Hi Kathleen,
Please don’t be too afraid. It was probably my 12th or 13th surgery and it scared me more than any of them. The pain I have now does not require pain meds. The surgery pain is controlled with pain meds at the hospital and had I not been released way too early , I truly don’t think I would have ended up in the ER. I would ask the surgeon, if I had to do it again, if there was something that could be done afterward to alleviate discomfort and tightness in the surgery sight. I don’t know how having it done robotically through the ribs recovery compares to them going in through the chest. My discomfort is where they went in robotically through my ribs. I try to remember that the discomfort is much better than having a tumor in my lung. I hope your surgery goes smoothly. It is so hard to wrap your head around it. I’m finished with treatment and still haven’t been able to do that. I did find sleeping in a recliner was much more comfortable as I recovered. It allowed me to turn a little on my side with a pillow in the chair because I was sitting up a little even though reclined.

Thanks for sharing Leslie. I talked to my oncologist the other day and she said she had looked at my surgery notes and said that the surgery is so extensive that the discomfort could be chronic. I have thought about going to a chiropractor, or physical therapist, to see if there is something, massage maybe, that can help loosen scar tissue and muscle.

I'm getting ready to gave my right upper lung (lobe) and I am going crazy with fear. Horror stories regarding pain scares me . It's hard to wrap my head around it

I am a year out and still have pain in ribs and breast