Hello, my name is Meghan. I am forty-five and was diagnosed with Stage 2B Lung Cancer. This is about my journey, and a place for others to share their Journey with the Big C (Cancer). A journey for me that officially started on June 6, 2025.
It has taken me a bit to come to terms with that word. CANCER. A word that has never been used in my family as something we should be concerned about. Maybe it existed in the generations that did not talk about health stuff, but not to my knowledge. However, it has now become reality.
You are probably like most people and raised an eyebrow (doctors and nurses included) and think oh she must be a smoker…nope! I am an overall healthy female who has never smoked in her life. Yeah, I have been around second-hand smoke like most everyone else in the world at restaurants and bars, but smoking has always been a nasty habit to me.
Why “Journey with the Big C”?
I, like many of you, am still trying to figure things out. My journey seems like it has moved extremely fast with little time to stop and decompress. I am truly lucky that I have a great support system, but not everyone is as lucky.
I am not a doctor; I am not a psychiatrist. I am a cancer patient who is pretty good with words, and stories and this is my way of hoping to help someone else who may be going through this as well.
So…I thought…why not put my journey out there and let others add their journey and stories. This is a community to share your journey. Whether you are a patient, survivor, caregiver, or supporter; we are all unique and not all of us experience or feel the same thing or have the same questions…and that is what makes your Journey with the Big C your own.
My Back Story
However, to get the full scope of my WHY…let us step back a few months…to November 16, 2024. It was early Saturday morning – around 2:30 am and I woke up with what I can only describe (for someone who has not had one) as a heart attack, broken rib or punctured lung. I had extreme pain in my right side that was radiating up through my neck. I tried to bear through it, but eventually I woke up my fiancé and told him he needed to take me to the hospital. When I arrived at the emergency room the pain was around 9 or 10. They immediately checked me in, and unlike one other time I was at the hospital (gallbladder), I was immediately hooked to an IV and monitors as they feared I was having a pulmonary embolism or an actual heart attack. I had a chest x-ray, CT scan, and blood test all within two hours of being there. I was admitted for 3 days and underwent many tests, more x-rays; and unfortunately, nothing was found as all my tests came out to only show that I had an infection in the lower right lobe of my lung which they had found in the ER on day one.
One thing that came out of this visit was I was asked about a mark on my lower right lung…I said, “oh yeah, I know it’s there, but it has never been a red flag.” I first heard about this mark or (small hole or cavity) in 2013, and through only a CT-scan it was determined that it could have been from a root canal I had when I was in my early 20’s. My current pulmonologist knew about it but was keeping an eye on it. WELL…NOW ITS AN ISSUE!
Post hospital I followed up with my pulmonologist and he wanted to find the underlying cause of understanding this “cavity” and the infection that had started there. He scheduled a bronchoscopy for December 16. It seemed like an easy procedure, and we were in and out that morning. The doctor told me he would call with any updates, and I had no idea the randomness that was to follow.
Jump forward a week my fiancé and I were driving east to my family Christmas in New York. My doctor called me, and I listened as he told me that he was able to get enough samples to find out that I was harboring organisms (Actinomyces and Veillonella) in my lungs and they had taken up residence and were making a small community. He asked me again what I did for a living, and although he and I had discussed it before, things started to fall into place when I told him I worked in Agriculture. One of the organisms (Actinomyces) is commonly found in soil, being that I worked in agriculture I spent harvest season in fields interviewing farmers, they can be ingested through inhalation. With most people they would pass through the system, but in my rareness, they found a home. Pathology, Infectious Disease, surgery, and many other terms were thrown out as next steps. My doctor told me we would wait to see what the lab can determine as next steps for treatment and what would kill these organisms.
They explained that no antibiotic reliably kills actinomyces, though amoxicillin had shown benefit in some but not all cases. So, on January 7, 2025, I began a 5-month course of amoxicillin 500 mg three times a day and hoped for the best. Throughout the treatment, I remained healthy: no symptoms, no pain, no illness beyond an ordinary cold. I felt great, continued to travel for work, stayed busy, and nothing was holding me back.
That is until another wrench came out of left field, and I lost my job in early May. With that came the fear of losing my medical insurance. I immediately contacted my doctor and told him the situation, and my check-up CT scan that was previously scheduled for June was moved up to May.
Unfortunately, the amoxicillin was not working. The infection had grown, and my doctor strongly suggested surgery to remove the infection in the lower lobe of my right lung. He did hint that he suspected the infection could be hiding something. I met with the surgeon who would perform the operation, and I appreciated his directness when he told me that the surgery needed to happen. In discussions with my fiancé, my sister-in-law who is an NP, and my family; we agreed this was the right thing to do. So, on May 28, with my parents and fiancé by my side, I had major surgery removing part of a vital organ in my body.
When I awoke, the surgeon told me that while doing the surgery he decided to take the entire lower right lobe, little did I know at the time what that included. They also took samples of all the lymph nodes in that area of the lung.
The Call
On June 6, I got the call from the Surgical NP. She informed me that all the lymph nodes tested were clear with no cause for concern. The main reason the surgeon took the entire lobe is because when he removed the infected area, he found a tumor that ended up being the size of a tennis ball in my lung (6.7 centimeters to be exact). Unfortunately, pathology confirmed that it was an invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma.
I was not sure what to do next. I was still in extreme pain from surgery, I was planning a wedding for August, I was unemployed, and now I needed to add one more thing and learn about lung cancer and treatment.
In only 7 months, I went from a healthy 44-year-old to a 45-year-old lung cancer patient. I have heard the words “rare” and “uncommon” so many times that I might get them tattooed somewhere as a reminder.
The Questions
I am just like everyone else, when once I got the diagnosis – the next thing that followed is the list of questions running through my mind.
- Is this hereditary or genetic?
- Do my siblings have to be concerned?
- How did this happen?
- Why me?
- Is this Karma?
- Did I do something in my life that made me deserve this?
- Did I encounter something that could cause this?
The questions never end, and it is even harder when I was told by my oncologist that sometimes the questions do not have specific answers.
Treatments & How I Feel
In discussions with my oncologist, we were told I would be doing a total of four rounds of Chemotherapy treatments (one every 21 days) to kill any possible cells that may be floating in my system. He said the hardest step had already happened, the surgery. I started treatment the week after we returned from our honeymoon, and the day after my port was inserted on August 19.
Treatments for me are different than I have experienced with my husband’s dad. He goes weekly and is in the infusion chair for 45 minutes MAX and mine are 4-5 hours. We are those people that could bring in a cooler and food if we wanted. Instead, my husband and I bring our computers and phones. I apply to jobs, and he sits in virtual meetings for work.
I do not think I was ready for how yucky (and I will continue using that word to describe it) I would feel. Yes, there is patient education, you hear stories, and cancer patients are portrayed on TV and in movies…but the plain yucky feeling you cannot do anything about has been the hardest part for me.
I am starting this page one week after my second treatment but moving forward I will work on doing daily posts during treatment so I can share my experience. I know everyone is different, but I do not think I would have been able to understand how I would feel until I am actually going through it.
Treatment #1 started out not so pleasant when I had an adverse reaction to one of the anti-nausea meds (Fosaprepitant (Emend®) which is infused prior to your chemo drugs. As I was sitting in the infusion chair, my lower back started to hurt, not thinking anything of it because I have lower back issues, I tried to adjust in my chair. I knew something was not right when my whole lower pelvic region started to twinge, cramp, and almost pulsate. I looked at my husband and said something was not right at all. We got the nurses’ attention, and they immediately went into action flushing it from my system and contacting the doctor. It took about 10 minutes to be out of my system, and we were onto the next bag of treatment. Luckily, the rest went smoothly, albeit long.
WORD OF ADVICE TO OTHERS: If it does not feel right…speak up. It is your body, and you know it best. The nurses in my infusion center were amazing and that drug has now been added to my allergy list. Had I not said something I am not sure what would have transpired.
Post treatment, which luckily did not hit me really until Thursday night when I ate something and it tasted like dirt, I had a feeling more was coming. I was tired, but the real yuckiness hit me early Friday morning. I was nauseous, thirsty (but peeing every hour because you have to stay hydrated), dizzy, achy, tired, and I had a headache from hell. I would wake up in the middle of the night not sure if I was hungry or about to be sick (luckily, I have not vomited). For me, this all lasted until Sunday afternoon. Almost one-full week after treatment.
Then BOOM as if nothing had happened it was life as normal. I felt like I had more energy than before. I spent two weeks moving and combining houses. I felt great!
Until Treatment #2. The doctor had mentioned before treatments started that the second treatment might be the worst one…as I sit here 6-days after my second treatment still dizzy…he was right. I have not moved much between the bed and the couch. I have tried to do stuff around the house like laundry, computer stuff, making something to eat, just to be upright and moving, but this yuckiness kicked off immediately on Wednesday morning. The lack of sleep this time around was intense. I did not sleep a full night from Tuesday – Friday, and on Saturday I finally took sleep aids. Yes, I know lots would disagree with that, but when you have not slept in four nights desperate times call for desperate measures especially while also trying to heal. The nausea was better this time.
Food Cravings
Very seldom in your life will a doctor or nurse tell you “It does not matter what you eat…as long as you are able to eat” unless you are a chemo patient. Between treatments one and two I did not lose any weight. The doctors and nurses were happy…me not so much.
The random cravings are legit. After #1 all I wanted was stuff with a strong flavor like vinegar, ice cream and jellybeans. Treatment #2 all I wanted was pasta, English muffins with peanut butter, and pickles.
I am a coffee drinker normally, but treatment has been changing that. Right after treatment, it tastes like dirt and has no appeal at all. I was able to have it a week after #1, so hopefully that will come back each time.
Your tongue will feel like you have a film on it, and you will get bad breath.
The Port
I have dubbed my port “My Lego.” For those who have not gotten one yet, mine is a month old in my body and it looks and feels like a Lego just under the skin on my chest. Mine is on my left side (since it was my right lung) just below the collar bone. It does not hurt as badly as when it was put in so maybe I am getting used to it, but it also does not go away. You do notice it, especially when you take a shower and when you put on clothes.
Keep track of the Share Your Journey page for more updates and daily treatment and post-treatment blogs.