New to the forum - partner diagnosed with lung cancer and possible lymph

Hi Dobby 

Welcome to our community, I hope you find it both informative and supportive.

Sorry to hear about your partner, for me it it my wife who has Leiomyosarcoma but in her case the secondaries are spread throughout her lung so in some ways more similar.

You might like to introduce yourself in our Lung cancer forum where there will be many with a similar diagnosis and lots of expereince to share. This group is a little bit special in that we ask patients to stay away so that we can talk more freely about the impact caring has on us. Something that really helped me was doing a living with less stress course, it helped me realise that I spent a lot of time worrying about a future I could neither control nor predict and that was blocking me appreciating what we have. We were rather lucky in that the second round of chemotherapy rendered my wifes cancer stable and that happy state has now lasted over 10 years.

Do post whenever as someone is always listening.

<<hugs>>

Steve

Thank you so much for the reply. Great news that your wife's cancer is stable.. it gives me hope. It's all really overwhelming for me. I went through all this 22 years ago with my Mum who had lung cancer. She wasn't lucky enough to make it. It's stirring up lots of memories and emotions. My partner has a totally different attitude towards it than my Mum did so that helps. He's a real fighter and sees it as a challenge rather than accepting it and feeling sorry for himself, but I don't think he knows, mentally, what's coming regarding treatment. My Mum didn't have Immuno, wasn't available at the time, so  even I can't prepare myself for that. He's having Chemo and Immuno then an op to remove the tumor so first consultant said its "curative" but then another letter said "palliative". Don't know if the palliative part is re the lymph.. Our nurse is getting so many questions on Wednesday.. 

My husband just got diagnosed with oesophageal cancer that has spread to his pancreas and liver. We’re waiting to see oncology and whether he’s a candidate for immunotherapy. I spoke with the nurse last week who explained they need to check for certain markers on the biopsy which indicate whether he’d be eligible, if so they need to start immunotherapy before chemotherapy. All this is new to me too but I’m finding so much comfort from these forums and just understanding what we’re in for. My very basic understanding of immunotherapy is that it is targeted and helps the body “reveal” cancer cells that are able to disguise themselves and not be found by the immune system. Kind of like taking their invisible cloak off so they are visible targets for the body to fight. My husband also has palliative on the SR1 form and the nurse told me not to be alarmed about that, it’s a description for the stage where treatment is designed to reduce the tumor and extend life. In my husbands case we knew from day one that his are inoperable. And that cancer will be a big part of our lives for the rest of his life but that it’s not necessarily a death sentence. I guess we’ll find out more when we get to meet the oncology team. I’m wishing you both the very best as you navigate this new world together. 

This really helps me mentally, thank you so much for the reply. It's such a horrid disease for anyone to go through, but when it's our loved ones, it's so distressing at times. It makes me feel comforted that there are others out there that can relate to the situation. Let's stay strong together... xxx

Yes we’re definitely in this together, I will keep an eye on this thread. My husband is not having a great day today, just waiting on the GP to phone me. We have morphine to control the pain but my husband is trying to tough it out as he doesn’t like the side effects (grogginess, hallucinations/bad dreams) and he’s continuing to lose weight which is a worry since I’m trying to get as many calories as I can into him to prepare for chemo. My friend sent me a link which really helped me remain positive about his prospects, it’s one you need to sign up for a free trial but I think it’s worth a read! https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/conditions/cancer/chronic-heartburn-stage-four-oesophageal-cancer/
it relates specifically to my husbands cancer but hopefully it will give you some hope too