Hi, glad to find this place! I had a bronchoscopy last night (ugh..) And the doc let me see the pictures. Not good. Mass in trachea just under larynx. Haven't gotten the result yet from path, but the doc just squeezed my arm and walked away from my bed after the procedure. Not exactly reassuring. Symptoms since April 11 and lots of visits for "asthma" until I insisted on a pulmonologist. Talked to my husband, but there's just so much he can do, poor guy. 2 kids, 17 and 22. Hard to breathe at times and throat very sore. Guess I'm a bit scared just now. Anyone know anything about tracheal cancer? Guess it's pretty uncommon. Never smoked, rarely a glass of wine, healthy until this.

Hi Paula, welcome to OCF! Im so sorry that you are going thru this. Please do your very best not to worry. I know how scary your position is but its NOT cancer til they say it is. Your doc doesnt sound like they have the best bedside manner. Walking away isnt very nice, never know what they were thinking. They could be the very best specialist in your area but their social skills need polishing. Could be they were overbooked and had a bunch of other patients waiting.

Was a biopsy done or at least scheduled? This is how your doc will be able to know for sure if its cancer. Visually your doc could may a suspicion but cant be sure without the biopsy. Once a biopsy is taken you will need to wait about another week before you go back for the results.

Try your best to stay busy so you dont dwell on the "what if's". If it would turn out that you have cancer then you would want to go to a cancer center so you have a team of specialists working on your case together.

I hope you do not need to be part of this forum. Best wishes.

Paula!!

Glad you found us, sorry you had to! Christine, as usual, is spot on. The saying we have around here is that it's NOT cancer until a biopsy says it is...and even if it is it doesn't mean it's an automatic death sentence. The survivors that continue to post on these forums are examples of hope that even caught late cancer doesn't have to mean the end.

Keep your mind off of it (hard to do if not impossibe), don't scare yourself with too much information and use us for support. It's what we do best and what we're here for


Keep your chin up

Eric

There is always the fight ahead of you that is well ahead of the end. And in that there is always hope. The good thing is that you have your eye on the ball now. THAT is a lot better than living in ignorance of what is going on. And the crew is right, you don't know until the path shows. But you should know that you can always fight and fight hard. Western medicine has come a long way and you have all the best weapons at your disposal. Im a firm believer in God and prayers helping you to conquer this. You will make it. You will.

Paula- Sending you love and healing good thoughts. I hope they get a treatment plan going for you whatever this is so you start to feel better. LOVE Kate

Yes - hi- and unfortunately welcome. Everyone here is right - it's not cancer until they tell you it is. Try not to freak just yet. In fact even if or when they do give you results - find comfort in the fact that you can do something! And the treatments though not fun by any standard - are doable. And there are a lot of people here to support and give you advice - if you need it.

Please do put for them to hurry and book biopsy etc... Don't wait. Time is always important where stuff like this is concerned plus - though scary - it usually helps to know you are doing something. Hugs- and healing vibes. And I'm hoping it's not cancer. Take care.

Paula:
I agree with the other Forum members, and think you should contact the doctor's office about getting your pathology report soon. It's horrible waiting and stresses us out to the point of getting sick. So, maybe call them instead of waiting for them to call you. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the oil (think that's the saying), but call and call again to push for results.
Hugs from julieann

paula, you have done the best thing for yourself and you didn't even know it. You have empowered yourself. now you can do what ever comes your way. we all hope it's good news. Pat

Paula - There is always something you can do about whatever situation you are in! Definitely you should call or have someone call for you to impress on the doctor, or on whoever is there that stress is about to make you sick and that you need answers very soon or at least something to give you stress relief! As others have noted, a biopsy is the only way to tell for sure if it's cancer and ask about this, too! They can't know what you are feeling unless you make it clear and they will be more likely to speed things up for you. When you start doing something, whatever it is, this will give you more of a feeling of control and you will feel better. Do let us know what's happening with you. Then we'll feel better, too!