Prognosis for NSCLC mets to scalp and spine

axus · New User Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 9

Hi

I am a 68 year old male carer, my wife, aged 63 has had an Upper Left Lobectomy for NSCLC in October 2008, followed by radiotherapy in January 2009.

She has been diagnosed with a small met in her lower spine and a Scalp met which was removed during a biopsy of it. Last week she had a first chemo of Gen/carbo. Todays was cancelled because her immune system was too low. She has found several more "lumps" on her scalp which are likely to be mets.

We have asked the direct question, what is her prognosis and all we get is, surviving a year would be good.

We need to know to get our " house in order " etc. Though I know predicting a prognosis is not an exact science, can anyone give me a best guess prognosis which is neither optimistic or pessimistic please

Thanks

Keith

brainman

Hi Keith. I am very sorry about your wife's advanced lung cancer. I suspect that the "one year" prognosis is the closest you will get to the "actual". That is such a short time Sad

. However, I often tell people that a prognosis is just a statistical estimate. I like to know my prognosis but only in order to make realistic decisions about what I still would like to do with whatever time I have left. Your wife might become sicker than you expect, so if she still would like to do something big (like going on a trip) you should probably like to do those things soon. Try to think of yourself as your wife's own personal "dream factory" identifying what are her dreams and then trying to help her achieve those dreams.

You and your wife are in my thoughts and prayers.
_________________
Jim
Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendroglioma grade 3, same location.
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=2405
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=2528
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 3: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Twitter: @JimHawkins54

axus · New User Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 9

Hi

Many thanks for your reply, what you say makes a lot of sense.

Unfortunately we are probably past that point. Yvette is in so much pain that we can hardly leave the bungalow. She has been in a pallative care ward to try to manage her pain, nothing seems to work apart from morphine which spaces her out to the point of seeing double.

The medication she is on is as follows:-
Baclofen 20 mg 4 x day
Buprenorphine 40 micrograms 2 as & when required
Clonazepam 50 microgrammes 2 at night and half as required
Tansec 35micrograms/hour patches
Gabapentin 600mg 3 x 600 daily
Levothyroxine tablets 50 micrograms 50mgs daily
Levothyroxine tablets 100 micrograms 100mgs daily
Sertaline tablets 50mg 100mgs daily
Lansoprazole capsules 20mg 20 mgs daily
Morphine sulphate 10mg/5 ml 10ml 4 times a day

and still she suffers severe breakthrough pain. According to her doctors the pain could be her cut nerves, spasms or something else.

We are taking things day by day

Regards

Keith

brainman

Keith, there does come a point when all that a patient wants and needs it to know that he/she is loved by family and friends. It sounds like your wife may be at that point.
_________________
Jim
Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendroglioma grade 3, same location.
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=2405
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=2528
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 3: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Twitter: @JimHawkins54

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