In July of 2010, I got a diagnosis that I never would have thought possible.
Never having been a smoker, I was stunned when told that there was a mass in my lung which was cancerous. The original finding came after a 'routine' X-ray for what the doctor thought was probably just bronchitis. Surgery to remove the mass was not successful, so, in September I started a regimen of chemo and radiation. There were times while getting the chemo infusion that I was taken for my radiation treatment dragging my pole along!
In February of the following year I started a regimen of the maintenance chemo drug Alimta. At first the infusions were every 3 weeks, after some time and CT scans, treatments were every 4 weeks, then 6 weeks. I received Alimta for 4 years! After CT scans and PET scans that showed no recurrence, I decided to discontinue the maintenance therapy.
It has now been 1 year with no chemo therapy and PET scans every 3 months have shown no recurrence! It has been more than 6 years since initial diagnosis.