I had a wedge resection on my left lung at the end of February. A 16mm adenocarcinoma was removed with clear margins and no nodule involvement. Following my 3 month survellience CT scan they now what me to have a PET scan as they have seen something along the scar line. Could this be anything but a recurrence and if it is would I be able to have further surgery to remove it?
Hi Pepper12
Thanks for getting in touch with us at Macmillan Cancer Support. My name is Debbie and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists.
I hope that you are recovering well from your recent lung surgery. There can be various reasons for changes in the scar line after an operation. Here at the Macmillan Support Line we are able to give general information and support. We are independent from the NHS and don’t have access to medical records so we can’t give personalised information. So it is best for you to contact your treatment team at the hospital (either a doctor or a clinical nurse specialist). You can ask them what could be causing the change in the scar line and what they might need to do. The change may be due to something other than the cancer and the scan should be able to show what is causing it.
Usually, if there is a recurrence of cancer on the scar line after surgery, your doctors would recommend appropriate treatments. These might include radiotherapy to the area or possibly chemotherapy or targeted cancer drugs. As we aren't directly involved in your care, we can't say which treatment would be needed.
I can understand that this can be a worrying time for you and you are welcome to call us if you would like to talk things through. You can speak to a nurse by phoning free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, from 8am to 8pm).
I hope that this information is helpful and please do feel welcome to contact us again.
With best wishes
Debbie
Ref/ **DC/RC
