Scan Updates

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Unfortunately, not the good news we were hoping to receive today. The chest CT shows that the 5 untreated lung nodules have continued to grow. One in particular has grown more rapidly than the others, and is now the largest of them all (11×10 mm). It is near the heart, airway, and major blood vessels, so safe treatment options are limited.

At this point, it sounds like thoracic surgery would recommend against surgical intervention, we’re waiting to hear from interventional radiology (but it is likely they will say treatment is too risky to the area), and radiation oncology thinks we could treat with SBRT again (same type of radiation I had to the other lung nodule & my spine).

I also have the options of oral chemo (no, thank you!) or waiting and watching… as much as I would love to do no treatments right now, if the nodule continues to grow at its recent rate, we risk it affecting the heart/airway/blood vessels, and therefore making treatment even more challenging.

Radiation would involve 8 treatments since they have to be extra careful with the location. Lots of potential side effects…but it doesn’t really seem like I have much for options.

The scans showed No other new concerning changes, which is great!… But right now I’m trying to wrap my head around all of this. I don’t want more treatments 🥺😢 Worst of all, I have to endure the treatments, add to the recovery process, all the while knowing there are other nodules present, growing, and also needing treatment 😩

I now have to wait to hear back if anyone else has input about plausible treatment options. Otherwise, I’ll likely be moving forward with scheduling radiation for after Christmas.

I’m trying not to spiral into the deep, dark abyss right now… I hate cancer and I’m so tired of all of this. The constant fear and overwhelming grief are a constant in my life now. I know it’s going to take time to come to terms with all of this… I still haven’t come to terms with the whole spinal saga, to be honest.

I don’t have any uplifting thoughts or words of hope at this time… I’m just going to continue praying and working for a cure.

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Published by Lauren

Welcome! Thank you for being here! My name is Lauren Doyle. My husband and I have been married since 2013, and together since 2011. We have 2 wonderful kids and live in the Twin Cities suburbs. I have both a Master’s and a Doctorate and am a board-certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. I also have the student loans to prove it. In 2019 our lives were turned upside down. Our daughter was born with a serious heart defect that required open heart surgery when she was just 5 days old. A couple weeks after her birth (while she was still in the hospital), I found a mass in my abdomen which required major emergency surgery to remove. At first, we were told it was just a fibroid; we learned about a week later that the mass was a rare and aggressive type of cancer – leiomyosarcoma. Through multiple surgeries and chemo, I have come out the other side, changed in many ways. I am now considered Stage IV, with a chemo-induced heart condition, and struggle with several other severe side effects from treatments. I continue to work and live and love as best as I can. I will not claim to have all the answers about anything, but I can tell you I have learned a LOT in my 35+ years of life thus far. My passion has always been helping and educating people in whatever ways possible. I am hoping this blog will allow me to do that for a broader population beyond the patients I see at work, share my unique journey, and help keep friends and family in the loop along the way. Thank you again for being here.

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