Lung surgery?

Hopefully you'll get replies from people who have gone through this themselves, but I can speak on behalf of my dad. Last year he had bilateral lung mets removed via thoroscopy, so just three small incisions on each side instead of opening up the whole chest. He had a parts of the lobes in each lung removed. He has smoked most of his life, but had good respiratory status and now one year later has absolutely no residual problems with breathing, even with exertion. He (at 63) was only in the hospital for about 4-5 days. He had an epidural for pain, which was good, but we found that toradol (an IV/IM NSAID like ibuprofen or naproxen) on top of it really helped with the tight band-like pain afterwards. He has not had any lung recurrence. He did not do any systemic therapy, however, so he now has recurrence elsewhere and is looking at medications like keytruda.

That's his experience in brief – if you have any other questions or thoughts, let me know! I'm glad to hear you're responding well to the keytruda! It seems like removing the final tumor may be a good idea!

Lauren

Hopefully you'll get replies from people who have gone through this themselves, but I can speak on behalf of my dad. Last year he had bilateral lung mets removed via thoroscopy, so just three small incisions on each side instead of opening up the whole chest. He had a parts of the lobes in each lung removed. He has smoked most of his life, but had good respiratory status and now one year later has absolutely no residual problems with breathing, even with exertion. He (at 63) was only in the hospital for about 4-5 days. He had an epidural for pain, which was good, but we found that toradol (an IV/IM NSAID like ibuprofen or naproxen) on top of it really helped with the tight band-like pain afterwards. He has not had any lung recurrence. He did not do any systemic therapy, however, so he now has recurrence elsewhere and is looking at medications like keytruda.

That's his experience in brief – if you have any other questions or thoughts, let me know! I'm glad to hear you're responding well to the keytruda! It seems like removing the final tumor may be a good idea!

Lauren

Hopefully you'll get replies from people who have gone through this themselves, but I can speak on behalf of my dad. Last year he had bilateral lung mets removed via thoroscopy, so just three small incisions on each side instead of opening up the whole chest. He had a parts of the lobes in each lung removed. He has smoked most of his life, but had good respiratory status and now one year later has absolutely no residual problems with breathing, even with exertion. He (at 63) was only in the hospital for about 4-5 days. He had an epidural for pain, which was good, but we found that toradol (an IV/IM NSAID like ibuprofen or naproxen) on top of it really helped with the tight band-like pain afterwards. He has not had any lung recurrence. He did not do any systemic therapy, however, so he now has recurrence elsewhere and is looking at medications like keytruda.

That's his experience in brief – if you have any other questions or thoughts, let me know! I'm glad to hear you're responding well to the keytruda! It seems like removing the final tumor may be a good idea!

Lauren

I had VATS wedge resection on my right lower lung lobe in Feb. 2010.  Very doable surgery and you can look up my posts around that time.

I did have a pulmonary embolus that night in spite of being up and walking, having the stocking thingies on with pumps while in bed.

Pain was minimal (except for the PE!) and very tolerable.  I would have gone home in 3 days if it wasn't for the PE.  I went home in 5.  By the third day my docs had to find me on the floor because I was getting stir crazy and would be out walking around.  I guess that was my way of saying F-you melanoma, I refuse to "behave" like a cancer patient since I wasn't one…….

I underwent IL-2 that summer for the one remaining tiny met in my pectoralis muscle and have been NED since June 2010.

Best of luck on your journey, kick mel's butt.  The lung surgery was intimidating, but in the end, not a biggie.  Get it over with and let the healing begin!

With the location and size of tumor, they can probably do the keyhole surgery.  My main pain came from an allergic reaction to latex (blistered along the path of my foley catheter – think poison ivy up the V jay jay, and blistered skin due to the adhesive where my chest tube was.

I knew my immune system was on the attack, just was hoping it was against mel and not just my skin.  I can e-mail pictures if curious.

Lung surgery has come a very long way.  Not bad really.

KK

I had VATS wedge resection on my right lower lung lobe in Feb. 2010.  Very doable surgery and you can look up my posts around that time.

I did have a pulmonary embolus that night in spite of being up and walking, having the stocking thingies on with pumps while in bed.

Pain was minimal (except for the PE!) and very tolerable.  I would have gone home in 3 days if it wasn't for the PE.  I went home in 5.  By the third day my docs had to find me on the floor because I was getting stir crazy and would be out walking around.  I guess that was my way of saying F-you melanoma, I refuse to "behave" like a cancer patient since I wasn't one…….

I underwent IL-2 that summer for the one remaining tiny met in my pectoralis muscle and have been NED since June 2010.

Best of luck on your journey, kick mel's butt.  The lung surgery was intimidating, but in the end, not a biggie.  Get it over with and let the healing begin!

With the location and size of tumor, they can probably do the keyhole surgery.  My main pain came from an allergic reaction to latex (blistered along the path of my foley catheter – think poison ivy up the V jay jay, and blistered skin due to the adhesive where my chest tube was.

I knew my immune system was on the attack, just was hoping it was against mel and not just my skin.  I can e-mail pictures if curious.

Lung surgery has come a very long way.  Not bad really.

KK

I had VATS wedge resection on my right lower lung lobe in Feb. 2010.  Very doable surgery and you can look up my posts around that time.

I did have a pulmonary embolus that night in spite of being up and walking, having the stocking thingies on with pumps while in bed.

Pain was minimal (except for the PE!) and very tolerable.  I would have gone home in 3 days if it wasn't for the PE.  I went home in 5.  By the third day my docs had to find me on the floor because I was getting stir crazy and would be out walking around.  I guess that was my way of saying F-you melanoma, I refuse to "behave" like a cancer patient since I wasn't one…….

I underwent IL-2 that summer for the one remaining tiny met in my pectoralis muscle and have been NED since June 2010.

Best of luck on your journey, kick mel's butt.  The lung surgery was intimidating, but in the end, not a biggie.  Get it over with and let the healing begin!

With the location and size of tumor, they can probably do the keyhole surgery.  My main pain came from an allergic reaction to latex (blistered along the path of my foley catheter – think poison ivy up the V jay jay, and blistered skin due to the adhesive where my chest tube was.

I knew my immune system was on the attack, just was hoping it was against mel and not just my skin.  I can e-mail pictures if curious.

Lung surgery has come a very long way.  Not bad really.

KK

Hi anne-Louise,

I had a VATS in 2010. There were too  many mets and on both lungs, so the surgery was for biopsy/confirmation of stage IV so they could begin systemic treatment. I was out in 2 days (yay!). There was tube for drainage after surgery which came out just before I was discharged. Hurt for a bit but didn't need to use painkillers for very long afterwards, just a few days I think. Obviously very happy to get out quickly. The Kaiser ward was a zoo, obviously too high a patient-to-nurse ratio. Knock on wood high-dose IL2 cleared out the lung mets and there has not been a recurrence in either lung since, I'm very used to thinking my lungs are fine. Knock on wood.

Congrats on being a responder to Keytruda. I'm on a Nivolumab combo trial. One lymph node completely responsed, another has been stable for about a year. I only get CTs for the trial. Would be nice to get a PET instead of just CT so oncologist could see SUV, but not reuqired by trial and not easily approved by insurance. 

Good luck / and continuing good response.

– Kyle

Hi anne-Louise,

I had a VATS in 2010. There were too  many mets and on both lungs, so the surgery was for biopsy/confirmation of stage IV so they could begin systemic treatment. I was out in 2 days (yay!). There was tube for drainage after surgery which came out just before I was discharged. Hurt for a bit but didn't need to use painkillers for very long afterwards, just a few days I think. Obviously very happy to get out quickly. The Kaiser ward was a zoo, obviously too high a patient-to-nurse ratio. Knock on wood high-dose IL2 cleared out the lung mets and there has not been a recurrence in either lung since, I'm very used to thinking my lungs are fine. Knock on wood.

Congrats on being a responder to Keytruda. I'm on a Nivolumab combo trial. One lymph node completely responsed, another has been stable for about a year. I only get CTs for the trial. Would be nice to get a PET instead of just CT so oncologist could see SUV, but not reuqired by trial and not easily approved by insurance. 

Good luck / and continuing good response.

– Kyle

Hi anne-Louise,

I had a VATS in 2010. There were too  many mets and on both lungs, so the surgery was for biopsy/confirmation of stage IV so they could begin systemic treatment. I was out in 2 days (yay!). There was tube for drainage after surgery which came out just before I was discharged. Hurt for a bit but didn't need to use painkillers for very long afterwards, just a few days I think. Obviously very happy to get out quickly. The Kaiser ward was a zoo, obviously too high a patient-to-nurse ratio. Knock on wood high-dose IL2 cleared out the lung mets and there has not been a recurrence in either lung since, I'm very used to thinking my lungs are fine. Knock on wood.

Congrats on being a responder to Keytruda. I'm on a Nivolumab combo trial. One lymph node completely responsed, another has been stable for about a year. I only get CTs for the trial. Would be nice to get a PET instead of just CT so oncologist could see SUV, but not reuqired by trial and not easily approved by insurance. 

Good luck / and continuing good response.

– Kyle