STAGE IV Lung Cancer SCLC spred to liver and brain

Anonymous · Guest

Hi all you wonderful people. My Mom 68, was diagnosed just before Christmas with Type IV Lung Cancer. She initially went to her primary Doctor for sinus congestion and they did blood work showing she had elevated Liver enzymes. She had an Ultrasound of her liver and the results indicated lessions. She was referred to a specialist and scheduled for a Mamogram, Liver Biopsy , and a Colonoscopy. We were also concerned because she was eationg very little. I took her to her Mamogram (was negative) and before getting the other tests done we decided to take her to the Emergency Room due to her not eating.

In the Emergency Room they did a chest X-ray and we were told that she had Lung Cancer. She was admitted and had her Liver Biopsey done as well. The Doctor told us she had Stage IV Lung Cancer (SCLC) it had also spread to the Liver. We also had a Brain MRI and Bone Scan done. Bone Scan was negative but the MRI revealed a 5MM Tumor.

Eating was and still is a problem. She refuses anything but liquids and has little volume on the intact of the liquids. Her desire is eyes closed and in bed.

We took her home and the Doctor scheduled her for Chemo. She was readmitted to the Hospital and had a 4 hour bag and two hour bag the fist day and a 2 hour bag the next two days. Due to her weakness from not eating the Chemo was not administered at full dose, it was 60 percent.

We took her back home and 2 days later we had to reamit her due to her not eating or drinking. I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with her at the hospital. the first time I was not home for Christmas. It was special though to spend that time with her.

We have tried everything to get her to eat but to no avail. She recently complained of trouble swallowing and they are giving her a gargle and swallow medicine that is going to help.

I fear she just does not have the will or the strength to go on. We are staying with her a the hospital round the clock to make sure she does not have to wait for anything she needs and to comfort her.
her white cell count is really low and we have to wear masks and glooves in the room to help prevent infection.

The hardest thing for me was having to tell my Dad when we got the news and being there when the Doctor told her the news.

I fear she may only have a couple of weeks left and will more likely die of not eating then the cancer running it's course. The Doctor will not be able to continue to give Chemo unless she gets stronger. I fear she will have to go into Hospice care soon. I gues the next day or so may tell us if that is the case.

I hoping that we keep her comfortable and out of pain. I have run out of hope but doing the best I can not to show it.

My heart goes out to all of you facing the same battle and those that had to see theor loved one through the end.

Just taking it a day at a time. The hospital nights are getting harder and harder for me as I feel helplessto improve her situation.

helensgirl

Hi,
My heart goes out to you my friend...I lost my mother to NSCLC Stage IV, on Dec 14th, 07. She too refused to eat. It's hard, so anytime you need a shoulder, this is the right place...Kim
_________________
...keeping the faith in n.c.
Helen, my wonderful mom, diagnosed May, 07
fought-stage 4 NSCLC, (adenocarcinoma)
earned her place in Heaven, Dec. 14th, 07

meedo · New User Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 5

hi all

my dad has stage 4 nslc adenocarcinoma that spread to liver bone and brain.he is too weak to get a chemo. he can not walk now and his hands are shaking ,he eats ok but doctor is not hoping he will get better .palliative care team took over they are telling few weeks to go .i am too scared my dad is only 65 .is there any alternative medicine other than chemo . what about Tarceva ? does it work in thanl case ?.what about herbal stuff like this NONONONO tea or UMAC_CORE please advise. thanl you .
my prayers goes to all.

Anonymous · Guest

Kim, I am so sorry for your loss. Thanks you for your kind words. Your family is my thoughts and prayers.

Meedo, I am sorry to hear about your Dad. I will pray for your Dad and for strength for you and your family.

Off to hospital to stay overnight with Mom. Every moment with her is precious. Just hoping I can keep it together for her and the rest of the family.

Tera · Senior User Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 177

Hospice is a good thing, don't be afraid of it, My mom told me she felt better, even the day before she passed, and she wasn't eating either. That is because Hospice was so wonderful at keeping her comfortqble and pain free. It is hard to see someone not eat, I know....it is one of our basic life necessities so it is scarey to see someone not eat. My mom had alot of trouble swallowing. The last two days, I gave her water with a medicine dropper to keep her mouth moist because she couldn't awallow.

Hang in there....feeling your pain.

Anonymous · Guest

Tera, Thanks for your kind words of encouragement and sharing your personal pain. Your Mom was a very lucky woman to have someone like you caring for in her time of need. I am sorry for your loss. Thanks for reaching out, it was so kind of you.

dstep123 · New User Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 1 Location: FL

Hi.

Regarding your mom, my husband, 63 was diagnosed (finally) at Stage IV lung cancer with mets to brain, liver and spleen.

Due to mis and late diagnosis, he is facing the greatest challenge of his life.

Because his lung cancer is centrally located and the tumor partially wrapped around his larynx/esophagus, he has great difficulty swallowing and his voice has diminished to a whisper.

I wanted to let you know that shortly after his diagnosis and having lost 30 lbs I urged to doctors to put in a feeding tube which they did and he has stopped losing weight.

We originally had him treated with a palliative radiation to the brain and lung to shrink tumor size and slow down tumor growth and have chosen not to do the chemo. Although we were told, "you didn't hear it from me", several doctors have told us the chemo does more harm than good in all but 2% of the cases.

We have chosen an altenative method of treatment and the primary supplement is Protocel 23. You can look up information on this online and many, many folks have had excellent results from this product.

He also takes paw paw cell, vitamin d, germamium and bioenzymes - and maitake mushroom extract.

I spent a lot of time researching the information needed to make a decision and we take it a day at a time, hopeful that this will heal my husband.

Hope this opens some doors for you, but feeding tube may possibly offer some nutritional options.
_________________
If there is a one percent chance, go for it
and give it all you have
Good Luck and God Bless

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 1142

Hi all,

This is such an excruciatingly painful time for family members to feel so helpless while their loved ones are declining. My heart goes out to all of you who are still fighting and to those who have suffered loss. Just be with them and they know you love them.

Meedo -- Tarceva can and has done amazing things with very minimal side effects for those with the EGFR mutation. It's certainly worth a try and your Dad is still eating. What are they doing for the brain mets? There is a blood/brain barrier that chemo will not cross, so brain mets have to be treated with some type of radiation. Some supplementation can help enhance the immune system, but strong anti-oxidants also can undermine the effectiveness of some chemo agents. They will not help the cancer.

My sincerest best wishes for everyone.

PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 1142

I feel that I must comment on the issues that dstep has raised.

Chemotherapy IS THE ONLY PROVEN way to gain ANY ground on lung cancer or any other cancer for that matter. It is scientifically based, with many structured clinical trials, whereas various supplements have NO proof of helping many cancers. There is some research that indicates certain mushroom compounds may be helpful, but no serious clinical trials. If people wish to investigate supplements, there is a great website done by Memorial Sloan-Kettering -- a medical leader in the cancer community. http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/58481.cfm#D I have to be honest and say that I have yet to see ANY late-staged patient (and I've been involved with hundred's of lc patients via different boards) who did not have a recurrence of their lung cancer, despite taking traditional chemotherapy while tossing down copious amounts of supplements. Beware of modern snake-oil sales pitches that promise miracles while draining your pockets of a lot of cash. There are very, very few miracles in the world of late-stage lung cancer.

I'm sorry dstep that you have fallen prey to some whacked out Doctor's who have obviously misrepresented facts and statistics. You may also have misinterpreted what they were saying, as only 1-2% of late stage LC patient's survive to the five year mark. It's true that late stage lung cancer patients are incurable, but they are treatable, and often go on to live months and years of quality time with the help of chemotherapy and radiation. The hope is that, given time and new agents, lung cancer can become treatable like a chronic illness. As an aside, some chemo agents are not synthetic and are plant-based -- so go with what is known to be effective.

My husband is proof that so-called "palliative" chemo gave him tons of extra time he would never had if he went off the deep end into supplementation land. He lived 2 1/2 years with extremely aggressive and advanced stage IV NSCLC.

I also have to say that I've been on many boards and sadly watched many people die rapidly who have chosen to turn their backs on traditional chemotherapy/radiation regimens. Many people's lives are cut short despite the chemo, but not trying it will cut their live's even shorter.

My two-cents. Sorry to be harsh or offensive, but this kind of "supplementation will heal" info is a cruel extension of false hope in my opinion. Of course, that depends on what outcome you are looking for in utilizing supplements in lieu of traditional therapy.

If I were you dstep, I'd get to another oncologist for another opinion. Tumors can be successfully held at bay for long periods of time via chemo. This is all your choice obviously, but I hate to see choices made on erroneous information. My very best to you and your husband!

PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

DiscGolfer · Regular Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 15

Well Mom wanted out of the hospital. I wish she would have stayed in longer. She was in just long enough to get enough strength for her to want out of the hospital. She promised she would eat at home. We brought her home and she wanted a puppy. Dad and I thought it was not a good time for a puppy but My brothers and sister wanted to get the puppy for Mom. She likes the the little Yorkie and named her Heather. I am afraid Mom has taken a turn for the worse. She is not eating or drinking at all. My sister said she had 2 oz of water today and not taking any meds. We contacted the Doctor to get Hospice care started as we know the end is near. Hopefully this will start on Monday. I had to carry her to the bathroom tonight and cried in her arms letting her know how much I love her. I was hoping to keep it together in front of Mom but knowing that her time is getting short made it hard. We are trying our best to keep her comfortable during this final stage of her life. It really is hard and I now know the suffering a family goes through dealing with this terrible illness. All I can hope for now is that she does not suffer with pain.

Tera · Senior User Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 177

Your mom is lucky to have you caring for her. It is an honor to care for our parents and loved ones during this time, but oh so hard. I too tried to keep it together for mom's sake. I cried at her bedside one night when I could no longer hold the tears in. The hospice nurses told me that is ok to show tears, it shows your mother you love her. So don't berate yourself for that. Tell her every waking moment that you love her.

Hang in there and keep us posted. God Bless you.

DiscGolfer · Regular Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 15

Tera, Thank you so much for your kind words. Hospice started today and they are springing into action. Bringing her a bed today and taking care of other concerns. I feel better knowing that her care will now be focused on making her comfortable and pain free during her last days.

DiscGolfer · Regular Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 15

Today was the first day of Home Hospice care for Mom. What a great day. They got a hospital bed for Mom, liquid pain meds, Oxygen, all kinds of equipment and support. I feel much better now knowing we have everything we need to keep Mom comfortable and a support network to get us all through Mom's illness.

It was a good day for Mom. She actually took some fluids in today.

Taking it one day at a time.

DiscGolfer · Regular Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 15

Mom was not repsonive today. I fear she has slipped into a comma. Her breathing is labored and noisey. I don't know if she will last the weekend. Trying to make her comfortable and pain free. It is so hard to see someone you love fade away and helpless to change the outcome.

Tera · Senior User Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 177

I'm sorry, I know it is so hard. Keeping you in my prayers.

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