spot on lung

bshrink
2 Recommendations

I had a screening ultra fast ct scan at my routine exam at the Cooper Clinic and they told me they saw a spot which had not been there 2 years ago. I am terrified..and they have referred me to Thoracic surgeon for possible VATS. I don't have a clue about ANYTHING...have not smoked in 25 yrs. but prior to that was a heavy smoker. Am having a PET scan tomorrow...is it true there is no cure for lung cancer??? I don't know what to do? I alternate between telling everyone about this, anxiety, and extreme sadness. I thought I was going to live to be at least 80...I am 65, never sick, and thought in good shape. I am scared to death..should I wait and see if it grows? should I have VATS? should I go to MD ANderson? Should I go to Dr. Magee in Dallas?

30 replies

LTLCS

Who in God's name told you there was no cure for lung cancer? Well, before I go there, welcome to our family.

I am a 13+ year lung cancer survivor of Stage IIIB Adenocacinoma lung cancer. Lung cancer is NOT the death sentence it USE to be.

First you need a little education on lung cancer and by golly you have come to the right place for that. HOWEVER, PLEASE do NOT read the Stats on Lung Cancer. I'll bet tons of people here will back me on that one. Stats are OUTDATED and scare the hell out of you if you don't know what looking for and have no education about them.

I honestly don't know of any cancer that is really curable. They all have the down side but they are treatable these days.

I would have the VATS. Why would you want to wait?
No, you don't want to wait, you do need to stay on top of this and get it taken care of right away.

Should you tell everyone? YES! Why not? If you KNOW it's lung cancer, then it needs to be shared with your family. This is a family disease and they entire family is part of your treatments. They will be your caregivers. Don't short change them.

The first few months are the hardest. We'll do our best to walk the walk with you if you let us. Your NOT alone! This is very doable and very treatable and very beatable.

Warm & Gentle Hugs,
Connie

texaszan

Let us know the results of your PET scan and the community here will be better able to advise you. I imagine a biopsy will be the next thing they want to do so try (and I know this is hard) to stay cool until you get all the tests and then plan your course of action. Take a tape recorder to your appointments because they'll give you a lot of information and you'll forget half of it. I know how terrifying this is. It was only three months ago that my husband got similar news. Our world went upside down and sideways. It still is in many ways but the panic has subsided. Get super organized, put your game face on and prepare for battle. You can do it. You can beat it, but it isn't much fun so tell yourself you're a strong, resourceful person and then get to a major cancer center and begin your road to recovery. Good luck on your scan, I hope they find it's just a fungus! Let us know.

bshrink

Connie, those words help so much, if you only knew. I like to research everything, and the stats are so frightening. I thought I would live to be at least 80, and now I feel like giving away all my possessions, and downsizing, and I am so afraid. I thought I would outlive my older brother...but now I feel I won't. I wanted to see my grandchildren grow up and get married, and my daughter is just having a new baby this week. Tomorrow I am having a PET scan, and I am terrified. I don'tknow where to go to get something done. Do you know anyone who has had VATS? I am afraid I won't be able to breathe. Thanks for your interest,

Betty

bshrink

I am so so sorry you guys...I just keep repeating the same things. I just reread what I wrote, and I am repeating things. I am just very nervous and sad.

GeorgiaPeach

I had a VATS lobectomy on 30 July, and started Chemotherapy in early September and am working full-time and doing everything else. The VATS surgery really isn't too bad - you are normal to be afraid of it (who wouldn't be??) but please don't believe the horror stories. I had surgery on Wednesday and was home on Saturday and feeling OK. Just remember to take the pain meds for the 1st couple of weeks and you'll be fine. I'm so glad I had the surgery now.

Gretchen

Take a deep breath and just try to take one step at a time. We've all started exactly where you are. You will be amazed at how much you can handle, and you will do very well. I had half a lung removed a year ago and I can do just about anything, although I haven't tried to climb any mountains recently. Know that we are all here to support you any way we can.
Gretchen

peyz33

first of all - sorry that you are here - but you are in the right place. We have all walked more than a few miles in your shoes so ask all your questions. I had the VATS surgery - piece of cake - really - and I have ZERO pain threshold - also - Connie (LTLCS) who responded first is MY HERO on this site and she knows more than most of us - it sounds as though they caught your "spots" early - I shall not say Cancer until you know for sure - it could be nothing - and even if it is the worst - it is treatable. You should go to a Cancer Center - where you have a team - a Pulmologist, Thoricic Surgeon and Oncologist who all work together as a team. The PET scan will give them a better idea of what is going on - but only a biopsy will tell the whole picture - a broncoscopy (sp) - when they go down your throat - in and out one day - make sure someone goes with you to all of your dr. appointments and takes notes in a notebook - you will REMEMBER NOTHING but the word CANCER - they will have to take notes on the what the dr's say - this is very important - trust me on this one. Also - for the anxiety - ask for Ativan - it works wonders. DO NOT go online and research your "cancer" - the facts are all 10-15 years old and not accurate at all - and besides it will scare the shit out of you and you will be very upset and depressed over MISS-INFORMATION!!!! - ok all that said - try to relax - I was horrified - at 52 being dx'd with stage 2B non-small-cell lung cancer - last october - but here I am today - IN REMISSION and so far Cancer Free - so chin up - and get healthy for a fight! We are all here for you!!!!
Karen

terryl

First, take a deep breath.
Some lung cancer is not curable, some is. But, it is ALL treatable. I have been in treatment for 2 years now. You don't have enough info yet. That is part of where your fear comes from. Your doctor, and the people here, can help guide you to where you need to be to get things done. Tell your family and friends. At least one or two that can help you talk about your fears, and be with you through this, to hold you up and get you through.
You WILL be ok.

LTLCS

Hi Betty and it's very nice to meet you. We ALL know how scared you are. Been there, done that! It's a fear I wouldn't wish on anyone. But you DO have to take a deep breath in and blow it out and take two steps back.

The truth is, as Karen said, this MAY NOT be cancer. It could be sarcadosis. That is a lung problem also. And it's treatable. It may be a tumor and it may NOT be cancerous. That's very possible too! So, lets not put the cart before the horse.

I know many who have done the VATS procedure and they have all said it's an easy procedure. They didn't have that when I did mine, but I do facilitate a lung cancer support group (in person one) and many of my members have had that done. They all said it was no big deal. But please know I am not trying to down play your fear. The fear of the unknown is always horrible.
And the fear you have is real, I totally understand. We're here to get you through this.

Lets just take one second at a time here before you start cleaning out your worldly possessions and wait and see what it is you have first. First things FIRST!

And LISTEN TO ME when I say this is DOABLE and it's NOT THE DEATH SENTENCE it USE TO BE (IF) it's cancer. I agree 150% with Karen in that they seem to have found what ever it is, early.

So, two steps back and lets wait and see what we're dealing with. Your not going anywhere any time soon! SLOW DOWN!!!

Hugs,
Connie

bshrink

I am so glad I found you...how I did, I don't know I did...I still am not too sure how to use this website, but these responses so far have been so so supportive. I am terrified of everything...tomorrow I have to have the PET scan...my mind is running wild..I am afraid it will find cancer in other places, and that the lung spot is just secondary to some other places. I have been reading too much on lung cancer...the things it says is so so frightening..the survival rate is so low. It God sheds his grace on me, and I survive this, I will devote all my energies to the Lung Assn...I never realized this cancer was the most prevalent, until this week. All I hear about is breast cancer, and the heart assn. Thank you for being there.
sincerely,
Betty

texaszan

Remember that the LC stats you are reading are averages that include everyone. In other words there is a big difference between a person in good health with stage 1 lung cancer and an older person with multiple health problems and stage 4, and yet they are all lumped together into one grim statistic. So don't even think about the survival stats. They are meaningless when applied to an individual. You are an individual and even if you do find out you have LC, you are unique and the location, stage, type etc of the tumor is unique to you so you don't need to think about the stats. Those are just for funding and insurance and stuff like that.

FrankClem

Betty,

I'm glad you found us. If it weren't for this website, I'd probably still be running around like a chicken without a head. I had just lost an aunt the previous year to LC and so all I knew about it was that it appeared to be a death sentence. Well it's not and if you read enough posts on here, you'll quickly learn about the amount of survivors we have, but first things first. Take a deep breath because you're getting ahead of yourself and your letting the word "spot" take on a life of its own. There have been many people who have been told about a "spot", and it ended up being something something else. As far as waiting, I was offered that choice and I insisted on knowing now. The sooner you know that it is in fact cancer, the better off you'll be. Some cancers, in my opinion, should be given that option. LC isn't one of them. Also, if you wait, you'll wait in fear. You'll spend the next 3 or 6 months with it on your mind.
I can't tell you how to control the fear because no body could tell me. I'm with Karen though. If you're not on anything to calm yourself down, and you feel that it's getting the best of you, Ativan was really the only thing that worked for me. It doesn't make you lethargic. It simply takes the edge off and doesn't make your thoughts so obsessive.
Good luck with your tests. Please let us know your results. There are many people out here who will be in a similar situation as yours (if yours is even cancer).
~Frank

sb

Hello- there are a whole lot of other reasons than cancer for a spot on the lungs - could be scar tissue - could be anything! You breathed in stuff your whole life and it could be just damage everyone has. Lots of people if they were scanned would have spots that are nothing - that's one of the arguments they make against routine scanning - that it picks up everything and some of those things just aren't important enough to put someone through the ringer trying to find out what it is.

That said, I believe in early screening - you just have to be able to deal with figuring out what it is. If it is cancer - it seems that you would be one of the extremely fortunate ones to have found it very early and lung cancer is all about finding it early. If it's found early it is curable by surgery. The survival rate (number of people still living five years after diagnosis/surgery) can be close to 95% when a tumor is found early and taken out by surgery. VATS is the easier surgery and does not cause the pain that a regular surgery (thoracotomy) can.

Have you had a biopsy yet? Sometimes they do that first but sometimes they just do the surgery if they want the growth out regardless whether it's cancer or not. In that case a biopsy would be a wasted step.

Your surgeon will order the pet scan and will probably have you do a brain mri and abdominal ct to make sure there is no spread beyond that spot. Then you will be scheduled for either a biopsy or surgery.

I agree with Frank when he says don't wait. They often want you to wait to see if it grows. I would only agree to do that if it's a very very small spot - like under 7mm. If it's over that just go get it out. They made me wait months and it was agony waiting and not knowing. That part was worse I think than the surgery and getting it out - once I was scheduled for surgery, at least I knew I was doing something to get rid of it.

Sharon

jazzbo

Hi Betty, That was my mother's name, I feel a connection already!
I'm not going to reiterate everything that has beeen said but I will say I agree with everyone. Try to calm down. Whatever it is ,it is. You can't change it now. I know it's a kick in the pants but try to stay positive until and when you know exactly your dealing with.
I am a 9 yr survivor of stage 3A non small cell lung cancer. I am 49 yrs old. I smoked and most if not all who get this form of lung cancer were or are smokers.
I'm here and work, live and am as healthy as Bull. So we usually don't use cured for this disease but more use NED no evidence of disease. We and I mean everyone in the world today knows of cancer and someone who has or has it. We all seem to be waiting to get some kind it seems like. Some time , some place when we least expect it , we're going to get it. The fear is so pervasive now that a lot of people if they have an ache or pain is it cancer. In our lives with it so much in your facewe almost automaticly think if the doc says it might be, it is. Well that's not true. So please don't get to crazy until you know for sure.
We are here 24/7. Their are a lot us who don't sleep to well for obvious reasons so we're up. Just come on and we'll try to support you any way we can.
God Bless and Good Luck- John
P.S. let us know what happens. We all love Good News!

bshrink

I had my PET scan, and since my tumor was only 7mm, they said it was too small to show up...now they are saying either wait another 3 months and scan again, or consider VATS...I have an appt with a dr. Mitch Magee in Dallas who does VATS...have any of you heard of him? Who has done yalls VATS...

I am still worried to death..

thanks,
Betty

LTLCS

Betty, That I now of most mm in size are called Nodules and not called Tumors. I have mm nodules and they watch them via CT scan every 6 months. I have a 5mm, 7mm and 6 mm. (and I'm a lung cancer survivor) These honestly are common and just need to be watched for the most part. Most people have them and never know it. I also have a cyst on my liver and it's been there for 14 years and never has turned into anything at this time. Try not to hit the panic button just yet. It could very well be an infection too. Infections cause nodules to swell. And it may very well be nothing.

I would opt for the CT scan in 3 months. It could very well go away. HONEST these are common.
Hugs,
Connie

bshrink

wow, if that's true, I feel a huge sigh of relief...wonder why none of these doctor's I've seen haven't told me that...I have already seen one thoracic surgeon, a friend who is a radiation oncologist, an internal medicine doctor, and a regular radiologist. I have an appt. tomorrow with the Thoracic surgeon, dr., I was referred to by the Cooper Clinic.

peyz33

I had VATS - piece of cake!

LTLCS

I have been dealing with nodules for 5 years now. I know many other lung cancer survivors that have them also. They too have them watched via CT scan.

There have been MANY MANY MANY MANY talks on these boards about what we call the DREADED NODULES!

Like Karen said, her VATS was a piece of cake. I have heard the same from others that had that procedure done. The people I know that had VATS done didn't have them done on a nodule though.

Do they think you may have another kind of cancer that may have spread to your lung? I don't want to go to far ahead of things, but I'm sure they will do the right thing.

I am guessing from your message that nothing lite up on your PET scan? Well if that's the case then HOORAY FOR YOU!

Good luck keep us posted.

LTLCS

Here is a Utube film about VATS SURGERY.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejh-RbRF3No

You might want to Google VATS SURGERY. There are many websites that explain it very well.

You might want to Google Lung Nodules too so you have some insight on them.

Good luck,
Connie

Add to the discussion

New user? Join here.
Forgot password?
Keep me signed in on this computer until I sign out

Search

Find information and discussion about health topics in 346,491 posts by members like yourself. Learn more...

Join

Join safe, secure groups sponsored by trusted organizations that care about your health. Learn more...

Connect

Connect with 87,366 members and make friends who share your interests, learn about conditions and treatments, find support and more. Learn more...

You