New here and in complete shock - from mastectomy to half a lung removal

Told  it was ling cancer  and i need half my lung removed

There's three sections in the right lung and two in the left. I'm guessing he's talking about a section.

It comes as a shock when you first hear this, but don't despair just yet. Once you get used to it, being able to have surgery for lung cancer provides the best possible long term outlook and it's highly likely that you'll be cured. I had my right lung removed in 2014 and am still well so far. There are several people on here who have reported similar long term survival after surgery.

Make sure that you follow all advice, especially relating to exercises, given to you after surgery to ensure the best possible recovery both short and long term.

I wish you all the best for a successful result.

Thank you for your helpful reply.i was so unprepared i asked no questions  at all.i am having an echocardiogram as i have a soft murmur  to make sure i am fit for surgery.  He said he wanted to take the top half of my left lung.

Could i ask to have just the cancer removed ?

nimitor2acdaa I don't think our cancer surgeons often consider just removing the cancer and leaving the rest of the lobe - most of us who are lucky enough to have been assessed as being well enough for surgery have had whole lobes removed - that way there's less chance of spread.  And the amazing thing is that the remaining lobes of the lung expand to take the space of the removed lobe.  So you won't really miss one out of five lobes.  Best wishes to you, I feel sure things will get easier for you once you've had a little time to recover from this severe shock.  

As PamelaAnne says, normally the whole lobe is normally removed to reduce the risk of recurrence. It's also true how the remaining lung expands - I recently had a chest x-ray for an unrelated issue and was amazed to see how my remaining left lung had expanded.

In my case cancer cells were found in the lung tissue close to the tumour so I was given chemotherapy as a precaution. Although unpleasant, it does appear to have worked up to now.

All the best,

Derek.