myself to not have any what if its back thoughts! Takes alot of positive energy. You seem like a strong person I know you can stay in today! Sending positive mojo your way. MaryAnn
  • bradygirl
    bradygirl Member Posts: 31
    #4
    Positive thoughts
    I just went thru this, waited 3 weeks for followup CT scan it showed no cancer. My subtle changes were from radiation. I know exactly how anxious you are! I prayed alot and told myself to not have any what if its back thoughts! Takes alot of positive energy. You seem like a strong person I know you can stay in today! Sending positive mojo your way. MaryAnn
  • luz del lago
    luz del lago Member Posts: 449
    #5
    mamacita,
    Sending hugs,
    mamacita,

    Sending hugs, prayers and good wishes your way. It must be frightening, but know that you are not alone. Take care and let us know how you are doing.

    Lucy
  • mamacita5
    mamacita5 Member Posts: 254
    #6
    luz del lago said:

    mamacita,
    Sending hugs,
    mamacita,

    Sending hugs, prayers and good wishes your way. It must be frightening, but know that you are not alone. Take care and let us know how you are doing.

    Lucy

    Thank you Friends
    Thank you guys for your kind words and positive encouragement.
  • lekkerone
    lekkerone Member Posts: 199
    #7
    mamacita5 said:

    Thank you Friends
    Thank you guys for your kind words and positive encouragement.

    Our legacy
    I think we will always be afraid of most medical tests and I don't blame you for being worried. I guess that is what we will always have to live with. I am no expert but I wouldn't imagine much can change in three months. Just know that as you are so quick to encourage us, we all are pulling for you. Good luck and lets hope it was the Advair.
  • Glenna M
    Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
    #8
    Subtle changes...
    I heard those exact words from my rad onc after my last scan in February. Not what I wanted to hear, I'm 18 months post treatment and all of my other scans and tests had been coming back good so I was shocked when I heard this.

    Waiting for another scan in May to see if the new lesion has changed any. I know the waiting is the hardest but you have to find other ways to keep yourself busy or you will make yourself sick worrying.

    Keeping you in my thoughts that all will be well and your "subtle changes" will be nothing to worry about.

    Stay strong,
    Glenna
  • sissylu1
    sissylu1 Member Posts: 66
    #9
    mamacita5 said:

    Thank you Friends
    Thank you guys for your kind words and positive encouragement.

    live by your own words
    Know that alot of us are praying for you..I just read your blog and one of the pieces of advice you give to others is to stay focused on the success stories-you are one of those people and will continue to be!!!!!!
  • Dan620
    Dan620 Member Posts: 220
    #10
    Inconclusive
    Had a pet-scan little over a year ago that Onco DR said was inconclusive and had me have ct-scan 3 weeks later, it came back good. DR said it could have been infection or just something from radiation. Have had 2 ct-scans and 2 chest x-rays since, all good so far. I know the anxiety you go through not knowing. Stay postive and know you have many friends here praying all will be well for you.... Dan
  • mamacita5
    mamacita5 Member Posts: 254
    #11
    Dan620 said:

    Inconclusive
    Had a pet-scan little over a year ago that Onco DR said was inconclusive and had me have ct-scan 3 weeks later, it came back good. DR said it could have been infection or just something from radiation. Have had 2 ct-scans and 2 chest x-rays since, all good so far. I know the anxiety you go through not knowing. Stay postive and know you have many friends here praying all will be well for you.... Dan

    Support
    I am truly blessed to have found you all. Your support means so much to me, knowing that you all know EXACTLY how I am feeling. When we are UP we can support those who are down and vise versa.
  • karenbeth
    karenbeth Member Posts: 194
    #12
    mamacita5 said:

    Support
    I am truly blessed to have found you all. Your support means so much to me, knowing that you all know EXACTLY how I am feeling. When we are UP we can support those who are down and vise versa.

    best wishes
    I will keep you in my thoughts for good results from your scan.

    Karen
  • mamacita5
    mamacita5 Member Posts: 254
    #13
    karenbeth said:

    best wishes
    I will keep you in my thoughts for good results from your scan.

    Karen

    Just Heard From Onc
    I had my CT this morning and my oncologist called to give me the report. Bless his heart, he knows I am a worrier so he did not make me wait a minute more than was necessary. The report states: Increased left perihilar infiltrative markings. 8mm sub-pleural nodular lesion in the left upper lobe. He feels these findings might be a result of scarring from radiation, but is sending my scan results to my pulmonary doctor for her to review. He feels a PET would not be useful due to the small size of the "nodule" and suggests we wait a couple of months to see if there are any changes. So there we go...it's waiting mode again for me. I do feel optimistic that the scan did not reveal an obvious recurrence of the beast. Thank you all for your support, prayers, and good wishes.

    Anita
  • lekkerone
    lekkerone Member Posts: 199
    #14
    mamacita5 said:

    Just Heard From Onc
    I had my CT this morning and my oncologist called to give me the report. Bless his heart, he knows I am a worrier so he did not make me wait a minute more than was necessary. The report states: Increased left perihilar infiltrative markings. 8mm sub-pleural nodular lesion in the left upper lobe. He feels these findings might be a result of scarring from radiation, but is sending my scan results to my pulmonary doctor for her to review. He feels a PET would not be useful due to the small size of the "nodule" and suggests we wait a couple of months to see if there are any changes. So there we go...it's waiting mode again for me. I do feel optimistic that the scan did not reveal an obvious recurrence of the beast. Thank you all for your support, prayers, and good wishes.

    Anita

    Anita
    That sounds pretty darned good Anita. Bless that oncologist you have. What a relief!!
  • Glenna M
    Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
    #15
    mamacita5 said:

    Just Heard From Onc
    I had my CT this morning and my oncologist called to give me the report. Bless his heart, he knows I am a worrier so he did not make me wait a minute more than was necessary. The report states: Increased left perihilar infiltrative markings. 8mm sub-pleural nodular lesion in the left upper lobe. He feels these findings might be a result of scarring from radiation, but is sending my scan results to my pulmonary doctor for her to review. He feels a PET would not be useful due to the small size of the "nodule" and suggests we wait a couple of months to see if there are any changes. So there we go...it's waiting mode again for me. I do feel optimistic that the scan did not reveal an obvious recurrence of the beast. Thank you all for your support, prayers, and good wishes.

    Anita

    Same here...
    Looks like we are both in the same mode..."wait and watch". I still have another 5 or 6 weeks to wait for my next scan so they can determine whether this "thing" has grown, shrunk or disappeared. I think all of this waiting is giving me gray hair :)

    Will continue to pray that yours is scarring.

    Stay well,
    Glenna
  • grannylove
    grannylove Member Posts: 183
    #16
    mamacita5 said:

    Just Heard From Onc
    I had my CT this morning and my oncologist called to give me the report. Bless his heart, he knows I am a worrier so he did not make me wait a minute more than was necessary. The report states: Increased left perihilar infiltrative markings. 8mm sub-pleural nodular lesion in the left upper lobe. He feels these findings might be a result of scarring from radiation, but is sending my scan results to my pulmonary doctor for her to review. He feels a PET would not be useful due to the small size of the "nodule" and suggests we wait a couple of months to see if there are any changes. So there we go...it's waiting mode again for me. I do feel optimistic that the scan did not reveal an obvious recurrence of the beast. Thank you all for your support, prayers, and good wishes.

    Anita

    thoughts and prayers
    Anita, What a wonderful onc you have! More onc should be as thoughtful. We're in the waiting mode with ya. Prayers and good vibes coming your way!
    Cheryl
  • chad76
    chad76 Member Posts: 52
    #17
    Many prayers your way...my
    Many prayers your way...my wife is going through the same thing. They moved her ct scan up one month earlier and told us not to worry..that is easy for them to say...please keep me posted.
  • mamacita5
    mamacita5 Member Posts: 254
    #18
    chad76 said:

    Many prayers your way...my
    Many prayers your way...my wife is going through the same thing. They moved her ct scan up one month earlier and told us not to worry..that is easy for them to say...please keep me posted.

    Chad76
    Thanks for the prayers Chad. Did your wife have a scan, then they moved her next one up earlier because they see something? I do hope things go well for you guys. It is easy to say "don't worry" but very hard to do. What type and stage is your wife, if you don't mind answering...
  • chad76
    chad76 Member Posts: 52
    #19
    mamacita5 said:

    Chad76
    Thanks for the prayers Chad. Did your wife have a scan, then they moved her next one up earlier because they see something? I do hope things go well for you guys. It is easy to say "don't worry" but very hard to do. What type and stage is your wife, if you don't mind answering...

    The doc did a X-ray and they
    The doc did a X-ray and they saw a slight enlargement but he said that it could b radiation scaring..she has not had any chemotherapy since July of last year nor any chest radiation I think since june..she did have pci that finished in the end of august...she had limited stage small cell...been in remission since august.her tumor was 5cm x 5cm.hope and pray that the doc is right.
  • luz del lago
    luz del lago Member Posts: 449
    #20
    chad76 said:

    The doc did a X-ray and they
    The doc did a X-ray and they saw a slight enlargement but he said that it could b radiation scaring..she has not had any chemotherapy since July of last year nor any chest radiation I think since june..she did have pci that finished in the end of august...she had limited stage small cell...been in remission since august.her tumor was 5cm x 5cm.hope and pray that the doc is right.

    To Chad76
    Hello Chad,

    Sending prayers your way that the doc is right and that all continues to go well for your dear wife!

    Lucy
  • chad76
    chad76 Member Posts: 52
    #21
    luz del lago said:

    To Chad76
    Hello Chad,

    Sending prayers your way that the doc is right and that all continues to go well for your dear wife!

    Lucy

    thank you
    Thank you Lucy!..I will post her results at the end of may after het ct scan.hope that all is well with you.

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