Hello, thought I’d come on here to tell my story and if anyone can tell me what to expect next…..
I was diagnosed with Bowel cancer in 2011, I had a 3rd of my bowel removed along with nearby lymph nodes which a few where cancerous…because of this I had 6 rounds of chemotherapy, this consisted of 1 day at the hospital having chemotherapy by infusion, then sent home with 2 weeks worth of tablets, the 3rd week was a free week then back for round 2 the following week…..( is chemotherapy still done this way as mines was 2011)……
anyway I had yearly checks, then 3 years, then 5….each colonoscopy check up was always clear…….in December 2024 I was getting dagger pains in my chest, they got worse and worse and on the 10th December I decided to take myself up to A&E….i explained what was happening fearing I was going to have a pending Heart Attack , they took blood and also gave me a chest X-ray…I was told my blood was fine and the pain was not a heart attack, I was so relieved, but in the nurses same breath she told me my X-ray was showing a shadow on my right lung, she told me not to worry as could just be an infection but she would make me an appointment for an urgent CT scan….
on the 19th December I went for my scan , on the 24th December I was to get my results from lung specialist, I was positive I was going to be told I’ve got long covid as was noticing I was getting breathless more and more each day….i went with my wife to see the specialist and was told I have a 33mm tumour on my right lung which looks very much like cancer, he then went onto say I had showings on my liver which could also be cancer ( merry Xmas to me )…I just went numb and immediately thought I was going to be riddled throughout my body…
I went for MRI scan for my liver…biopsy on my lung and also a PET scan…..and eventually got told at a further consultation on the 29th January that my liver was non cancerous polyps, but my right lung was cancer and also a 7mm finding on my left lung that was from my bowel cancer in 2011…..
i was relieved that’s all they found as everyday from Xmas eve up till then every bone in my body ached, every organ in my body ached and my head also , was all down to stress and me overthinking I was head to toe with cancer……
I went to see another specialist at the start of February who told me in all his years he has never known anyone to have secondary cancer with zero symptoms for 14 years, he told me it’s not good news because it’s cancer but is good news that it’s grown so slowly and not spread anywhere else, he made me feel a lot more positive about it all and says I should be given surgery to remove both tumours but was not up to him but others to decide…..
anyway where I am now is a have a consultation next week with a thoracic surgeon to hopefully be told I will be getting surgery…..
I’m just wanting to know if anyone else has seen a thoracic surgeon and they didn’t get surgery ?? Also if it is surgery then how long after consultation did you wait until surgery…
I feel this has been a lifetime since Xmas eve and still not been told if surgery or treatment…..sorry for the long winded story .
Hi SRN
Welcome to the group no one wants to be a member of. You’re not alone here.
My journey started on Christmas Eve 2024 but my story is very different to yours. I had a chest X-ray on Christmas Eve after having a wheezy chest at night for 2.5 months since a holiday in Jamaica, my third time there, but on this occasion the humidity didn’t agree with me at all and I struggled to breath, walk, sleep. I then got a chest infection and ended up stuck in our hotel room for a few days my husband was so worried…2.5 months later after seeing my GP I then had the chest X-ray. That came back with shadows on both lungs, January 3rd I had a CT, 9th of January I was told I had lung cancer that had spread to the other lung, I then had an MRI that showed that it was also in my spine, well, two vertebrae and also in my lymph nodes. I had no clue. No symptoms. I’ve actually since seen two thoracic consultants, they’ve both told me that it’s not operable, or curable, but mainly because it’s spread to my bones, an oncologist has told me the same. I’ve since been told I’m eligible for targeted therapy because I have the EGFR mutation in my cancer cells. This is good news.
I may not be curable, but my cancer is treatable, this targeted therapy has been known to have excellent results and if it works can give me a few more years. That’s what I’m holding on to. I start my targeted therapy next Saturday, 15th March. I’ll have an injection every 4 weeks of Denosumab and a daily pill which is Osimertinib.
Now I don’t know because I’m not a doctor but if you have a tumour just in one lung and it’s not spread anywhere else then depending on what it’s attached to it could well be operable so focus on that.
if it’s not operable it’s probably treatable and would probably have a much better outlook than mine has.
You have got through this once, you're clearly strong, you’re a survivor and you can do it again.
The best of luck with your thoracic consultant appointment, we’ll be routing for you here that you get the best possible news…
Sending positive vibes 
️
Jools 
Morning SRN
Thanks for your reply, I’m so glad you are feeling positive, that’s brilliant news, so good to hear. Yes my situation is unfortunate but I still am staying very positive knowing what I know about the treatment and I’ve told em I’m not going anywhere for a long time yet lol
As for PIP, thank you for the suggestion but I’ve been on DLA and then PIP for over 30 years as I have rheumatoid arthritis. (I know right 
)
When I was on DLA I was on middle rate care and higher rate mobility, I had a new car every 3 years for 25 years. Such a godsend. When I made the transition from DLA to PIP they put me on middle rate for everything and took my car away. My situation hadn’t changed, it still hasn’t but they don’t give a monkeys as long as ‘they’ claw back money from those who need it most. I’m pretty sure that unless you actually have a terminal cancer diagnoses of less than 6 months they still won’t give me or anyone else with cancer full mobility. No one has said I’m terminal because I’m not…yet…As I understand it the government are about to restructure welfare payments again and are going to target vulnerable and disabled people so I’m prepared to have to fight to keep what I already have.
as if I need that fight on top of everything else going on 
I hope you find out soon what course of action they’re going to take,
Take, care, stay strong and positive
Jools
