Some time ago, after suffering from severe chest pain and other symptoms like coughing up blood, I sought medical help. After subsequent tests and scans, it was confirmed: I had stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer.
I opted for chemo-, radiation, and immunotherapy as recommended by my doctors. I’m now on immunotherapeutics.
I was having uncontrollable coughs for a long time, had developed severe chest pain and noticed unintended weight loss.
One morning I started coughing badly to the point where I was coughing up blood.
Worried, I went to see a doctor and got referred to a hospital. A mass was found in my left lung during a chest X-ray. CT scans revealed that it had spread to the lymph nodes nearby.
After a bronchoscopy and biopsy, doctors confirmed that it was stage 3A non-small cell lung cancer.
Finding out I had cancer that December of 2022 made me feel very insecure. It made me feel like people would think of me as a sick person, or someone who is going to die soon. I worried that I’d be looked down upon. So many thoughts ran through my head: would I get fired from work? Would I have to quit my job? What will my boss think of me? Would he renew my contract?
Post-diagnosis, I cut back on smoking and exercised less frequently than I used to.
The treatment options recommended to me were chemo-, radiation therapy and immunotherapy, all of which I chose to proceed with. I have to say that I felt very scared after deciding on this treatment plan.
After radiation and chemotherapy (with carboplatin and paclitaxel), doctors found out I’m eligible for immunotherapy as my tumor expressed high levels of PD-L1, a cancer biomarker.
So after chemo- and radiation therapy, the doctor prescribed immunotherapy to reduce tumor size and target remaining cancer cells. Hopefully it can improve survival and extend remission.
I’m currently on immunotherapy as we speak.
Some of the side effects I experienced over the course of treatment include
- fatigue
- hair loss
- radiation burns on my skin and throat
To alleviate the discomfort from these side effects, I used a special cream for the radiation. I had some swelling and pain from the immunotherapy, which the doctors gave prednisone for.
While I continued to cut back on smoking after starting treatment, I had to exercise even less frequently.
Other parts of my life that’ve changed since my cancer diagnosis are my relationships with my loved ones. My relationship with my parents has improved; we call and text more often than we used to before. I’m also visiting them more.
For the next few years, my plans are just to recover. I get a lot of swelling and pain around my joints and often have to use a wheelchair. I want to recover and get back on my feet.
My parents often call to check on me, so I wish to get better and spend more time with them. I also wish to go on trips to visit my sister in the US. She wasn’t able to come down to see me and I promised that I’d go over to see her when I get better.
My biggest fear is that I’ll have a miserable life. That I’ll just die one day in pain from all the symptoms and side effects. Quality of life is very important to me. I rather people remember me for who I was than for who they saw right before my death.
It’s been over a year since I was first diagnosed with lung cancer. My emotions are the same as before, but I do feel somewhat neutral at the same time.
Try to entertain yourself through your journey. Don’t fuss on the little things. If there are things that make you happy, try to do them. If your cancer is all you think about, that emotional state will hurt you as much as the cancer itself.
This patient's story is published and shared with their full consent. Any personal data that can be used to identify the patient has been omitted.
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