Breast cancer survivor now lung cancer , not lung mets.

ladyfighter

Pet scan showed lung cancer in one lobe of lung, I am scheduled to have a lung lobe removed in 3 weeks. Surgeon and MO said will be cured when remove. Because it was shown not same cancer as breast cancer, they said it is good news and good cancer.



Anyone had this, BC and then other cancer when it is not mets?



Thank you! Xo

BookWoman

I haven't had quite the same thing, but I have had three different cancers. First was endometrial, then DCIS in left breast, then tubular carcinoma (a type of IDC) in right breast. No mets or recurrence, but three different cancers. I'm glad all were relatively 'good' (there really is no good cancer!) but I am beginning to wonder what next? Good luck with your lobe removal!

Ridley

Hi ladyfinger, I met another bc survivor recently who had bc and lung cancer at the same time 15 years ago. As she said, luckier that the lung cancer was a second primary vs mets.



My cousin was diagnosed with brain cancer and lung cancer two years ago - both primaries. She had part of one lung removed, and that was all the treatment that was needed for the lung cancer (unfortunately brain cancer is a different story, but she is still hanging in there).



And finally my Dad is both a prostate cancer and kidney cancer survivor. Totally, totally unrelated I know, but he is doing great!



Good luck with your surgery. Sorry you have to go through it.

ladyfighter

Thank you so much bookworm and Ridley ! What a relief. Definitely from smoker scar turned to cancer. I quit in 2002.



I will be in hospital for a week then 5 weeks recovery at home. I hope I will get through this as I did with AC, taxol, radiation, and herceptin! Oh and I am on an anastrozole.



I wonder what is difference with 2nd cancer (not same as BC ), and mets/recurrence ?



Thanks! Hugs xo

Jelson

Lungevity is an organization with a website at www.lungevity.org which might have information for you.  I think the name says it all: lungevity = longevity. Being a candidate for surgery is an indication that your prognosis is excellent. 

good luck and a swift recovery!

Cori221

I am a breast cancer survivor diagnosed in July of 2009.  In November of 2011 a CT scan done for another reason showed a small nodule on my lower right lobe of my lung.  The Pet scan didn't light up. It was in a difficult position to biposy so I had CT scans every three months and it didn't change in size.  Rather than go to six month and then annual intervals of scanning I decided to have it removed. I had a wedge section and had the lobe removed a year ago.  It turned out to be an adenocarcinoma of the lung with no lymph node involvement.  I was staged as 1A and required no further treatment.  As you probably know it is very rare to catch lung cancer so early and a real blessing.  Although the surgery was difficult I had a really good team that managed my pain well and gave me good support during my recovery. Best wishes for a successful surgery and recovery.  Let us know how you do.

Blundin2005

Ladyfighter, hope that your surgery went well...thanks for starting this thread.

We share a similar path.

My lobectomy surgery was Aug 16th...upper right lung, 2 cm tumor, 0/13 lymph nodes. Surgery was Video Assisted Thoracotomy (VAT). The initial pathology indicated stage 1b but there was visceral infiltration that moved the stage to a 2, then microscopic multiple nodes found and suspected in the other now change the stage to 3. The staging definitions have changed over the last two years I am told at my second opinion appointment this past Wednesday.

As so much time has passed since the surgery, the doctor wants a PET/CT this coming week followed by a visit with the oncologist on Friday to determine the next course to follow. The second opinion doctor recommended chemo. He also wants markers determined. We'll know more after the PET next week.

I find this experience similar to when I first learned about the breast cancer....so much to read, learn and understand in such a short time...overwhelming to say the least.

The surgery was much more difficult than the lumpectomy for breast cancer for me. The team were very good. My problem was that my body did not accept fentanyl (anesthetic). I wish it had...would have made post operative time much easier in the continuous epidural. I had surgery on a Friday, the tubes came out the following Wednesday and I went home on Thursday.

Oh, the joy and relief when the tubes came out!!! The hospital played a lullaby hospital wide over the communication system whenever a baby was born. I loved that...made me smile every time! I told them they needed the Alleluia chorus for when tubes came out for a patient!

I spent another couple of weeks at home taking it slow. We flew to attend my son's wedding on Sep 29 even though we left the reception a bit early, I was glad to make it there at all.

Both sons and my new daughter-in-law are coming here for Thanksgiving. We ordered our free range turkey.

Ladyfighter, keep fighting.

Best wishes to all as always,

Marilyn

Pessa

I, too, was diagnosed 4 weeks ago with what appears to be stage 1 lung cancer.  I was scheduled for a right upper lobectomy this Wed (12/18), however developed a cold/fever so surgery is postponed to Mon 12/23.  I am told it is stage 1, but, of course,  need to examine the nodes.  Also was told that the surgery is more painful that the bilat mastectomy that I had.  Am a little nervous about that, but it sounds like everyone is doing well down the line.  Blundin2005/MARILYN, how are things going with you.  Will you be having chemo?

`Wish me luck on the 23rd.  BTW, this is my 3rd primary cancer, had melanoma 20 yrs ago, breast cancer almost 4 years ago and now lung cancer.

Blundin2005

Hi Pessa,

I know that you are otherwise occupied at the moment with you surgery. I'll keep an eye out for you in the days to come. You'll feel better when the tubes come out, I promise. 

Round 3 of 4 chemo infusions coming up on the Jan 3rd. The last one is Jan 24th. A step at a time....

Best wishes to all as always,

Marilyn

Pessa

hi, Marilyn,

Returned home from the hospital 12/26.  Had a VATS/R upper lobectomy.  Still having pain, but it gets better daily.  Went to see the surgeon today.  It's a stage 1B (tumor greater than 3 cm so B instead of A, (3.5), 20/20 nodes neg.  Surgeon says no chemo needed.  I have scheduled an app't with my MO for Thurs so will get her opinion.  How is your chemo going? 

Hopefully, this New Year will bring good health to everyone.

Blundin2005

Hi Pessa,

Glad to hear that you are on the mend. Be kind to yourself and rest. Day be day you'll feel what you are capable of doing. 

Mine was like yours, a VAT rt. upper lobectomy. No node involvement. The surgeon thought mine was a 1b too. The oncologist thought it could be a 2. There arrived a corrected pathology report. The second opinion said it was somewhere between a 2 and a 3 and recommended the chemo. He also helped write the new staging definitions for the American Cancer Society (within last two years).  I decided 3 was too close to a 4 and went for the chemo. 

I have infusion #3 of 4 tomorrow. Suffice it to say that I am not looking forward to it or the days that follow. But I'll get through it like so many others I've spoken to or read about. 

Stay in touch...

Marilyn

Pessa

Went to MO today.  No chemo recommended.  CT every 6 months.  She put chances of recurrence at about 20%.  Awfully high!  My chance of recurrence for the breast cancer was put at 9% (after the chemo and 5 yrs of Arimidex).  This is not what I wanted to hear.  Pain is improving daily and I will now try to increase my endurance by walking more each day. 

Good luck, Marilyn, with your chemo tomorrow.................

Pessa

Blundin2005

Pessa, glad to hear you are moving beyond. I agree, I haven't liked what I've read about LC recurrence risk either. So we'll need to be attentive. I noticed that my endurance improved daily but I still have difficulty with hills...need to take them slow. The doc said that will probably remain that way...I'm medicare age though...younger may have better outcomes. I'm still able to chase the dog when he escapes the front door! 

Chemo didn't go so well. Five sticks and they still couldn't get a vein. I go back next week with orders to drink water until I spout!

Best wishes as always,

Marilyn 

Pessa

When I had chemo for breast CA they put in a port.  That might be easier for you in the long run, if you are a hard stick.  I do hear that the chemo for LC is more difficult than the chemo for BC..........................

If your nodes were negative, what made your stage a 2 or 3?

Blundin2005

Pessa...taken directly from my Corrected Path Report:

"pT2a on the basis of visceral pleural involvement, pN0, Descriptors: m for multiple foci.

Corrected Microscopic Description:

pT3 on the basis of multiple tumor nodules, pN0. Descriptors: m for multiple foci.

As multiple foci are present throughout grossly rather unremarkable lung, and close to the parenchymal surgical margin there is a good chance that this multifocality is present in other lobes of the right lung, and may well be present in the left lung as well."

Best,

Marilyn

Pessa

Based on the new report, what is the plan per your oncologist?  It seems that you have had several rounds of chemo.  Is more planned?  I am sorry you are going through this on top of all the other  cancers that you have had.  Does not seem fair!  Did you have a PET to see if other nodules are present?

I am slowly improving and am thinking about going back to work the end of this coming week(it will be just under 4 weeks since the surgery).  It is a sedentary job.  Just have to be able to make it from the parking lot to my office, which I can do at this point.  I am still tired but will start to up my coffee intake, which may help.  Given that this is my 3rd primary cancer, I feel I have to save my sick days, because one never knows if #4 will occur.

Wishing you the best.

Pessa

Maggs09

I also had 2 primaries: bc stage 3 and colon cancer, (stage 2a, without lymph nodes involvement), both removed in 2012, during a double surgery.

Then I also had some tiny lung nodules found on CT scans,  and although they didn't seem to grow, I was worried that it maybe another sign of cancer. Because those nodules were to small for a regular biopsy, in May, 2013, I had an open lung surgery, when dr removed 8 wedges. I had a huge problem with pain management and for almost a week I suffered terribly, mostly due to an incredible nerve pain. Some relieve came after removing that big pipe I had attached to my side.  Anyway, at the end it was worth to suffer, because my path came back: no cancer! 

I think, once a person had more then one cancer, it is hard to think otherwise. We tend to worry more... about recurrences, mets and also new primaries. 

Did any of you ladies had a genetic testing done to look for connection between those primaries and "estimate" risk of getting other cancers?

Blundin2005

Pessa, glad to hear that you are returning to work soon...although there is no rush to take on the world again right away, I'm certain. That will come in due time. About the PET/CT, yes I did have two over the course of the last year and they showed tiny "somethings" that were barely large enough to see and too small to be biopsied. This is why we need blood tests for cancer and they are not far away. This hide and seek technique is why I finally agreed to the chemo even though there are no studies that can quantify the effects of this effort. As the doctor said, if the cancer stays away, we won't know if the chemo is the reason. But to do nothing at all while I'm teadering on stage 3 seemed too great a throw of the dice. I'm not a good gambler. I also have my yearly mammogram scheduled for the end of the month, just to keep tabs, and just before my next and last chemo. About being fair...my husband and me are made of strong character built on a lifetime of managing what life presented. Sometimes we walk on sifting sands and sometimes we build muscles in our weak bodies while we learn to rebalance. We don't expect life to be fair. Instead, we expect of ourselves to do everything possible to live it to the best of our abilities. We're also very grateful for good friends and family who support our spirits. 

Maggs09, this issue of slow growing tumors has become important in the treatment plans. I've read recently that there is school of thought that calculates we may die of heart disease before the tumors will take us and for that reason the treatment plans may change. I debated over the lobectomy and chemo for just this reason. It's a hard line to draw without better information of the tumors...markers, etc. I asked for those to be done. I'm very glad for your news of no cancer! And, you're right when you say that once we have more than one cancer, it's hard to think otherwise. As for genetic testing, this too is a difficult call to make if treatments are not keeping pace with diagnosis. They've made great strides with targeted therapy. And, a research friend of mine reminds me that the treatments will follow...if not for me personally, then others who will walk these paths another day. So we continue to participate. About calculated risk of other cancers, I believe that calculation is difficult to make considering the large impact of environmental and political factors and obstructions to common sense that are beyond our control. I was glad to know that the staging of lung cancer was better defined in the last couple of years even though the calculations seemed less favorable to us. Clarity of purpose is the first place to build on improvements. 

I'm long winded this morning...

Best wishes to all as always,

Marilyn

Pessa

Maggs,  what good news about the nodules!  My surgeon said that one gets weird nerve pain after thoracic surgery.  I, too, am having nerve pain, which is very slowly diminishing.  Now, the only really bad time is when I wake up during the night because of the pain.  I am taking gabapentin which helps somewhat.

The only genetic testing I had was BRCA for the breast cancer,  My MO did not suggest any testing with the new lung cancer,  My mother had colon cancer (cured) and then died from pancreatic cancer.  My father had no cancer in his lifetime.

Marilyn, Sounds like you and your husband are a great team and have a good philosophy of life to live by!  Hope the chemo does what it is supposed to do!  Will you be getting periodic CT scans to moniter?  I will be getting them every 6 months for 5 years then yearly (for the lung cancer). 

Maggs09

Pessa, my nerve pain was terrible for first week or two, I remember screeming and crying because nothing would touch it. My acute pain management team decided against epidural,  (worried about bleeding to my spine), and used "freezing pump" instead, which didn't cover the entire surgically affected area. I've noticed slight improvement once they removed that large draining pipe.  Unfortunately I didn't have good response to the pain killers or narcotics, so it didnt make sense to prolong taking them and I had to deal with a fairly big discomfort for months. Even now I still feel a little bit, especially when I'm tired. I'm so happy to hear that your pain is slowly diminishing. 

I'm also having chest/abdomen/pelvic  ct scans every 6 months as a follow up for colon cancer. It's a lot of radiation and some anxiety each time, but I feel better knowing that Im being checked...

Wishing everyone long, cancer free life

Pessa

Either the pain is diminishing or I am learning to live with it..........

How long ago was your surgery?

I, too, am concerned about the radiation, as I was with the mammograms yearly, but there are no alternatives at this point.  At least I have no more mammograms!

Maggs09

Pessa, my lung surgery was in May, 2013. My scar is bigger then mastectomy scar, lol. But after already "dealing" with 2 primaries, I just couldn't "wait and observe". It was driving me crazy, and open lung surgery was the only option to remove and check those nodules. 

When was your surgery? Usually after 5-6 weeks you should notice a significant improvement in pain.

Pessa

My surgery was on Dec. 23, so 3 weeks ago.  Pain is better, though still present.  I had minimally invasive approach, however.  4 small cuts (one for the chest tube) so not as extensive as yours.  I can only imagine how painful it must have been for you with a larger surgical wound and probably more extensive removal of lung tissue.  So you, also, had 3 primary cancers.  Crazy, isn't it. 

I did not have any reconstruction and use prostheses(had bilateral mastectomies).  I have to wear a bra to keep them in place.  The bra, of course, crosses my right flank and back, right where the lung surgery was.  One of my biggest worries about returning to work is if I can tolerate wearing a bra the whole day (I cannot go without the prostheses.  I look too weird).  I  have tested wearing a bra for a couple of hours and it causes an increase in pain.   Will have to get used to it.........

Blundin2005

Pessa, Maggs09,-- My VAT surgery was Aug 16. I waited almost a week before the tubes came out...I think I heard the hallaluia chorus that day. My pain management was continuous epidural but my body was not happy with fentenyl...so we stopped it. I took toradol (sp). I did my walk in the hall, passed the stat test then was discharged the day after the tube was pulled. I took percoset generic at home and I was grateful for them. I had some strange chest pain and thought it was a heart attack...wasn't...so discharged from ER. That could have been the strange nerve pain they talk about. I didn't like the nerve pain they offered...took one and gave the rest away. Day by Day the pain was better but it didn't happen overnight. I was still uncomfortable but tolerable around Sept 29, the day my son was married.  I took slow walks in the neighborhood and in the garden. Everyday, I felt stronger...but not quite me. The breath didn't return to full but that is logical. I have a small cough that I never had before, and run out of air sometimes when I'm speaking...5 months later and 3 chemo treatments down...one to go. 

Pessa, maybe you could think to wear a camisole and loose fitting blouse until your incisions heal. You might be more comfortable. I gave up the bra in 2005. I wear it to dress for occasions, but even then, I've reached for comfort and style. It won't be long before your back forgets the assault. 

Wishing you both the best as always,

Marilyn

Pessa

I, too, still have a cough.  Not happy to hear that you still have yours so far out.  The surgeon did say the cough is expected, but didn't say how long it usually lasts.  Am also still short of breath, but I am hoping that will improve.  Maybe I will have to go out to buy loos fitting blouses this weekend if I can't tolerate the bra with the prostheses.

Marilyn, good luck with your last chemo!

Pessa

Maggs09

Pessa, I had 2 primaries and 3rd one (lung) was suspicion which pathology report proved to be benign. So my surgery wasn't necessary, I guess, but even with all this pain and suffering I'm happy to have those 8 areas in my right lung removed! Who knows what would this turn into in a couple of years. 

As for wearing a bra, I know exactly how it feels, lol. . I couldn't handle it for longer then a couple of hours, it was irritating this nerve pain even months after. I didn't have work though. I'm actually starting back gradually next week. I'm very nervous, how I'm going to sit in the office for all those hours, because prolonged sitting gives me pain around lower rib area on surgery site. 

Marilyn, what a great idea about a camisole. I never though of it, although I've seen post breast surgery cotton loose fitting camisoles with pockets for prosthetics. That could work!

As for cough, my dr wanted me to cough but I couldn't because of the pain. It is very important to do your breathing exercises and move as much as you can. 

Hugs to both of you,

Magda

Blundin2005

Pessa, Maggs09--Permit me a little story....I saw my GP this week for normal checkup. While there, I asked for the disability parking tag...I was told I could get it based on the surgery and diagnosis. He signed the paper and I took it to the DMV today before my ride to Costco. I hadn't looked close at it before...the doctor marked it as "temporary"...until July. I smiled to think that my GP thinks this is "temporary". I hope that he is right. This is my 3rd primary too and I'm not liking the trend. This little insignificant check on a piece of paper actually helped me to feel better about things.

M

Pessa

Thanks to both of you for the tips.  Wish me luck tomorrow, starting back to work after almost a month!

Blundin2005

Pessa, I wouldn't try to "show them" that you are as good as ever. Give yourself permission to heal and help teach them how to help in that process. We know how co-work can be very demanding, deaf, dumb and blind. They don't have any idea what your new reality presents to you. One more piece of unsolicited advise...I found yoga breath to be very helpful. Breathing from the diaphram helped me to get up hill easier and helped me center my worries about it. I noticed a slower pace helped as well. Just a thought. 

M

Pessa

Thanks for your ideas.  I will look into yoga breathing.  Sounds promising.  I do slow down.  It's just very frustrating to not be able to do what I used to be able to do at this point.  Hope it will continue to improve.  Hope your chemo (?last one?) goes (went?) well.

I just saw your response about the parking permit.  Somehow I missed it.  Nice story, very hopeful!

Blundin2005

Pessa, I thought to you today. I drove to Home Depot today...filters for the refrigerator. I picked up some bird seed while I was there. Then driving home I realized that I was breathing better...much less effort and pain. So I thought I would share that in the event you needed some positive thoughts today that it will get better. Your surgery was only Dec 23rd. Mine was Aug 16...4 mo. difference...but day by day it will get better. I even filled the bird feeders that have sat empty since last May.

Best wishes to all as always,

Marilyn