operation

Hi Christie.k you are posting in the right place so don’t worry about that.

It is only natural to feel nervous and anxious, any operation is daunting. There may be posts on here from people who have struggled after surgery, but I have spoken to just as many who have had no problems at all. Everyone is different, and no one’s story is the same.  My lungs have lots of tumours, too many for surgery, but I wish they could be removed, I hate knowing they are there. Surgery is always the best option for a cure.

I wish you lots of luck for the 22nd. I hope more people will come and chat to you as well, to hopefully tell you their positive outcomes and put your mind at rest x 

I have just seen you have spoke to Excavator on another post ️

thankyou chelle ,for replying i just feel a little out of my comfort zone ,I know not everyone has a positive outcome ,and i do expect people to be honest and not sugar coat things ,i am sorry that you cannot have surgery it must be upsetting to know that the tumours are there yet they cant do anything ,I will try to be more positive

It is hard to stay positive. I think we don’t see a lot of success stories here because once people are cured, they no longer need to access the site. I don’t blame them, there are times I wish I could forget about cancer. Also there are a lot of people that come onto the site to just read comments, rather than post themselves. We have over 3 thousand members in the lung group, but only a handful of posters. People get support in their own way, and sometimes just reading other peoples experiences is enough for them. 

X 

thankyou x

Hi Christie.K, glad that you have now had some replies! I have only just joined and so this is my first post...

chellesimo is absolutely right; everybody's story is different and many folks for whom everything progresses smoothly, do not even get around to tell their story as they return relatively quickly to "normality" and simply put it all behind them.

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since I underwent a Left VATS Upper Lobectomy to remove a 25mm (ish) NSC Squamous Cell tumour.  I can entirely empathise with you feeling scared. For my part, I had somehow managed 6 decades of never having a general anaesthetic and that bothered me more than the procedure itself!

But, everything you have said that makes you mad is actually in your favour... it sounds like you are fit and active, with good lung function and this should certainly help you with your recovery time. Mobilise as quickly as the physios want you to, do the deep breathing & coughing etc. It all really helps. Oh, and something I found through research was about posture. There's a tendency to "stoop/hunch" after thoracic surgery but keeping one's body as upright, and shoulders as relaxed as possible really helps.

It also sounds like you have a single primary lung tumour with no indication from your PET-CT of spread. So they are approaching your treatment "with curative intent" - another big positive.

So, 2 weeks on, am I totally pain free and riding my bike around, sorting out jobs about the house etc? No sugar coating; nope! But I have only been on paracetamol since day 2 and apart from a not so great day yesterday, generally and hopefully, I feel that I am making progress...

Best wishes for the 22nd

Grailer, you're spot on with advice to mobilise and exercise etc., it really does help. Stooping is also common, I was seen by a nurse from our local medical centre walking in the street with a stoop and they put me right, I hadn't realised I was doing it. I hope you continue to do well making good progress.

Curative intent certainly is a big thing, in my case it was several years ago so here's to you, Christie.K and all others undergoing surgery for a successful outcome.

Hi Grailer ,thankyou so much this has helped a little to ease my mind ,i have only been under anesthetic once ,in 2009 and it was an emergency and i was already doped up on morphine ,so dont remember much about it .They have told me mine is a lung nodule now 18 mm ,and i am hoping that it will be a quick and easy solution .Knowing you were riding a bike only after 2 weeks really gives me hope ,thankyou

Thankyou excavator ,i will remember not to stoop 

Hi Christie.K I'm glad my post helped a bit.

Sorry if my writing style caused any confusion... no, I'm not riding my bike again just yet, maybe I could, but probably not a good idea lol!

I was just trying to indicate that although it takes time, it does get easier but everyone's journey will be different.

Today is day 2 of my no pain relief experiment and so far so good...

Take care and best wishes.