Dear Kathy,
My husband Angelo was told over the phone also!!
Love, Mary
>
> Dearest Carla: This message brought back my own experience of almost
> exactly a year ago. You said it so well -- I really have nothing much to
> add, except to say that my pulmonary doctor told me over the phone while I
> was at the office. I didn't have to drive -- thank God -- my husband came
> to pick me up, but I remember that horrible feeling only too well. I know
> you quit smoking that very day -- didn't you? I did. I didn't have any
> symptoms to speak of -- I just got frequent chest colds and flu-like
> symptoms, but mainly when the weather was cool. I never got really sick
> until after the treatments started! Our friend should definitely get his
> wife in to see a doctor -- pronto! Time is of the essence, as they say, in
> a situation like this. Your MRI is going to be fine, dear. Now, tell me my
> CT scan is going to be okay, too! God Bless you -- Kathy in Boise
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ken naehring <blessu@worldnet.att.net>
> To: mol-cancer@lists.meds.com <mol-cancer@lists.meds.com>
> Cc: demard@intranet.ca <demard@intranet.ca>
> Date: Tuesday, December 01, 1998 10:14 PM
> Subject: Re: [MOL] Cancer or Asthma
>
> >
> >
> >>Hi! My wife has been coughing for the last 6 weeks.......
> >
> >I read your email and am sorry, but you didn't sign your name and so I
> can't
> >address this to you personally..
> >
> >My name is Carla and I am a lung cancer survivor of one year... I feel
> >compelled to tell you the story of my beginning, not to frighten you, but
> to
> >enlighten you to the many possibilities...
> >
> >Last September 1997, I began with a dry cough at night and in the morning
> >and as the air got cooler, I tried to avoid going outside. I even blamed
> >our vents for my cough believing that they were blowing air in my face..
> >
> >Anyway, I started getting tired and then felt certain that I had the flu,
> >and so I called and made a doctors appointment. In the 2 previous years, I
> >had two sets of chest x-rays done and they were clear, so that never
> entered
> >my mind...
> >
> >My doctor put me on anti-biotics and home I went.. On the nineth day of
> the
> >anti-biotics; which was also a Friday I called the doctor to tell them that
> >I wasn't getting better, but much worse. They told me that I needed to
> take
> >the full prescription and I advised them that I just couldn't believe that
> >one more day (Saturday) was going to heal me and I was feeling awful. I
> >couldn't hardly get up to go to the couch and lay down.. They blew me off.
> >
> >By Monday, I was completely on the couch and couldn't hardly make it to the
> >bathroom and I called them again and they told me I needed to come in... I
> >told them that I couldn't drive myself in and they needed to phone in
> >prescriptions for my husband to pick up on his way home, which they did...
> >
> >I did feel a little better, but not cured so I went back in and they did
> >breathing tests for Asthma and felt that the inhaler would be the answer
> and
> >I would feel better soon. They also had me get a chest x-ray just to be
> >sure that I didn't have pneumonia, but said that my lungs sounded fine and
> >they were sure that all I needed was the inhaler...
> >
> >The inhaler didn't seem to be helping, but I used it... Then I received
> the
> >phone call from the nurse on Thursday afternoon late telling me that my
> >doctor wanted to see me first thing in the morning.. before she saw regular
> >patients.. I asked the nurse if it was anything serious, as I would prefer
> >to know and not stress all night, she said "no, if it was serious, the
> >doctor would have called you herself". I asked again, as I could have my
> >husband drive me in and she said no...
> >
> >Friday morning I drove the 30 miles wondering, but not too stressed. I had
> >4 different people who had offered to go with me, but I told them it was
> >nothing serious and I would be fine... The doctor came in and said that
> >there was no easy way to tell me this, but they had found a dark spot on my
> >lung. I asked what that meant and she said " Carla, everyone has known for
> >ten years that smoking causes cancer". She then said that I needed to get
> a
> >CT scan done immediately and that she would have the nurses schedule that
> >and get me in to see a pulmonary doctor...
> >
> >I held up very well and sat there blinking very hard, but maintaining.. By
> >the time they had me scheduled and I opened the door to walk out in the
> >waiting room and there sat about 20 people, I broke and had to go back
> in...
> >They cleared a room for me to make phone calls and I couldn't find anyone
> to
> >come and get me.. no one was home.. I finally reached one friend at work
> >and asked her to keep trying to reach my husband.. I then called my church
> >and told them I was coming there, it is about 15 miles closer.. but
> >honestly, I still don't know how I drove. I was one very broken woman and
> >sobbing hysterically...
> >
> >It wasn't until much later that I had the time to realize just how unfair
> >that was... I should never have gone in alone and that could have been
> >prevented, but......
> >
> >I had the CT scan, saw the pulmonary doctor and he scheduled a
> bronchoscopy.
> >The CT scan showed the tumor on the right lung and the bronchoscopy was not
> >successful so they scheduled another... In again and another bronchoscopy
> >and still no concrete results, so they told me that I needed surgery for
> the
> >biopsy...
> >
> >I am going to end my story right here, for now... I went in for surgery
> and
> >woke up without my right lung. Adenocarcinoma Stage IIb, one lymph node
> >involved and no distant metastases... Tomorrow morning I am having an MRI
> >of the brain done, the last of my tests (all others have been good) and I
> am
> >praying that this is negative and that I have become a one year lung cancer
> >survivor...
> >
> >I would suggest that you not let fear rule your days right now, but that
> you
> >learn from me that you must continue to seek additional testing if this
> >persists... I also learned alot about second and third opinions.... If
> you
> >are not getting good results from your doctor.. go on to another..
> >
> >I and many others here on mol will lift a prayer for your wife that it is a
> >respiratory problem and that it will be remedied soon... Please post as to
> >how she is doing and we are here if you need us.... God Bless you and your
> >wife.. Carla
> >
> >
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