Lung cancer results

Tillyboo you have to try and calm down this is GOOD news! They have already booked an appointment to tell you the results of the scans ! Some people wait weeks to get a result after the PET scan you are lucky to have one so quick.Your husband needs you to be calm .When I first started like you the appointments being made were coming every day .In the end I got a book and wrote everything down as the phone rang and letters came .It does  get very confusing  so you are lucky to be living in an area that moves really quickly .There will be lots and lots of appointments coming your way and you want them to come! Depending on his results he needs to be strong so if There  is anything we can do to help you calm down please ask .We can only tell you about our own experiences ,so just ask if it helps you .They will have the results when you go otherwise they would not have made the appointment 

let us know how you get on Friday .I am up there on Friday as well .You will find them all so kind and helpful 

Jennifer

1. Hi Tillyboo , I agree with Jennifer , calm down, it's good you have a date to discuss the scan results as Jennifer said we can wait for weeks to get results , I waited 5 weeks for the results of my 6 monthly check up so it's good you don't have to wait too long , they know what date your husband has for his PET scan so that's how they can give youse a date for to discuss results . Try and calm your nerves and try and get your sleep , I know it's an anxious time ,  we've all been there , your husband and you need to eat to keep up your strength  if there are more appointments toing and froing to hospitals can be quite exhausting .
2. Take care . Sandra 

Thanks for replies. 

I've tried to talk to him about whats going on & he just wont respond, he just stays silent his eyes tear up, but he refuses pount blank to talk to me & I put on a very good front act very calm when I'm trying to talk to him. 

If he was the type of person who could cope with bad news, then I probably wouldnt feel as distraught, but I know what hes like & I just dont know how he'll be if this is the worst case scenario. I've even asked if he would like a GP to talk to him & he just gets annoyed. He as already gone through a stroke & a pituarity benign tumour which burst. So his pituarity gland is now none functioning & all his hormone are taking orally or injection, as the pituarity gland doesnt work. 

U mention tumour to him he thinks cancer, he didnt even know what a lung lesion was, I had to explain.

So I just dont know how he will cope with bad results & theres no one else but me who he can go with.

Its a nightmare....

Hi Tillyboo,

do try and keep calm, I know it is not easy and often harder for the patients partner as in your case. It is common to worry about diagnosis, I go through a cycle every time I have a scan and await results. But not eating and sleeping will not help, he needs to keep his strength up to fight. I am a great believer in striving for a positive attitude, when diagnosed with cancer, not always easy and not feasible all the time, but striving for a positive attitude and a belief that you can WIN and conquer the cancer does help. In my case I have a large family, and lots of grandkids, that I have to look after, so I have a strong goal, that helps. Also I have to be strong for my wife, who like you has suffered more anxiety over my numerous cancers and 3 major operations than I have. I wish you both well and thinking of you, through this horrible time and hope the results are good. The McMillan nurses and other services are great and have helped me, when despair and depression took control over optimism, please try them for yourself and your husband. He is not alone, as anyone who has gone through this will be wishing you well. Take care.

Finally got biopsy results. Not good lung cancers spread to lung lower spine & brain. Dont know how much of a spread as I'm just numb. No staging not much info treatment chemo was mentioned. My husband asked about holidays, to which the docs reply was maybe one or two.

Bloods taken for CTDNA treatment & some other treatment was mentìoned about ice? I honestly cant remember. Inoperable. No mention of radiotherapy.

No cancer name or T numbers etc.

Waiting for oncology meeting at Royal Marsden.

My husband was a normal human being on the 22nd Jan & then this happened & basically lifes ended.

Little hope given yesterday, apart from loads of leaflets.

So next wait the Marsden.

What hope we had as gone....I think the side affects of treatment will out weigh the quality of. Altho not told if aggressive nothing, just your cancers spread off u go....

Please don't take this badly, but saying things like life's ended, does not help. Seriously, you need to be as positive as you can be. Being positive helps, it is hard but the more positive you both are, the longer you can enjoy life together...  From your post, you have given up all ready... Don't, take every opportunity you can, don't give in to the cancer, that is a sure way of losing. Treat every day as a positive, and be hopeful, enjoy what you have, do not waste it on negativity.

Sorry if I sound harsh, it is a hard journey, but the more positive you are, both of you, the better and longer your time together will be.

Do not let the cancer win.

Thoughts and prayers with you both. X

Its so hard, just cant stop crying.....

I know, it is horrible, and is often harder for the partner, than the patient. My wife has often been more anxious than me over it, especially when I had operations. I find the hardest time for me, is after a scan, when I get the letter to go see the consultant, I always worry that they might have found something else (as they have done 3 times) and sometimes just breakdown.

You sound like you need someone to help and support you, a close relative or the Macmillan nurses, who I have found are an excellent source of help and encouragement. I would hope you have had one assigned to you, if not get onto the hospital and get one.

Try and keep strong, and try and be as positive as you can, I and many others on her are thinking of you, through this hard time. X 

Hello

Hi I was diagnosed last January after a routine xray after having Covid showed a tumour in my lung - I like you and your husband was out of my mind with worry and shock. I had spread to the lympth nodes and small spots in my other lung so was diagnosed at Stage 4 and I like you thought that’s it I have no hope especially as I did what everyone said not to and googled it.

However after speaking to MacMillan and my lung cancer nurse I was pointed to the Roy castle website. It helped me tremendously and gave me hope, it was not all the doom and gloom I first thought.

Yes I am classed as treatable not curable but someone said to me that many diseases are this like diabetes/ ms etc and I suddenly thought yes they are. I also asked that I didn’t get a prognosis as many have said to me on the forum that this can not be an accurate account even my oncologist and many have lived out that prognosis some even into 8 years plus since diagnosis.

Treatment wise I have had chemotherapy which worked with shrinkage and no progression for almost 9 months and then due to slight progression I started a trial but this again did not work for me, my mutation is rare your husband should get a pathology report which states his mutation and whether he will be eligible for immunotherapy etc. when you meet your oncologist in a few weeks be sure to ask this.

Side affect wise I have been fortunate not to have experienced many apart from tiredness and constipation which are manageable. I am also still able to work full time and manage to exercise walk my dogs etc - in fact if you didn’t know I had the cancer you wouldn’t be able to tell. 

sorry for the essay but I do urge you to look into the Roy castle website. The stories of positivity and the support given have really helped me focus. Lastly I travelled all of last year I went to America twice and also Mexico I explained to my consultant that travel was important to me and she always supported it and if needed scheduled my appointments around my holidays. This year again I have lots planned even South Africa. 

Take care and I hope your appointment goes well.

Excellent reply MadMarc, I didn't think it was harsh, sometimes these things need to be said.

I have had cancer twice, first time was stage 2 breast cancer with spread to lymph nodes, I was only 41 at the time with a young family and a job that I loved. To be honest, I was the only one positive at the time. After my surgery and subsequent radiotherapy, I had friends and family all crying around me and bringing me flowers. All their conversations centred around death, so I put my foot down, first thing I did was bin all the flowers, my house looked like a funeral parlour, when asked why I had done this, I just replied "I'm not dead yet". I stayed positive, got through it and went back to my normal life and my job.

Fast forward 34 years, I was diagnosed with lung cancer in the Summer of 2023. I still had the same positive attitude. After treatment, apart from a couple of months recuperation, I was back to normal and living my life. Positivity is a powerful tool.

Best wishes.

Ann