Husband just Diagnosed

Hi, everyone. This is my first time posting on the Lung Cancer board, though I have been posting on the Multiple Myeloma board since September of last year, when I was diagnosed.

My husband has just been diagnosed with State IV Lung Cancer. He had had a sinus infection for about 3 months, which the dr. had treated with various antibiotics, but was also coughing up blood, so we insisted on having a chest x-ray done. It showed a spot on the R lung.

This was followed by a CT scan of his lungs, which showed a tumor in his R lung as well as a mass which was causing partial collapse of the lung. There were also nodules on the outside of that lung.

A PET scan of the whole body was much more sobering.  We saw the results and met with the thoracic surgeon last Thursday.  Joe has the tumor in the R lung, a huge mass at the base of the R lung which has penetrated the diaphragm and has invaded the liver somewhat, as well as two lymph nodes, one on either side of his trachea, which are affected.

He was told he was in Stage IV, and at this point the cancer is inoperable. The thoracic surgeon will be doing a lung biopsy this Thursday, Oct. 8, and will be able to tell us at that time what type of cancer he has, and what the treatment will be.

She told him without treatment he probably had just a few months to live, and with chemo and maybe radiation he had a year to a year and a half. He is 62 years old, has been a smoker all his life, and we've been together for 35 years.

 Needless to say, we are both very scared right now, and doing our best to remain positive. Can some of you share some stories with us so we know what to expect??  I have been living with Multiple Myeloma for over a year, and am doing well at this time, so I can become the care-taker now, but I also need to watch my stress level so my MM doesn't get worse. I don't want to lose my best friend, but don't feel real optimistic as to the outcome of his cancer.

Any help anyone can give us is greatly appreciated!! Thank you.

Mary Ann

On 10/4/2009 teachoz wrote:

Hi, everyone. This is my first time posting on the Lung Cancer board, though I have been posting on the Multiple Myeloma board since September of last year, when I was diagnosed.

My husband has just been diagnosed with State IV Lung Cancer. He had had a sinus infection for about 3 months, which the dr. had treated with various antibiotics, but was also coughing up blood, so we insisted on having a chest x-ray done. It showed a spot on the R lung.

This was followed by a CT scan of his lungs, which showed a tumor in his R lung as well as a mass which was causing partial collapse of the lung. There were also nodules on the outside of that lung.

A PET scan of the whole body was much more sobering.  We saw the results and met with the thoracic surgeon last Thursday.  Joe has the tumor in the R lung, a huge mass at the base of the R lung which has penetrated the diaphragm and has invaded the liver somewhat, as well as two lymph nodes, one on either side of his trachea, which are affected.

He was told he was in Stage IV, and at this point the cancer is inoperable. The thoracic surgeon will be doing a lung biopsy this Thursday, Oct. 8, and will be able to tell us at that time what type of cancer he has, and what the treatment will be.

She told him without treatment he probably had just a few months to live, and with chemo and maybe radiation he had a year to a year and a half. He is 62 years old, has been a smoker all his life, and we've been together for 35 years.

 Needless to say, we are both very scared right now, and doing our best to remain positive. Can some of you share some stories with us so we know what to expect??  I have been living with Multiple Myeloma for over a year, and am doing well at this time, so I can become the care-taker now, but I also need to watch my stress level so my MM doesn't get worse. I don't want to lose my best friend, but don't feel real optimistic as to the outcome of his cancer.

Any help anyone can give us is greatly appreciated!! Thank you.

Mary Ann

Hello Mary Ann:

 Spend time as much as you can with him. Video record those time together.  Cherish it. Be happy around him.  Be patient. 

Ask for help from friends, relatives, hospice / pallitive care nurses to lend you a hand.  It will b a very tough battle.  My mom was same condition and 2 yrs older. She lost her battle as the doctors did not want to continue to treat her.  She passed away after 9 months diagnosis and partial treatment.

God bless you all.  Best wishes, my prayer with you both at this difficulty time.

 Regards,
V

Thank you, V. Actually, this past weekend, we took our two adult children (ages 28 and 33) camping with us at our trailer in the White Mts. of N.H. We bought a small video camera, and even though it was raining hard all day and night on Saturday, just being together as a family was so wonderful we really didn't care.

Our daughter, who lives in the Boston area, is taking some time off work so she can come and visit her father once a week, and our son has moved in with us for now. It is very comforting knowing they are so close to us.

After his biopsy on Thursday, we will discuss treatment plans, and hope to have Joe around for more than a year. We have strong faith in people's prayers, and also do an alternative therapy, so we are trying to stay as positive as we can.

Thanks for your concern.

Mary Ann

Hi Mary Ann,

I'm so sorry I don't have any words of encouragement.  But you and your husband are VERY much in my thoughts and prayers.

It seems like all we can do is take a day at a time (which I am getting so sick of hearing).  But I guess it is the truth. 

 Try to think positive!!!  That is easier said then done,,,,,I know. 

You and your husband cherish every day.  That's what me and my husband are trying to do.  You just don't know what tomorrow will bring.

I know you and your husband are scared.  The unknown can be SO hard on you.

If I could, I would give you a great big hug!!!!  I think you need as many of them as you can get.

Take care and let us know how things are going.

God Bless

Penny

t

On 10/4/2009 teachoz wrote:

Hi, everyone. This is my first time posting on the Lung Cancer board, though I have been posting on the Multiple Myeloma board since September of last year, when I was diagnosed.

My husband has just been diagnosed with State IV Lung Cancer. He had had a sinus infection for about 3 months, which the dr. had treated with various antibiotics, but was also coughing up blood, so we insisted on having a chest x-ray done. It showed a spot on the R lung.

This was followed by a CT scan of his lungs, which showed a tumor in his R lung as well as a mass which was causing partial collapse of the lung. There were also nodules on the outside of that lung.

A PET scan of the whole body was much more sobering.  We saw the results and met with the thoracic surgeon last Thursday.  Joe has the tumor in the R lung, a huge mass at the base of the R lung which has penetrated the diaphragm and has invaded the liver somewhat, as well as two lymph nodes, one on either side of his trachea, which are affected.

He was told he was in Stage IV, and at this point the cancer is inoperable. The thoracic surgeon will be doing a lung biopsy this Thursday, Oct. 8, and will be able to tell us at that time what type of cancer he has, and what the treatment will be.

She told him without treatment he probably had just a few months to live, and with chemo and maybe radiation he had a year to a year and a half. He is 62 years old, has been a smoker all his life, and we've been together for 35 years.

 Needless to say, we are both very scared right now, and doing our best to remain positive. Can some of you share some stories with us so we know what to expect??  I have been living with Multiple Myeloma for over a year, and am doing well at this time, so I can become the care-taker now, but I also need to watch my stress level so my MM doesn't get worse. I don't want to lose my best friend, but don't feel real optimistic as to the outcome of his cancer.

Any help anyone can give us is greatly appreciated!! Thank you.

Mary Ann

Hi, Penny,

Thanks for the support. Having been fighting Multiple Myeloma for over a year now, I have learned to take one day at a time, and am making good progress, but never expected that my husband would get cancer, too!  I think it will help when we find out what kind of cancer we're dealing with on Thursday, when they do the biopsy. It's the unknown that is so scary.

We're also lucky to have a huge support network which has now enveloped my husband as well as me. We get lots of hugs, and people cry with us, and offer help whenever we need it.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I hope all goes well for you and your husband. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Mary Ann

Hi there,,

 I decided to get on here today even though I was going to wait until late next month when my husband has his next CT scan.

 If you do a search for my screen name, jst4games123 you will find updates on my husband who was diagnosed with stage 3B NSCL cancer. Inoperable.  Per the doc he was in pretty grave condition when he was diagnosed although his only symptom was a lump above his shoulder blade and loss of his voice.  He wsa diagnosed April of 2005.  He went through a year of chemo and a few months of radiation.  Since it ended April of 2006 he has not had any more treatments.  He has been having regular CT scans every 3 and now 6 months.  His PT scan last year shows the cancer still there in the lungs and lymph nodes, but it has not migrated or grown since 2006. 

Knowing this, please keep a positive mindset!  Jim has since the beginning even though he wasnt given long to live he kept working and enjoying life.  He only had one rough patch when his heart started acting up and after a few times in the hospital shocking it back into rythm, they put in a pace maker.  keep in mind that he had a serious heart attack when he was 39, about 13 years ago.

Jim has never gotten depressed at all through all of this.  The first thing I did was book a trip to Las Vegas as soon as the chemo was through.  We thought it would be his first and last trip, but it wasnt!  Nope...every year we go there to celabrate another year!  Sometimes twice!  Of course I always get scared as it gets closer to his next scan, wondering if he really does feel ok as he says, me looking for any signs to worry about.  Believe me, I worry more than him!  The big thing is to enjoy life and family.

Take care and be sure to email me at my home email address if you want to know about the different things he takes that I honesly think helps.  Maitake mushroom extract, green and white tea extracts, etc.

 Esther

Hi, Esther,

I'm glad you decided not to wait to go on the site. Your news about your husband is very encouraging!! Joe has pretty much gotten through the worst of the depression about his diagnosis, and is now ready to fight. We met with the onc., the thoracic surgeon who did the bronchoscopy, and the Physician's Ass't. last week.

We now know that Joe will begin chemo in two days, and his treatment will be Cisplatin and Taxotere.  They told us that medication is put into the IV to help prevent side effects, so we're hoping they'll be minimal.  He'll get the chemo once every three weeks for probably three cycles, and then they'll do another CT scan to see what has happened to the cancer.

 We're both trying to remain positive (as we have with my Multiple Myeloma), and we have a great support system.  I would like to be able to go to Sarasota, FL with him this winter sometime, so that's our goal at this point.  I think your annual trip is a great idea!!

I'd love to find out more about what your husband does to manage his cancer. Send me a private reply with your email address, and I'll write to you.  Thanks again!! :)

Mary Ann

Dear Mary Ann,  Your post brings back so many memories of when my husband was first diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in December, 2006.  My husband lost his battle 18 months later.  I don't mean to be a downer, but you asked if we could share some stories.  The one thing our oncologist told us is "Tom, this is YOUR cancer and no one else's".  What he meant was everyone (even with the same type of cancer) is different and reacts differently with treatment.  God works miracles, so don't ever give up.  My husband had such a wonderful outlook and he went to work the whole time even during treatment.  He never threw up one single time.  He did lose his beautiful head of hair, but remained as handsome as ever.  It's been a little over a year since he passed away.  I'm still mourning his loss and will for a very long time to come.  I wish you all the best sweetheart and just don't ever give up.  YOu never know what God has in store for you both.  take care and I hope I wasn't too depressing.  Kathy