To ask for positive lung cancer experiences?

[hoolydooly]

My dad has a lung nodule that has grown and so the doctors want to take it out along with part of his lung.

Does anyone have any positive stories to calm me down?
I think it is quite small and as far as we know there is not spread, and I guess the fact that they are operating means they think it's curable...

Nobody?

Yes, a family member.
That was about 20 years ago. Cured, no reoccurrence, just posted on Facebook that they completed a 5 mile run...

Sorry to hear that op.

My great auntie who has copd just had half a lung removed on Tuesday and is recovering well. Songs are good that it hasn’t spread so hopefully they got it all out.

Best wishes

OP my mother went through something very similar to what you have described, including partial removal of a lung. Surgery was followed up by 3-6 months of chemo which was tough, but was given the all clear afterwards. That was five years ago and very much living life to the full now. Hope that helps!

Yep I have a close relative thst had a diagnosis 5 years ago, had it removed and got better , came back on other one and has had treatment but seems to be doing super well now :) fingers crossed :)

If caught at an early stage then yes many people get cured. some just have surgery, some have chemotherapy to increase the chances of it not returning.

Thank you, everyone. I was getting a bit worried when there were no replies!

Anyone else with a positive experience? It is all doom and gloom on the internet.

Don't look at the stats on the internet, they are massively out of date. my DH has stage 4 lung cancer, we are 14 months in. There's Facebook groups with more up to date stuff. Treatments have really moved on in the past few years.

DP's ex had a small cell tumour in her lung when she was 48. She had a partial lobectomy (they removed about a third of one lung), no further treatment other than monitoring, and 10 years on has had no further problems.

Have look at the Roy Castle Foundation, they have really good advice and support as well. Wishing your Dad all the best x

My sister's father in law was diagnosed with lung cancer around a year ago. He had 6 months of radiotherapy and then got the all clear, they couldn't operate due to ongoing heart issues, but he's doing really well.

Oh my grandma had lung cancer about 6 years ago. They removed the lobe it was in and a couple of glands - it hadn’t spread, this it was about 1cm in size. She had bi annual scans, and now annual scans but so far all clear.

She’s even had Covid and was still in the garden pruning raspberries, whilst complaining she couldn’t taste the harvest

Yes my uncle had his lung removed a week before Xmas. No further treatment was needed despite it being a very big size. He’s just had a scan and an all clear. He has hasn’t massively noticed his lack of lung yet. Scary time with Covid though.

These stories are all giving me hope - thank you.
Keep 'em coming!

@Bunbunbunny Thanks for the website recommendation too.

My MIL, diagnosed December 2019.
They cannot remove it, but it's fairly small so is manages by medication. She has regular consultant appointments and she's doing amazing. You literally wouldn't know she has cancer.
She's making some changes to her lifestyle to better her health. She also has fluid around her heart which isn't so great, but even then she just has to be careful and no over exert herself too much. She should still live a good, long life.

My dad. Also has COPD had slow growing tumor. They removed it, no further treatment needed. 3 years ago now, no problems at all.

My aunt had part of her lung removed 65 years ago. She is now 74

When I met my ex MIL she had just had one lung lobe removed. I divorced her son 10 years ago, I met her about 5 years before that.
She does follow ALL of the advice from her Dr. She has had resulting problems with her strength on that side so stopped carrying the Hoover upstairs for eg (got a second one) she also stopped driving but that may be due to an eye condition (I'm not nosey and as I said exMIL). She has COPD, but she is ticking along. Her consultant thinks she's great.

My Mum! She'd already had bowel cancer (cured) when they found a completely separate lung cancer when she was 65 ish. They took out half a lung. She's 80 now and has several issues and conditions ... But not lung cancer. She always gets back up again and is amazing. My hero.

Go with the hope for now. What do any of us have if we don't have that?

I had lung cancer 11 years sgo, when I was 59. I had an operation that removed the tumour and the top third of my lung.

The good news is that I survived, and that was the extent of medical intervention., give or take the three month follow ups and xrays.

The bad news is that the operation was brutal on my body. I've had back ache most of the intervening years (to get to my lung they had to remove part of three of my ribs).

But, hey, I'm alive 😊. Every time my back hurts, (like now) I remember that it hurts but it saved my life.

Surgery may have got "kinder" in the years since I had it though.

I also have to be super vigilant about getting colds, which can, and have, led to chest infections, which have led to hospital admissions twice in the last four years. That's been a lot of fun during the c19 crisis.

I was diagnosed with lung cancer in Dec 2017. I had surgery Jan 18 to remove the tumour and the upper part of my right lung. They took some nodes from the centre of my chest which were clear. No further treatment needed. My scans have been clear since and discharged from clinic last year. Beware what you read in the internet - it's scary stuff OP.
I'm on my way to bed but will check in tomorrow if you have any questions. Best wishes to your dad

Thank you for all of these stories. They make such a difference.

@Wombat22 Thanks for your reply. Questions... I have hundreds! But my main three are...

People who have managed to recover with surgery alone, how big was the tumour?

And how bad is the operation? I think it is going to be keyhole. Is it dangerous?

Do you always have to be careful afterwards about chest infections or does it depend on how much lung is removed? I think it's the smallest of the 5 lobes they are taking.

My cancer was 2b. My tumour was a few mm I think. ( my paperwork is filed away) I was aged 54 when I had surgery. It was keyhole and there were 2 incisions. I was in hospital 4 days and the worst part was the chest drain, as it was sitting on a nerve. I made sure that I got up and walked around every day. I was a bit breathless and tired but made a full recovery quite quickly.

Sleep was tricky as I couldn’t lay flat for the first few weeks.

I haven’t had any chest infections but I was told that I have COPD which will cause problems in later life. I’ll take that.

Also, there are 3 lobes in the right lung. I was told that after they remove one lobe, the other 2 expand into the space. My breathing has not returned fully to what it was, but you’d never guess I’ve had lung surgery. I hope this has been useful OP.

Family member, exactly the same position. Lobe of lung removed and the pathology showed very early stages.

Had an annoying cough for a few months, as the lungs were trying to 'unblock' the tube that had been closed off but eventually that stops.

No other treatment was required and now (a couple of years later) apart from some very slight breathlessness they are totally fine as the rest of the lungs pick up the slack! Bodies are amazing