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Hi, I was diagnosised in Oct. 08 with lung cancer at age 49. The Pet scan showed stage 1B, so in Dec. I had the lower left lobe removed. I was told I would not need any chemo but I have read numorous articles which state even in stage 1 survival rate is higher when chemo is given. Pathology showed the cancer in stage 1A. So if anyone has any info on this and also if anyone has had the surgery, how long it took to recoup. Please let me know. Thanks
I had a round of chemo and 35 doses of radiation after my lobectomy and have always been lead to believe that, if possible, the combination of all 3 treatments (chemo, surgery and radiation) is the route to go. But perhaps it all depends on what stage you are. I was 3A.
I had the upper right lobe removed in Jun '08 then Chemo through Sep '08. I was Dx as stage 3B, Adenocarcinoma. Oct '08 CAT scan came back NED. I am STILL (8 months later) trying to recover from the surgery. (I had a couple of ribs broken and some nerve damage.) I am 60. Radiation was not even mentioned.
My Dr also said don't do chemo, within 4 months it was back. Even after it came back he said we will wait and see. Now I am stage IV. I went for a second opinion and now am on Alimta. I wish I had chemo right after surgery.
My current Onc said I would have been dead by now if I had stayed with first Doc.
Linda
My husband was 1B. Oct 6th they took the upper r lobe. He had very aggressive chemo (cisplatin/taxotere) in four rounds. The thing is, it is cancer. His dr. said not to take chances. He is one month past the chemo and on the road to healing. Will it stop the cancer? Only time will tell us that. Get the chemo!
As it is with many treatments for many conditions not all doctors agree. So it's not surprising that there is disagreement among doctors regarding giving chemo to stage 1 patients be they A or B and there are studies supporting either side of that coin. Stage 1A patients usually are not offered chemo while stage 1B patients are. I took the chemo because I believed that any percentage of decreasing my chance of cancer return was worth what ever the side effects would be.
My ULL and most of my LLL was taken July of 06, staged 1B. The tumor was very large and today under new staging criteria I most likely would have been staged higher than a 1 anything.
Recouping is different for everyone, much faster if yours was done with VATS. I was 63, didn't have VATS and started chemo about four weeks following surgery. The chemo slowed things down some but after that I seemed to snap back quickly. To this day I still know I had my ribs spread and surgery done, I've been told I probably always will.
All the very best to you
Just one more thing. My husband had a panel of 9 doctors discuss his case because he was "only" 1B. I agree there is some risk, but there isn't any risk when you realize there may not be a second chance. I've seen it written time and time again on this site, get another opinion, it is your life.
My doctor did not give me chemo after my wedge resection. The thoracic surgeon was supposed to remove the lower left lobe if it was malignant and he didn't. He felt he got it all, but said there could still be some cells floating around. As aggressive as lung cancer is, I feel now that my doctor should have done the chemo. When I was scanned later it came back with a vengence and now I'm stage 4. Mine was actually caught early by accident too. So in my opinion, take the chemo and be on the safe side. Whatever that is with this horrific disease.
If I had to do it over I would have the chemo. I was dx with stage 1B, had an ULL in March '07. The oncologist said it was up to me whether I wanted chemo or not. Less than a year later the cancer was back & I was stage 4. Something to think about.
Blessings to you and all who suffer this horrible disease.
Dorothy
My husband was staged at 1b. He had his RLL removed and followed that with four rounds of chemo. Chemo was really hard on him, way harder that the surgery. But he got through it and feels well most days now (he is 67).
The doctors said the chemo would increase his odds by 15%. That is a big number when you consider it is your life.
Best Wishes,
Khari
I had LUL removed Jan 15th, even though my Dr. feels he "got it all" he has still recommened chemo. Tues I start my 12 weeks of chemo. I jumped at the chance.
Good luck to you. Please keep in touch.
Blessings Sue
If I had known there was an option to take Chemo after surgery I would have taken the chemo.
My cancer came back within 6 months of surgery, and I was then put on Tarceva. Tarceva has done well for me but my point being.........if I had HAD a few rounds of Chemo, there is a good possibility that stray cells could have been caught. If you can get it, TAKE the Chemo after surgery.
***Many Hugs****
Marylou
Hi,
I was staged 1a and had upper left lobectomy in Dec of
07. Was told no need for chemo ( or radiation for that matter )
At this point I am still NED.
HOWEVER if I had been give an option I might have taken the chemo especially after reading the many stories of the cancer returning.
With that being said, even with chemo there is no guarantee of it not returning. But it may help you sleep better at night knowing you did everything you could
Hi, I was stage 1B, 3B and then finally a 2B. First I was told that I didn't need chemo, then there was a tiny 4 ml. one near my 3.5 cm one, so they decided that was mets, that I was a 3B, w/the new staging guidelines, I am now a 2B. I had no lymphnodes involved. So I had chemo 4 rounds of Cisplatinum/Nevalbine. I am NED after 14 months. Personally, I am glad(esp. after reading all these stories) that I had chemo. Wasn't fun, esp. the cisplatinum and the Neupagen shots, BUT I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm 46 years old. SO I would go get a few different opinions. GO to a major cancer center. If there's one thing we all learn from this site is that the reason some of us are here is because of the dr.s we went to. The more opinions the better. Test your tumor for the EGFR mutation and have it read by another lab...it can't hurt only help you. Good luck. I'm glad they found it early!!! Knowledge is power!!!
Not "nuff said." Here's my twp cents (maybe a nickle). I was diagnosed and treated within one month - upper right lobectomy. Initially the tumor was sized as 2.4 cm (using an x-ray), then 2.0 (using ct scan). I had VATS surgery and when they actually measured the tumor it was 1.6 cm. I was thus actually and finally (I hope) staged as 1a. I researched adjuvant chemotherapy (after the surgery chemo). From everything I read (and I read much) and everyone I talked with (and I talked with experts from lots of places), I got the same advice:"Chemotherapy will do more harm, on average, for 1a survivors than it will do good." If my tumor had been about twice as big, I would have been urged to take the adjuvangt chemo - or so said the books and experts. Adds about 5% chance of survival at five years. So I didn't get chemo.
Since then I have thought and rethought my decision (4 years out). Since then they also have played around with the staging. I believe that the difference between stage 1a and 1b is somewhat arbitrary. If my tumor had been 2.6 or so, I (now, not then) believe I should have opted for the chemotherapy. If it was less, I should not have.
It may seem I am justifying my decision, but actually I am trying to make sense of the system of clinical trials and guidance than flows from them. I cannot believe that there is some magical divider between 1a and 1b - it must, to some degree, be arbitrary. I would think differently if 1b started at 2.89767 - but it doesn't. It starts at 3 - a wonderful whole number that just can't be what decides whether cancer has a good chance of spreading.
Chemotherapy has adverse effects - and of course, has fine results as well. But each user pays for what s/he gets. Gain comes with pain. For people staged 1a, the pain is NOT worth the gain. For me, that is not the question. For me the question is, "where is the 'true' demarcation line between 1a and 1b; between using adjuvant chemo and not using it?"
When I was diagnosed and then treated, I cam across a research article that indicated that, if 1a's are treated (surgically with VATS to have a resection) within one month of diagnosis, they have a 90% chance of making it to five-years. I like that article a great deal! You should ask yourself, will the possibility of adding to this 90% be worth the pain and trauma that goes along with chemo? After all, not everyone will have recurrence with or without chemo - so what are your chances of never having it even if you did not have chemo?
Along the way I read about whole brain radiation as well. A friend who had lost his wife to lung cancer, felt that the one poor decision they made was to not have WBR - and she eventually died from a met to the brain. He almost begged me, in tears, to get the WBR. I didn't. Four years later a clinical study demonstrated very convincingly that WBR does absolutely no good preventing future mets to the brain, but does have some rather disturbing side effects.
Hope this "quarter's worth" of information proves helpful.
Courage
Chum
Hi,I was told I had stage 1a, had an upper left lobe removed. no chemo. I am doing fine (surgery was aug 2005.) no chemo. Now they are recommending fu chemo for all stages, which I think is a good idea. Altho I haven't had a recurrence, why take the chance?
I was dx april 2005, IB. I had a lower left lobectomy and really tried to talk my oncologist out of adjuvant chemotherapy. Because of the size of my tumor (5 cm) I was at a great risk for recurrence (and there were other particulars regarding my cancer's pathology that made my prognosis poorer as well). I had four rounds of cisplatin/taxotere. Long story short, I had a recurrence anyway.
I would agree with Chum that there is a diminishing return on having chemo as a stage IA (and yes, it is all rather arbitrary). Chemo impacts not just the cancer, but your whole body. As a IA, I would work on your immune system and general health instead. If you make yourself as physically (and emotionally) strong as possible, you will be better prepared should (heaven forbid) you have a recurrence. And your quality of life will only improve, no matter what comes!
I so wanted to say no to chemo after having a 1.2 cm tumor taken out with vats at Moffitt cancer center. They had planned on taking my left upper lung out but after seeing nodules on right lung and not knowing if they were malignant (could not get past my heart to get to them) and did not want to leave me with less lung capacity.... The thing about mine was there are nodules on my right lung also and all they could get to was two on the left lung, which they removed. One was malignant and one was not. They advised adjuvant chemo and said 4 might do it. Pet scans were good and I had one on Dec 12 that looked good so I took 1 more treatment making it 4 total. I am 75 yrs young and the chemo was much worse on me than the surgery. I will have a ct scan next month and hopefully there will be no sign of it. They said they could not stage mine and no lymph node involvement so it was T1 and they could not say what this cancer would do as some live for years with it and some don't do so well. It is adenocarcinoma with broncheoalveolar features. I guess if I had it to do over would do it again, but can't stand anymore of it. Just make sure you go to a cancer treatment center and get 2nd or 3rd opinions. Arletta
read my discussions on preventative chemo or not u will find many replies there also that may help
barbara
I had surgery July 2007 stage 1a and had the old fashioned surgery, not VATS, unfortunately. My doctor said I did not need chemo or radiation as I was considered stage one and also there were no lymph node involvement. He did recommend I see an oncologist for a 2nd opinion and I did. I used Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital in NYC. The oncologist also said I did need any chemo or radiation. I am now 1 year 8 months out and so far so good. I just got a clean bill of health 3 days ago.
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