Posted 1/23/2017 2:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone, I posted the pasted message below on 1/2 (posted as "joefrompgh;" I guess I have two accounts here and will try to consolidate them in the near future):
"Cryoablation 2006; pca slowly growing since...until Sept 2016, where it grew from 7.9 in Feb, 2016 to 13.4 in Sept.
Bone scan showed two small spots; one on a right rib and one at the back of left shoulder. Urologist followed up with an additional CT scan to the chest to see if anything more could be shown about the bone spots...CT scan found bones clean but showed a 17 mm, malignant appearing, nodule in lower left lung.
Biopsy followed which confirmed malignancy, favoring adenocarcinoma, but couldn't determine what kind of cancer (primary lung cancer or PCa mets).
Lung surgeon wants to be totally conservative, believing it is more likely lung cancer, due to smoking history (even though I have not smoked in 11 years) and will take out entire lower left lobe on Jan 9. The only good news is that the nodule appears to be totally isolated and even the surgeon believes that if it is lung cancer, the surgery may be curative. PET scans show little else, other than some limited uptake in lymph nodes around the throat, which likely are due to a bout with an upper respiratory infection. However, right before the major surgery, the surgeon will have those nodes analyzed.
I have been through so many tests, the latest being a four hour heart stress test that the lung surgeon ordered; the results of which I still don't know due to the holiday. On a lighter note, the PET scan showed the muscles where I was injected with Lupron having a significant uptake.
The last three months have been surreal and yes, I am scared.
The possibility of having two cancers is frightening, especially that the possible "second" cancer is much more aggressive by nature. However, there is always hope and it is hope that keeps me going right now.
Thank you all for reading this. We all have our stories and it is nice that there is a place where we can put our feelings out, where others have similar feelings, similar hope and similar fears."
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On January 9, I had lung surgery, where the surgeon first removed several lymph nodes in my neck area and after the pathologist said they were clean, he removed my malignant lung nodule and several more lymph nodes in the area. Instead of removing the entire lower left lobe, he removed a section of it as he felt at that point, based on what he already knew, that removing the entire lower lobe was overkill.
I was in the hospital less than 80 hours and recovery has been better than expected While I still have a little pain below the left ribs, I believe that after I visit both my surgeon and oncologist on Wednesday morning (both on the same floor of the same building), I will be cleared for driving and semi-normal activities.
The pathology report did not come out for several days following surgery (and after I left the hospital) as they had to determine more than that the nodule was just "carcinoma, favor adenocarcinoma." I did not get the pathology report from my surgeon; instead it was sent to me from my PCP. I guess the surgeon feels strongly about a face to face. However, the pathology report indicated that it was lung adenocarcinoma of less than 2CM, with no spread to nearby lymph nodes.
I guess that is the best report I could get and am happy that, at least at this point, it is likely that no further treatment will be required. I do expect that I will be monitored for any possible spread the rest of my life. What makes this difficult is that both prostate cancer and lung cancer love the bones. However, with different types of PET scans, there may be ways to determine, to some degree, what cancer mets it may be. In the mean time there is a great chance that i will never have any lung cancer mets and that is the hope that i will try to instill on my mind, unless something happens otherwise.
I wanted to update you all as I believe that is the proper thing to do!