Ok I was officially diagnosed with stage 2 non small cell lung cancer adnocarcinoma.The cancer has spread locally in lymph nodes near the cancer tumor she called it a N1 node?anybody have any input?
Ok I was officially diagnosed with stage 2 non small cell lung cancer adnocarcinoma.The cancer has spread locally in lymph nodes near the cancer tumor she called it a N1 node?anybody have any input?
yeah - you'll be fine - stage 2 - post surgery - did she remove the lymph nodes??? Are you getting chemo??
Hi Kandy:
Just wanted to say don't be discouraged. I will be watching to see what treatment your doctors want you to have. I hope you are healing well from your surgery. I don't know what an N 1 node is but wanted you to know I am thinking of you. I'm sure someone on this site will be able to tell you what and where that node is.
Keep your chin up!
BrendaMousey
Yes they said they took out the lymph nodes and I will be seeing an oncologist next friday to see what he wants to do.Do you guys think its gonna be chemo or radiation or both?I mean damn I feel like I lost 2 lobes of my lung to you cancer what else you want from me?-Hating cancer in a bad way!!!!!!!!
My guess would be chemo without radiation. As I understand it they've already removed the cancer they can find ( within the 2 lobes of your lung ). So they will do chemo to kill any rogue cells that may be in your system. Radiation would typically be used to remove or shrink a tumor that could not be surgically removed. Again this is only based on my somewhat limited understanding of lung cancer treatments
In answer to your question of N1 node - I believe it refers to cancer that has spread to the lymph node(s) within the same lung that the tumor was found
as I told you before in a previous post----we had the SAME thing..A stage 2B with N1. It did not leave the lung and it was cut out so it is gone!!!. Disd you have a mediastinoscopy to see if any nodes were positive between your lungs?? I had it done before the lobectomy. I like you lost the lower two lobes on the right lung. Radiation is not indicated but I did the 4 rounds of chemo to make sure nothing was floating around. You'll loose those pretty blonde hairs but have no fear---they will return stronger than ever. We were the lucky ones to have lung cancer treated surgically. Most of our friends here did not get their diagnosis until they were stage 4's and inoperable. Rejoice!! Dianne
Welcome to the club! Seems like you are T2 N1 which is was my clinical stage. I had my chemo presurgery and was T2 N0 afterwards.
I saw where Stage 2 is the least diagnosed stage so we are somewhat fortunate that it was caught at this point. I know you don't feel like doing anything other than dealing with your surgical pain, but the chemo improves your survival chances by 15%. Keep that in mind as you read the statistics which are outdated to begin with.
As far as radiation, it does not improve your chance of survival, but it does improve the chance that the cancer will not reoccur locally;that would be the right lung in your case.
So get yourself together for the chemo because now that you've gone through such an invasive surgery, you want to do whatever you do to increase your chances. From reading your posts, I feel you have plenty of fight in you and you make it through the chemo and do well.
Hi, I am new to this website, but just want you to
have faith. I was diagnosed in Oct. 2005 and
had a tumor in my upper left lobe. I was so
fortunate that it had not spread. They did a lobectomy
and then I did follow up chemo for 4 months.
So it will be 3 years in Oct and I have been cancer
free. I will be honest chemo was rough but you
will get through it and you have your age going
for you. I will keep you in my prayers.
KarlaO
Karla
I really can't add anything else to what everyone has said to you. They have covered all basis very well.
The only thing I can say is good luck to you with whatever course of treatment you decide on.
God bless you and know that you are in the Lords hands
God bless
Linda
hi kandy,
stage 2 is very very survivable. and the fact that it had not spread any further than it did is a very good thing. if the doc recommends chemo, it will be just to mop up any remaining cells and to add to your survivability. i think you will come thru it like a breeze! im pretty much a whimp, and came thru 2 rounds of cisplatin. still havent had my surgery yet.
im rejoicing with ya in that it was only stage 2, and hadnt spread all over the place.
congrats!!
deb
Kandy,
As the others have said, Stage 2 is treatable and survivable. I believe the N1 means only one lymph node was involved. This would have been removed with they took the 2 lobes out.
Have they told you what kind of chemo you will need? Sending lots of positive thoughts and prayers to you.
Hugs,
Bette
You will be FINE!
Chemo is NOT the worst thing in the world...having an untreatable condition is far worse.
Take it one day ay a time and pamper yourself a lot. I had almost the same diagnosis, did the surgery and chemo and am "clean" at this point (nearly three years post chemo).
The first moments of having a "no hair day" were a bit emotional, but I wasted money buying a wig. It seemed, to me anyway, to be too much hair and hot to wear. Baseball caps were perfect and the hair comes back quickly once the chemo ends.
You have joined an elite group...come here for all the support and cyber hugs you need.
Peggy
you guys are all such amazing survivors.I really do feel lucky when I read about all of the stage 4 in both lungs spreading to brain or liver.You guys give me such inspiration to keep moving on with my head up held high.Maybe I will go back to my natural brown hair?hmmmmmmmm???I also heard that some medical insurances cover wigs
?I am vain with my hair and have been a licensed hairdresser for 15 years so Im def getting a wig!!Anyone reccomend a good wig web site? thanx for everything guys!!! Sincerely,kANDY
Hey Kandy,
My chemo starts next Friday, 9/5. I had surgery two months ago and also am stage II. I guess that not everybody loses their hair but in my case, it doesn't make very much difference.
Good luck...
Jim
Kandy - they will most likely suggest chemo - cisplatin and navelbine (that seems to be the popular combo for stage 2 after surgery) - DO IT - you are a strong woman and you will get thru it - I had that exact treatment so you can ask me anything!!!!!!!!
Karen
Hi Kandy:
Yeppers, I found that Paulayoung.com was the most reasonable and had a huge selection of wigs. I bought 2 of them and was very happy with both. I got the synthetic since they are more reasonable. Got one my natural color and one a little lighter. I liked my natural color better. I don't need them now but if I would decide to dress up like for New Years Eve, I probably would use one.
I had long hair all my life and believe me, losing 12 to 15 inches of hair in clumps was a little tough until I decided it would be better to cut it myself than to have my little grandson freak out when he found clumps on the floor. We made a party out of it, and then had a wig parade. He was 5 then and thought it was hysterical. I hated losing my hair but I was more concerned with how he would react. I did good since he had a grand time laughing.
My hair is back now, 4 to 5 inches long. Oh yes, my best friend is still Miss Clairol..........lol.
*Hugs*
Marylou
These are pretty funny "hairy" stories and I'm enjoying them, girls! I've always worn my hair short - and I'm a guy and can get away with being bald. My aunt had the later stages to lung cancer a couple of years ago (all through her) and when she was put on chemo, she didn't lose not ONE strand. I guess it differs with everyone?
Kandy,
Most insurance companies cover wigs if the loss of hair is due to chemo. Have your oncologist write you a prescription saying you need one as that should go in with the bill for the wig. It's best to get the wig before you lose all your hair so that you can match your own hair color.
The American Cancer Society will also provide a free wig if you have one in your are.
I ordered most of my wigs from Paula Young. If you contact them at:
http://tinyurl.com/5wr86w
and they will send you a catalog. You can also order online.
You can get more expensive wigs which are made of human hair. For long term use, that is might be better but I've never tried one so I don't know how comfortable they are ..like feeling heavy as the synthetic wigs are of light weight.
I had several wigs .. one cheap one for around the house .. it was a very blonde one LOL .. another one was more expensive and it was auburn .. more the color of my real hair. I had fun being a blonde one day, red-head the next.
Most of the time I wore turbans, scarves, and caps. My chemo was during the summer months and wigs are very warm. It was nice in the winter but in the summer, I couldn't tolerate a wig on warm days .. even with the a/c on.
Take care,
Bette
Don't get ahead of yourself - if you get Navelbine and Cisplatin your hair might not fall out - I lost NOT ONE STRAND!!!
KP
Hi Frank,
Some chemos don't cause one to lose their hair. My chemo mix was carboplatin and taxotere .. both known to cause hair loss especially the taxotere.
It bothered me at first when I lost all my hair. I wouldn't even let my husband see me bald .. kept a knit turban on at night. But as time went on and I became more used to being bald, I didn't always wear one. When my hair started growing back in, my scalp would itch. I didn't want anything on my head at bedtime. My sweet mother-in-law made me satin pillow cases to sleep on at night and they were wonderful for the scalp.
My son, Kenny, is very bald on top so he shaves his head .. duh LOL. Anyway one time my nieces wanted to see what I looked like without hair. So I took my cap off and they both exclaimed "You look just like Kenny:! LOL.
It's not fun losing our hair but if it kills those cancer cells, it's worth every strand of it.
Bette
hi kandy,
i too had long hair. when its half way down your back, its no fun to pull out huge clumps. i also decided to chop it off myself, adn trust me, i am not good with a pair of scissors!! a dear and trusted friend was to come over and shave it off. he took one look at it and said....awwww you are so cute with short hair. i truly wanted to kill him!! he asked me to keep it one more week. i agreed. by the end of the week, i was absolutely thrilled to have him shave it off. it was falling out in my food, on my keyboard, down my back (which itches like crazy!). he however, cried all the while he was shaving it off. now, im not a girly girl, so i decided wigs were not for me. i went online and ordered a bunch of those fancy turbans. to tell ya the truth, they are still in the packages they came in. im quite happy with just a scarf, and occasionally, even forget that, depending on who im with. hub is embarrassed by my baldness, so i wear a scarf, but he is a buttehead so who cares what he thinks. my close friends never even think about it, so neither do i.
i had cisplatin and etoposide, and it was a lil rough. in retrospect, if i had known just how much they can do for some of the side effects, it neednt have been so hard. dont play the tough guy, if something is hard on ya, tell the docs. most of the time, they have something in their back pockets to help, but they dont know you need it if you dont tell em.
hang in there. you got thru the surgery with flying colors, you can get thru the chemo just fine.
hugs to ya,
deb
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