Adenocarinoma

Hello Kaz5,

First, it's great news that it looks like no spread to lymph nodes. That's a nice position to be in, although I fully understand your fears around chemo.

It's a diificult decision whether to have chemo, I had it 10 years ago - cisplatin and vinorelbine - (immunotherapy wasn't mainstream then) and I'm extremely lucky to be still going strong with no further lung cancer problems so far despite a few early scares.

I didn't have the complication of heart problems so my decision was significantly easier than yours - but the average benefit to me was also low (put at 1 in 20, benefiting an estimated 5% of individuals having it) and my simple train of thought was I could start and if it was horrendous could stop at any time. Not at allI the same as your position however. 

What has your consultant said about the heart complication? Can they give you some comfort or don't they know for sure? I'm sure it will be be a very difficult decision indeed to make if they won't get off the fence and I certainly wouldn't be comfortable with that myself. It will be interesting to see if others have faced a similar dilemma.

I'm sorry you have this difficult decision to make but whatever your chosen path I wish you all the very best for a successful outcome.

I understand your dilema. It's the hardest decision i have ever had to make. Like you i had a lobectomy, upper right

and part of middle lobe removed October 23. I too was offered aduvant chemotherapy although my surgeon was very

sure he had removed all the cancer. Like you I was terrified of chemo. I made the decision to go ahead. I had 3

rounds of the 4 rounds offered. Cisplatin and pemetrexed. It was not as bad as i thought it would be. I was ok with

the 1st round, no sickness and managed to continue on to the 2nd round. The 2nd round wiped me out. Still no

sickness but I did suffer extreme fatigue. I asked my oncologist if the next round could be adjusted to suit me better.

She said she would rather I had the 3rd full dose and not have the 4th than having reduced dose on 3rd and 4th. I

took her advice and had the 3rd dose and again was totally fatigued. We decided not to go ahead with the 4th round.

She said they are thinking that 3 rounds will do the trick anyway, but they always offer 4. I had a ct scan in April and

was told that I am in remission. Fantastic news. I will have 6 monthly scans to keep an eye on it so fingers crossed.

In contrast though, a friend of ours also had and upper right lobectomy in March this year. He too was offered chemo.

He has heart problems. he has had 2 heart attacks in the past. He made the decision not to have chemo because of

his heart problems. His wife asked the specialist if this was you, given the heart problem, would you go ahead with

the chemo. The specialist's answer was no. So it might be worth asking your specialist too. My friend is very well

nearly 6 months after his op.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. xx

Hello Excavator and thank you for your kind words of encouragement. The Consultant did not seem too concerned about my heart but for me it’s a concern to see it on the side effect list. I need to have another conversation asap.

Hope all is well with you

Hi Audrey
This has been really helpful, thank you for your time and advice

I think that's a good idea, you do need to be sure before you make a decision.

I hope it goes well for you, whatever you choose is best for yourself.

Derek.