Laurie B

Laurie B., FL

I moved to North Florida to help my sister go through her cancer experience with chemo and radiation. When she completed her treatments I decided to visit a doctor myself (it had been 1.5 years since I saw a doctor) and then my journey began.

After chest rays, PET scans, biopsy, etc., I was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma of right lung. Treatment was decided to be surgical removal of the lower lobe of right lung but when the surgeon went in, it was determined the entire right lung should be removed. Lymph nodes removed as well. Recovery from the surgery was slow and very tough.

The pathology report indicated the cancer had not metastasized; yippee! The final part of recovery/treatment was four rounds of heavy dose of chemo medications. Those four treatments were horrible. I suffered from extreme nausea, causing my oncologist to change nausea medications often. I had zero energy, zero appetite and could barely even keep water down. I literally survived on (kind of weird) banana popsicles, instant mashed potatoes and Ramen noodles or chicken broth. About the time I could eat and not get nauseous, it was time for next chemo treatment and then I craved hamburgers -- strange.

I am blessed to be here, after 1.5 years since surgery and chemo, with no signs of cancer! The best advice I can offer is find medical practitioners you trust, have all those regular medical evaluations done that you always put off and follow the directions of medical specialists! God bless us all!

First Published: August 15, 2017

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