Hello all,

As some of you may know, next week on the 11th my mom is going to undergo surgery to try and remove this fibrous peel around her right lung. All other signs indicate she is free of cancer otherwise; there are no tumors. She still has fluid buildup around her lung because of the empty space the trapped lung creates. All indications from the surgeon suggest it is a very safe procedure. I believe they call it mini-thoracotomy, or VATS decortication. What she will do is make 3 small incisions in my mom's back, thru which she will try to remove this rind piece by piece.

However, she did also mention that there's only about a 30-40% chance of the lung re-expanding after this, because its been collapsed for so long. My mom is a little scared and I don't blame her, but from everything I've read, and from the surgeon's tone, it appears to be a relatively safe procedure. A little more help certainly doesn't hurt, so I'm just writing to ask everyone to join me in praying that the surgery is completely safe and successful in re-expanding the lung. This way she can have the pleuradesis and we can finally have the peace of mind not having to deal with this fluid buildup anymore. Thank you all.

_________________
? 07/02: Mom dx'd w/Adenocarcinoma of unknown primary manifesting as malignant pleural effusion(3B) ? 09/02: Complicated by trapped lung. ? 10/02: Switched to Block Medical Center. ? 02/03: PET/CT scans clear.
? 03/03: Trapped lung surgically fixed. 11/03: Recurrance(?) to abdomen

Marlon,

I'm sending best wishes to you and your Mom. It is amazing to me how vigillant you are in her care, your love and the support you give to her.. you will do anything to help her and protect her she is lucky to have you. I will pray that the surgery will be a success and her lung will get back to work for her.

Laurie

_________________
God Bless You,

Laurie

________________________________
MOM DX SCLC 10/02 COLLAPSED LUNG
CISPLATIN/VP16 4X
RADIATION URL X30
REMISSION CLEAR SCANS 2/03
PCI BRAIN RADIATION 3/03 X18
9/15/04 SCAR TISSUE SHRUNK! CLEAR SCANS!
2/3/05 SCANS STILL CLEAR 2 YEARS NED!
5/2007 STILL CLEAR!!

Dear Marlon,
I hear you loud and clear...extra prayers are on the calendar for your mom's surgery, reexpansion of her lung, hopefully some peace of mind for you, and a return to feeling better. It is wonderful that she has you!

_________________
"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever." Lance Armstrong

"Every moment is a breath-taking, transitory experience, never to be repeated again." - Don Juan Matus

Tiny
Age 58 at dx; lifelong non-smoker
12/01 dx NSCLC bronchoalveolar-type adenocarcinoma (BAC), Stage IIA
2/02 Lobectomy RLL; no chemo or rad
6/03 MRI = "empty"
3/05 Bone Scan = negative
2/08 CT = "No Evidence for Metastases or Recurrence"
Enjoyed 6+ years of NED
1/09 CT/PET:Recurrent disease: multiple new nodules in both lungs, mediastinal lymph nodes, and spot on liver.
2/3/09 Bone Scan: Degenerative arthritis (hooray!)
2/4/09 Started Tarceva
~~ picture: Temple of Poseidon, Greece 4/08 ~~

Dear Marlon,
I hear you loud and clear...extra prayers are on the calendar for your mom's surgery, reexpansion of her lung, hopefully some peace of mind for you, and a return to feeling better. It is wonderful that she has you!

_________________
"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever." Lance Armstrong

"Every moment is a breath-taking, transitory experience, never to be repeated again." - Don Juan Matus

Tiny
Age 58 at dx; lifelong non-smoker
12/01 dx NSCLC bronchoalveolar-type adenocarcinoma (BAC), Stage IIA
2/02 Lobectomy RLL; no chemo or rad
6/03 MRI = "empty"
3/05 Bone Scan = negative
2/08 CT = "No Evidence for Metastases or Recurrence"
Enjoyed 6+ years of NED
1/09 CT/PET:Recurrent disease: multiple new nodules in both lungs, mediastinal lymph nodes, and spot on liver.
2/3/09 Bone Scan: Degenerative arthritis (hooray!)
2/4/09 Started Tarceva
~~ picture: Temple of Poseidon, Greece 4/08 ~~

Marlon,
I will be in the hospital with my dad on that exact day! Getting his MRI of head, and CT of the body. I will have quite sometime to myself in that waiting room and I will definitly be adding a prayer for your mom. I know things will work out.

_________________
- Katie Brown, Co-Founder and Director of LCSC-

15 yr cancer survivor.

"Any of us who have experienced the cancer journey- and survived it-
have an obligation to make the path clearer and aid those that come after us."
- Lance Armstrong

In memory of Jessee Dewey, SCLC
December 29, 1938 - September 6, 2003
Lisa Dewey- Jan. 22, 2007
my parents are together in heaven


facebook www.facebook.com/lungevity

Marlon, I will keep your mom in my prayers for a successful surgery and recouperation. Please let us know how it goes, I know you will-so that was a pointless request, sorry . I hope you know that you will not be alone in spirit in the coming weeks, we will be with you and here for you when you tell us how well the surgery went ! Take care, Deb

_________________
knowledge is power!!!

"Statistics describe a group, not the individual."

Dad has advanced NSCLC: diagnosed 1/02
brain mets treated with Gamma knife in 1/03. Started Iressa 1/03. It worked for a while.
Stopped Iressa 6/03, mets to liver; fluid drained from lungs in 7/03-talc procedure
started navabaline (1x a week) on 7/11/03
bone mets-switched to Gemzar 8/29/03 (2wks on/1off)
Radiation to bone met on shoulder blade (10 rounds in total)

December 23, 2003
Daddy left this Earth-and I will never forget how lucky I was to have him for a father. "Thank you, Daddy, I love you and will always miss you, but you will live always- in my heart and memory."


"What a grand world this would be
if we could forget our troubles
as easily as we forget our blessings..."


The secret of health for both mind and body
is not to mourn for the past,
worry about the future,
or anticipate troubles,
but to LIVE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT
WISELY AND ERNESTLY.---Buddha

Picture is of Daddy and me on the way to the church on 10/20/96.

Thanks everybody. Keep 'em coming! Although the thoracic surgeon says it is relatively safe, I forgot to mention that I've read that there can be some complications with lung re-expansion, such as prolonged air leakage, or fluid buildup INSIDE the lung. Also, she will be on general anesthesia basically operating on one lung. I wrote the first post when I was leaving from work. Now that I'm home I wanted to elaborate more. Just thought I'd ask specifically for you guys to pray that the surgery to be safe and successful. One thing I know for sure, it's probably expensive!

Keep 'em coming! Thanks!

Marlon

_________________
? 07/02: Mom dx'd w/Adenocarcinoma of unknown primary manifesting as malignant pleural effusion(3B) ? 09/02: Complicated by trapped lung. ? 10/02: Switched to Block Medical Center. ? 02/03: PET/CT scans clear.
? 03/03: Trapped lung surgically fixed. 11/03: Recurrance(?) to abdomen

I actually did really did note it on my calendar!!! So positive energy will be flowing that day from all of us!

_________________
Dad: Stage IV NSCLC with Met to bones dx 1/06.


4/18/03 Liver Met. and Adrenal Gland BUT lung mass shrunk considerably.


5/17/03 Brain Met.

mouth/throat cancer survivor for over 10 years.
#1 Dad passed away 5/25/03 at 12:55 am

Picture of all, Me (green monster), my sister Kim on big wheels and Sandy and my dad on my bike in June 1981