So I haven't posted on here in a while, been trying to get on with life as we do, but this has gone a bit pete tong in the last couple of weeks :-(
On the 20th December, I had a rountine yearly CT Scan and got a phone call on the 22nd from my Clinical Oncologist, who I must add always calls after my scans, who goes on to tell me all looks good around by abdomen etc, but something has been spotted in my left lung and they are not quite sure what it is, could be something thats alway been there or could be cancer so wants to me to have a PET CT. So i decide to keep this completely to myself, why spoil christmas for everyone else lol. Appointment come through for PET on 2/1/18 so tell my o/h on the 1st!.
So fast forward to Friday 5th and the phone goes, she confirms that they have found 1 spot of cancer in my lower left lung, apparently its very small and no sign of any other uptake and they believe it to be the same cancer I had in my cervix but obviously will not be able to confirm this until its out, this has already apparently been well discussed at the MDT meeting by both the gynae side and the lung people and looks like the way forward is to have a wedge resection done to remove tumour, after having a few checks etc. She then mentioned that obviously there is also the concern of this blighter popping up somewhere else.
Well here comes the obvious!........I am scared sh*tless, I will get myself together and deal with this, but at the moment my chest feels like its got a ton of bricks on it, I feel completely p*ssed off that this had popped up literally 5 years from when I was first diagnosed and how dare it intrude on my life once again.
Great start to 2018!!
Sorry for the rant but just needed to get it out there, hoping someone can calm me down a bit.
Hiya Hun, didn’t want to read and run so thought I’d post to say good luck with everything and keep us posted on what happens next, I’m sure the team of doctors will sort you out and you can be back enjoying life cancer free again! There are others who im sure will pop in and tell of there experiences with recurrence
I'm sorry about your recurrence. Not something any one expects to hear 5 years down the track. You must've felt like you have been going crazy going through the scans by yourself. Vent away with your frustrations. You are more than entitled to. The doctors sound positive in being able to remove it surgically. Hopefully they can remove it all with surgery, and the nasty blighter will be once again be gone.
The ladies on the advanced site should be able to give you a more helpful perspective on dealing with recurrences and how they have coped with lung resection.
Wishing you all the best in your ongoing treatment xx
All the best Naomi with the possible surgery. I can imagine you must feel gutted after 5 clear years. Hope it all goes well and that you can soon get on with your life. x
I'm so so sorry to read you're having to go through this again. And you kept it quiet over Xmas! The things we do hey?
It must be really hard after 5 years to have it rear it's ugly head again but it sounds like it's been caught super early so hopefully they can fix you again.
I've got everything crossed that you'll have it chopped out and never hear of it ever again.
stay positive , I'm a recurrent cervical cancer suvivor , different circumstances to you though but 2 years on and still NED , i think there is a lady on here who had recurrence to the lung maybe she'll see you post , the feeling being diagnosed with recurrence is just the pits and I totally get you being scared sh*tless but sounds like your team are looking after you well ,
this site is amazing when you need to talk , want advice or just rant.
I'm sorry for the crappy news in the new year. That really sucks especially after 5 years cancer free. But I want to assure you that there's hope. I'm a recurrent survivor as well. Mine recurred to a lymph node around my lung one year post treatment. I did the usual chemo mix for 3 cycles but it wasnt' too successful. So my doctors switched treatment plan to targeted radiation (SBRT) for good local control and 4 cycles of immunotherapy (keytruda) which all ended in Nov 2016. I'm still in remission currently. For me, immunotherapy was a breeze. Not much side effects except for the muscle ache on first 2-3 days. I can even travel overseas to Korea and Japan. Your treatment plan includes surgery which sounds to me that your medical team is aggressively targeting the cancer to give you good local control. Feel free to pm me if you have any queries. All the best for your upcoming treatment! Soldier on and don't lose hope.
Just wanted to say a big thank you for taking the time to reply, it really does mean a lot.
Nothing new really to report at the moment, off to my 1st appointment with the Respiratory Medicine team tomorrow, which I believe is for pre-op checks on lung function, lung capacities etc, I am then led to believe I should meet my surgeon in about a weeks time (finger's crossed! - seem's to be taking forever!).
I have had a letter from my clinical oncologist confirming the details we spoke about on the phone and what has been sent to the surgeon which basically says that they have identified a left lower lobe lung nodule which has shown to be avid on the PET, they feel this is likely to be a met as it is more smooth and rounded than spiculated, but also too small to biopsy. it goes on to say 'I have explained what the implictions of metastatic disease means, in that as this is all we can see on the ct scan currently, given the long gap between her primary treatment in 2013 and the emergence of tis metastasis, its impossible to exclude the presence of other subclinical microscopic disease elsewhere. Nevertheless it is of course possible this is the only metastasis, and that is why you have agreed to see her to consider a wedge resection. - Do you think this is why I am being offered the op rather than going down the chemo route? It's just all other lung mets seem to be treated with chemo that I can find on here, cant actually access the closed groups at the mo but from what i can find without going google crazy!
They must be fairly confident they have clear margins and no other spread if they are going the surgical route. I hope one of the other ladies that has lung secondaries, contact you soon to give you a better perspective. All the best with everything xx
