NSE / Lung Cancer & Tumour Marker Blood Test (Clinic Walk-In) – £180

Are you familiar with my Shared NSE Lung story? – Kelly

Coexisting with LC

Enduring LC for eleven years with lucidity, affection, and resilience.

Esteemed pals and companions in adventure, I am penning this correspondence to recount my narrative, which I aspire may assist individuals with analogous experiences upon receiving their findings.

In 2010, I was 49 years old, brimming with vigor and enthusiasm.

Additionally, I have been smoking since the age of 16, averaging 25 cigarettes daily. I have experienced arterial hypertension and panic episodes since 2006 and have been undergoing medical treatment with Dilatrend 6.25 mg and Sereupin 20 mg.

I have been experiencing pain in my left shoulder since December 2009. It was incessant and unrelenting, imparting the sense of a blade embedded in my shoulder blade. My LC result was likewise affirmative.

Advancement

On March 15, 2010, I underwent a chest x-ray, which raised significant concerns and prompted a suggestion for a total-body CT scan.

What did he emphasize? A 45 mm lesion in the left lower lobe of the lung with possible satellite nodules. Furthermore, no mediastinal hemopathies were seen. The remainder was unfavorable.

On April 7, 2010, I attended the institute where I was assigned to the team of the esteemed Doctor Adno Rosso, who performed a total left pneumonectomy accompanied by extensive hilar mediastinal lymphadenectomy.

A histological evaluation identified a G2 pT2a N2 adenocarcinoma with an EGFR exon 19 mutation.

Continuing is challenging.

October 6, 2010, was, in my estimation, the most challenging period of my life. I have commenced therapy with cisplatin and vinorelbine for 1.8 days every 21 days, completing four cycles, with the last cycle consisting solely of vinorelbine due to nausea and vomiting.

Between September 23, 2010, and October 29, 2010, I completed 25 sessions of adjunctive radiation on the mediastinum utilizing an intensity-modulated method, administering a total dose of 50 Gy.

On September 12, 2010,

A CT scan of the head, thorax, and abdomen with contrast medium indicated probable adenopathies in the mediastinum, measuring up to 14 mm, which were not corroborated by a subsequent PET scan on December 17.

Consequently, during the examination on March 28, 2011, a total-body PET scan indicated a likely recurrence of the disease subsequent to a left pneumonectomy. In April, a neck-chest CT with contrast medium revealed a local recurrence of the disease, revealing a lesion around 2.5 cm in size near to the surgical chains, together with millimetric lesions on the right presumed to be secondary consequences.

The Commencement of Therapy

In May, I commenced therapy with Iressa 250 mg, demonstrating a full radiological response.

At this juncture, the overall conditions were favorable. I have been consistently using Iressa for ten years, experiencing modest side effects of diarrhea and skin toxicity, which have improved, but the effects on my nails are somewhat more pronounced.

I am grateful to share my story today, emphasizing the necessity of having profound faith and confidence in God.

However, it is imperative to depend on proficient physicians who regard you as an individual rather than a mere statistic.
The affection and fortitude conveyed by our loved ones are pivotal.

I extend my gratitude to Alcase for permitting me to share my narrative with you, and I remain available for a cordial conversation should you require it.

Thus, it is more exquisite when combined!

Kell

Testimony of Mrs. Mari Richi

• IN A CONSTANT STRUGGLE AGAINST UNFAVORABLE FATE

I have experienced numerous challenges in my life. Furthermore, once delivering this testimony, they must still be completed. They would merit a tale in which the protagonist perpetually contends with an unfavorable fate. I would compose my autobiography independently were it not for my limited education, having only completed fifth grade. Readers are likely to be intrigued. They may feel sympathy for me and regard me as unfortunate. However, they would not experience boredom. My difficulties will cease just upon my departure from this earth, unless the consequences entail unwelcome revelations.

I had endured considerable challenges; but, the experience of the LC NSE Test unequivocally indicated that I was developing the condition. It was the most intense, arduous, and excruciating experience, even psychologically.

The date was January 2000.

I was supervising my son, my sole offspring, who was hospitalized due to a vehicular accident (he was not the first) in which he sustained multiple severe fractures. Suddenly, I experienced malaise. I experienced significant coldness. I rushed to the bathroom and vomited throughout the night and the subsequent day as well. I underwent a medical checkup, and the report indicated bronchopneumonia.

I received treatment at Calandri Hospital in Boves and underwent the convalescence time there.

I recuperated, but a lesion persisted on my right lung. They believed it to be a remnant of bronchopneumonia. The prescribed medication failed to alleviate the condition. Dr. Musiari, a pulmonologist, subsequently elected to have a CT scan.

I proceeded to get it completed at Carle Hospital in Cuneo.

Seven months had elapsed since the nocturnal illness in the hospital while I was attending to my baby, and we were in the midst of summer. The area had increased somewhat, indicating growth of four centimeters. Bronchoscopy confirmed that the bronchi were clear and unobstructed. Two additional needle biopsies of the afflicted lung tissue designated the unusual lesion as LC. I received the news under already dire personal circumstances:

I had not seen my son for weeks, isolated at home, with casts and rehabilitation to undertake.

However, I was apprehensive for him; I also had to be concerned for my own well-being! I perceived myself as a victim of significant injustice. It was substantial and unforeseen, as I have never smoked and have solely consumed water. In recompense, for several years, I inhaled my husband’s smoking. My kid has likewise learned the behavior, but I prohibit him from practicing it at home.

LC Assessments: novel hospitalizations and innovative therapies. The treatment involved a “long” cycle of chemotherapy, with each session spanning from six in the morning to nine in the evening. I had to discontinue it owing to the emergence of liver issues, irregular blood values, and recurrent vomiting.

I returned home and commenced a new weekly cycle of chemotherapy.

Summer transitioned to autumn, and within a week, my hair resembled the leaves on the trees (and like those leaves, it would regrow once the winter of the illness had concluded). I donned a scarf on my head, not to conceal my baldness, which is striking on women, but to shield myself from the cold.

I was indifferent to the aesthetic dimension. For a considerable duration, I have had additional matters to contemplate: how to ensure my little pension adequately supports my son and me. In contrast to the previous cycle, I managed to endure this new one effectively. The outcomes were favorable: upon completion in February 2001, the tumor had diminished by 1 centimeter.

The physicians opted for surgical intervention at this juncture.

Nonetheless, the question of skeletal metastases persisted: was it present or absent? Based on the scintigraphy and magnetic resonance imaging conducted prior to the treatment, this conclusion was drawn. It appeared otherwise based on the data collected during and after the treatment. Only time can yield the solution from subsequent LC tumor evaluations. Consequently, it would have constituted a blind intervention. I felt conflicted about undergoing surgery. Added to the loneliness and sadness was fear more than of the surgery itself.

The future has never been more uncertain.

The thought that, if I hadn’t made it, my son would be left alone with all his serious health problems gave me no peace. I allowed myself to be persuaded by the physicians. I underwent surgery on April 19. The procedure was entirely successful. They removed part of my right lung. To do that, they had to spread my ribs apart.

To close, 34 stitches were needed under the breast.

Even today, I don’t feel anything in that area; the level of sensitivity is practically “zero”. What about metastases? It was a bilateral deforming arthrosis of the two hips, neglected for years.

The following clinical NSE exams have decreased until they are held annually. However, I am always afraid of a recurrence: the data you read in the newspapers does not allow you to sleep peacefully. According to others, I have regained a pleasant, friendly, outgoing character. And I have no problem discussing my experience as a hostage of the “Big Killer”. If it helps…

But honestly, I feel like I’m not as cheerful as I used to be.

To suffer like this, I don’t know who would be able to do it. My great fear is dying. I know: sooner or later, it happens to everyone, and at 76, you should start getting used to the idea. The fact is that my son and my daughter-in-law (who receive a paltry and offensive benefit due to his condition) are disabled. Me more than them: 100%. Diabetes requires me to have four insulins a day; I take anti-inflammatories for osteoarthritis and tablets for hypertension.

Yet, as much as I can, I still do the housework.

I can’t help but wonder what I ever did wrong to deserve it when I got the results. After widowhood, eviction and the consequent temporary placement in an unhealthy and cold house (if I went back in time, I would end up talking about my poor mother, who died without having ever recovered from the torture and violence of Nazi fascists who wanted to know where my brother, a partisan, was hiding…).

Nonetheless, I am here,

I want to express all my gratitude to the medical nursing team of the hospital. Doctor Mari, the surgeon, Doctor Rto, the family doctor Fran Arm, and the home assistants who took care of the household chores during my hospital stays. And a taxi driver, Mrs Forn, shuttled between my house and the hospital during chemotherapy.