Stories of Hope

Francine Noce: Lung Cancer Survivor
Diagnosed in 2004 at Age 38
Stage 1 -Large cell

I quickly put on my suit and looked for the doctor who could discharge me. I needed my nicotine fix and I needed it now. I was stressed and the cigarette in my purse was just a lighter away. At that moment the doctor returned to my examination room in the emergency room of Hackensack Hospital with a look of concern on his face. "We see a spot on your lung..." At that moment my world changed forever. CANCER! Could it be? With my family history I had no doubt. Two aunts died from lung cancer and I was a smoker. I couldn't really hear what the doctor was saying at that moment. Visions of my daughter, just a baby , Princess Nicole and my sonny-boy, Gerard, flashed before my eyes. Could this be real?

I was headed to work on that cool autumn day, October 19, 2004. It was a day like any other on Route 80 until I felt an excruciating pounding pain on the left side of my chest in my heart. This wasn't any ordinary pain. It led me first to call my husband who insisted I call my doctor. He sent me to the emergency room. Once I arrived the pain subsided but I wasn't leaving until tests proved it was a false alarm. Tests were done and all found to be normal as far as my heart was concerned. But that wasn't the way it played out. A spot was on my lung and more tests had to be done. Dr Richard Nierenberg wanted to do a CAT scan and referred me to Dr. Deborah Hutter, a pulmonologist. My husband met me at the hospital and told me I was over reacting but I knew in my heart that I had cancer. I realized at that moment I had to make sure my children were taken care of. I did not have a will. What if I died within the year just like my aunts had after being diagnosed? I had to get my papers in order.

MThe Dr. Hutter tried to calm my fears and explained that there were many treatments if it was cancer. She tried to reassure me. The next step was a bronchoscopy. Dr. Hutter told me to call from home to schedule the test but something inside of me made me plead with the doctor not to discharge me so we could do the test immediately. She admitted me and scheduled the bronchoscopy for the next day. The test was done and came back clean which meant negative. From the beginning, Dr. Hutter had explained to me that the test may not show anything if she took a sample from a location that wasn't malignant. I asked her what the next step was and she said that we could wait to see if the spot would grow. I knew that waiting was what killed my aunts. For them the waiting was their death sentence. I needed to know if I had cancer now. Dr. Hutter and I both felt we needed to check further. I can't explain how I knew something wasn't right, but I did. Dr. Hutter explained that there was one more test, a PET scan, that could be done but she was doubtful that the insurance company would approve it and cover the cost. We would have to call for approval. I wasn't taking any chances by waiting. I had to have time on my side. I was fortunate enough to have the monies available to be able to say that I would pay for the test. The PET scan was scheduled for October 29, 2004.

The ten days that passed between October 19th and the 29th seem like a blur. Thoughts of my two aunts that died of lung cancer flooded my memory. My gut kept telling me that I too had lung cancer. Call it premonition if you'd like, I can't explain how I knew but I did. It was very difficult to look at my two beautiful children and my husband. Do I need this? How could I leave them at age 38? I looked at my cigarette habit with disgust. I lived with a smoker. Could I get him to understand the panic inside of me? If I could take back every cigarette I had ever smoked at that moment I would have. I had to just count the days until the PET scan.

October 29th arrived and my worst fears were about to be confirmed. The test showed active cells which gave the doctors the right to open me and see what was going on inside of my lungs. Dr. Hutter sent me to a surgeon, Dr Kourosh Asgarian .D.O. I had to take a breathing test to see if I could function if part of my lung was removed. No one expected that the surgery would result in two lobes being removed. November 8, 2004 the upper and middle lobe of my lung were removed. The doctors found large cell carcinoma. My lymph nodes were also removed. The cancer at this stage was small; the size of a pea. My family waited for me to come out of surgery. We didn't find out for a few days that it was in fact cancer but everyone knew by the removal of two lobes that it was cancer.

I don't remember much from the first few days after the surgery. I was in a great deal of pain. I do remember waking up and feeling lucky to have survived the surgery. I realize I was breathing on my own which was a relief. I met Dr. Alter, my oncologist and he explained the type of cancer to me and that because it was caught in stage one and hadn't spread, I most likely would not require chemotherapy or radiation. I would have to be followed closely in the months that followed, but the prognosis was very promising. I asked him what to do in the mean time and he said that I should stop smoking and spread my story to others.

I wake up every day feeling so blessed to be alive really all because of early diagnosis. I realized that I survived for a reason and that reason is to help get the word out to others to have this simple test done. The CAT scan saved my life. It was the first test to show that something was amiss in my lung. Had the test never been taken, I too could have died from lung cancer at any early age leaving behind my beautiful family. I now have two goals. I never would have dreamed as a teenager that my life could be cut short due to cigarette smoking. My first goal is to get the word out to teenagers that smoking does kill. The worst part of death from a cigarette is that it sneaks up slowly and in most cases once you realize you are dying, it is too late to do anything about it. The second goal is to help get the CAT scan approved as a screening test that will be covered by insurance companies as early detection for lung cancer. The cost of this test is not paramount to the cost of lives and the expense insurance companies will be paying for patients that require more intensive medical treatment than me. The best news is that I am a survivor! It has been two years since my surgery and I am now smoke-free and best of all; cancer free! People have told me I'm a walking Miracle , I need to see more walking miracles, I know with early detection this is possible.