Post Lobectomy Update
On October 8, 2025, Ben underwent a right upper lobectomy — surgery to remove the upper lobe of his lung where the tumor was located. Taking the entire lobe allowed the surgeons to achieve clean margins, meaning all visible cancer was successfully removed.
Although Ben’s lymph nodes didn’t appear affected on the PET scan, the surgeon removed nodes from five stations to be thorough. When it comes to cancer — especially a rare and highly aggressive type like high-grade fetal adenocarcinoma (H-FLAC) — the risk isn’t only what can be seen, but what can’t. There are almost certainly microscopic cancer cells somewhere beyond detection, which is why our goal now is to stay proactive and treat it as aggressively as possible while it’s still Stage 1.
The first few days after surgery were rough. Pain, intense nausea, difficulty breathing, and dependence on IV pain medication made recovery feel like a steep climb. When we first tried to go home, it quickly became clear we needed another night in the hospital for better pain control and rest.
Now we’re home — taking it one breath, one walk, one meal at a time. Sharee’s keeping him nourished with warm, healing meals, and Ben’s focused on rebuilding strength. He can now shower on his own, put on a t-shirt (a small but huge win), and walk around the block three to four times a day. Several times each hour, he uses his incentive spirometer to take deep breaths and help his lungs expand into the empty space left behind.
He still wakes up several times gasping for air, describing it as “the first night sleeping at 14,000 feet on Denali.”
He’s tapering pain meds, gaining a little more strength each day, and doing the quiet, unglamorous work of healing.
We received the best news we could from surgery: clear margins and clean lymph nodes. That was the biggest goal going in.
Next up is a pathology second opinion at Fred Hutch/University of Washington, where they have a team that specializes in rare tumors. From there, we’ll meet with oncologists at Fred Hutch, UCSF, and locally here in Bend, Oregon. Molecular testing will be ordered next to help guide the treatment plan.
We expect Ben will do a round of chemotherapy in 4–6 weeks to target any remaining microscopic cancer cells before they have a chance to “set up shop” elsewhere. In a typical Stage 1 lung cancer, a surgery like Ben’s would be considered curative — but H-FLAC isn’t typical. It’s aggressive and fast, with a high likelihood of recurrence.
So we’ll strike hard.
Ben recovering in the hospital before he had his chest tube removed. This tube went through an incision, through his ribs, and about 12” into his lungs to drain fluid and blood that collects where the lobe was removed. This tube led to intense back pain, and getting it removed the day after surgery was a huge relief.
