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...

Oh, also meant to say that my family members lobectomy was done via keyhole surgery which significantly reduced recovery time (and is amazing!)

Thank you both for sharing those stories.
It's a scary time, but hearing some positive experiences does help a lot.

Another positive story. A good friend had tumor and lung section removed 20 years ago, followed by chemo. At the time the prognosis was not good, but he made a great recovery and still going strong (He was a smoker)

Thank you, @Onmydoorstep

If anybody else has anything positive to share, I am all ears.

My mum was diagnosed with lung cancer last year. Because she has emphysema surgery was not possible. It was one tumour in one lung and she underwent radiation.
She has since been given the all clear with follow up scans showing no cancerous cells.

A friend had lung cancer 10-12 years ago - still clear.
She does have impaired lung capacity - moved away from London, and occasionally has problems breathing well if she comes up for a few days, but other than that she is fine.

Hi OP, if you haven't already been on the macmillan website, I'd really recommend that you have a look. There are lots of forums and groups on there. It might be worth you giving them a call too, they are really helpful xx

My DH had a carcinoid cancer tumour in his upper left lung. He had an upper lobectomy to remove that part of the lung (the entire lobe) and was all clear shortly after. This was 4 years ago, and he is still all clear. He has reduced lung capacity but still cycles and is fitter now than ever. He climbed Snowdon with me last year, and cycled to Paris from London.

The surgery is brutal. If it is open surgery as opposed to keyhole, then this is important to know. The doctors warned him, but we didn't really appreciate how bad it would be. The DH says he coped worse after the surgery than with the cancer diagnosis. He is in constant pain. He has had to learn to manage this and there are days when he is so tired of it... BUT he is alive, he is physically healthy and he has a very full and lives a life as normal as things can be after this. He is happy, but it took him a little while to get there.

He is a positive story, and he was just 33 when he got diagnosed. If you have a local cancer support group, I would thoroughly recommend talking to them.

My dad was diagnosed last year. He had a lobectomy (2b tumour) and has since been given the all clear. It was such a worrying time for us so I know all too well how you're feeling. x

My dad has lung cancer, they can't operate as he's on medication for heart issues and would bleed too much. They've managed it for the last 3 years using chemo/radiotherapy and it's not grown/spread in that time. He has scans regularly to check it's not spreading and his most recent one has come back saying no change. It's a case of management not cure with him. He is 76 and they only found the cancer because he had a heart attack after a car crash.. Hope everything goes well with your dad op x

Thank you for the most recent replies. I appreciate each an every one of them and have reread them all several times. You are all giving me hope in a very dark and scary time.

Struggling a bit this morning and feeling very worried.
If anyone has more positive stories, I would really appreciate them.

@hoolydooly what you're feeling now is completely normal. I haven't any experience of lung cancer but I've had my own fight with aggressive breast cancer this year. I can honestly say that the worst part was immediately after diagnosis until treatment. There's loads of support out their for patients and their families. MacMillan is a really good place to start. Also see if there's a Maggie's near you. They're a great place to drop in and have a chat with someone who understands. I'm also on a number of Facebook support groups, which helped me through my treatment.

I never really knew anyone who'd had positive cancer stories until my diagnosis. Suddenly people I've known for a while told me they'd had cancer and were 5, 7, 10, etc years clear. You only tend to hear the bad stories, not the good. My good story is 9 months after diagnosis I'm returning to work cancer free tomorrow.

I hope everything goes well for you, your father and your family.

• out there, not their

Thank you @barberousbarbara. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply, and I am so glad you are now cancer free. All the best to you.

My Mil had half a lung removed 20 years ago due to cancer nodules and copes fine now

Thank you! I will show all of these stories to my mum too.

Hi there, I work for Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and we have lots of positive stories on our website of being whom have had curative treatment and who are living well with late stage lung cancer: www.roycastle.org/category/patient-stories/