Life expectancy of Stage IV NSCLC

catherine · New User Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 9

Mike, thanks again for a great site recommendation - the radiation site is very clear and concise. Jennifer, I see someone else already responded about your mom needing an MRI - that's absolutely necessary. Thomas had his last Tuesday, got the results on Thursday that he has a brain lesion and that's why he's now headed for the oncologist not the surgeon, so it was a very important test. Now we are waiting until Tuesday's appointment and find out the treatment plan. Best to everyone. Keep writing!

RK in NC · New User Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 3

My father-in-law was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in his lungs. This came as a shock to the entire family since he seems to have no signs such as coughing, shortness of breath, etc. It was found because he fell a year ago and was have continuous pain in his hip. We thought is was a fracture or something since the pain occurred after the fall. They kept telling him it was arthiritis or bursitis. They even gave him a coritzone shot. About a month ago, when the pain seemed to be getting worse, I told him to tell the doctors that you would not accept this answer and that you wanted them to do whatever test possible to determine the actual reason for the pain. They did a nuclear bone scan. They said that the cancer has metasized to the hip bone and is actually throughout his body. They stated that they are sorry but there is nothing that they can do. The are only giving him 3-6 months. It just doesn't seem real since it seems the only sypmtoms is the leg pain. I have tried to get him to get a second opinion but his wife and him both state that this would be a waste of time. Actually, his wife told us the time frame. He did not want to know.

Can anyone say if this seems right since he has no symptoms of the lung cancer? Could it be this far already?

Thanks for any input.

catherine · New User Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 9

RK, my spouse went from excellent health to diagnosis of Stage IV, with just a cough that wouldn't go away, and he still goes to the gym and runs . It does seem unreal. Tomorrow we find out the treatment options, if there are any. So yes, unfortunately it is possible I think. But I would advise your relatives to try to get more information - we've found there's a huge difference in opinion between doctors. Maybe you could reserach a place that specializies in lung cancer, if they haven't done that themselves. There are lots of clinical trails being run. Good luck.

frazierld

Rk,
Unfortunately, yes, it is possible to be diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer without having the typical symptoms of lung cancer. My mother, who lived with me, had absolutely no signs of lung cancer. No shortness of breath, coughing, raspy voice, nothing. She had a mini-seizure on one side of her face one afternoon while working on her crafts. By the time the ambulance arrived, it was over. She had to be persuaded to go to the emergency room.
The doctor ordered an MRI of her brain and there were 5 lesions. He told me that when lesions show up on the brain, it is usually from a cancer that originated somewhere else. With her history of smoking, he sent her for a chest x-ray. After he told me this, he left the room and left me to break this devastating news to my beautiful mother...but that's another story. It turns out she had several lesions in/on her lungs. That was the beginning of a horrible, heartbreaking journey.
My mom thought about not receiving treatment. She had cancer twice before--uterine and thyroid--and she was tired of fighting. After the doctor told her what was in store for her if she didn't have radiation, she agreed. The radiation made her very sick. She had radiation burns on her scalp which led to an outbreak of horrible shingles on one side of her head. Even after the shingles healed, her nerve endings were on fire.
After radiation, the doctor talked her into chemotherapy. Said it would slow the cancer down. It went downhill from there. It seemed like the chemo is really what killed her. She was so incredibly sick. She couldn't eat. The steroids she was taking to keep her brain swelling down made it so her dentures didn't fit. My mother was very private about that. She would wear a surgical mask around the house so the family didn't see her without her teeth. Bless her heart.
My dear mother lived 14 months with 5 lesions on her brain. She never once coughed or had trouble breathing from the lung cancer. I will tell you the end, when it finally came, came very quickly. She was walking around one day and 10 days later she took her last breath. We had several talks during those days and one thing she told me is that if she had it to do all over again, she would never, ever get chemo. She would rather have lived fewer months but felt better. Radiation yes, because the consecuences of not receiving it could include seizures, blindness, being paralized, etc.
I don't mean to be rambling like this, she died six months ago and I'm still grieving. One thing that comforts me is that she was able to stay here, in our home, until the very end. I was with her, holding her hand when she went.
My mother had just about every side effect she could have possibly had. We went through the entire journey together. If anyone ever has any questions or just wants to talk to someone who understands, I am here. I'm certainly not a doctor but I did a lot of research on what to expect and how to make her comfortable.
Lynne

catherine · New User Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 9

Lynne, I find your story incredibly helpful. My husband has Stage IV lung cancer with lesions on his brain and tumors in both lungs and lymph nodes. He's starting radiation tomorrow. We still don't have any clear idea about how this is going to go, so your mother's comments about chemo are quite eye-opening. I'm sure he'll go through the radiation for the reasons you list but I'm not sure about chemo. I may ask you about this later. By the way, both of my parents were able to stay home during their final illneses and both died in their bedroom with us there, no doctors or machines, and that's definitely a great gift you gave your mother.

adr22367 · Experienced user Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 78

My Dad was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer 20 months ago, they thought he'd live 9 months. He has been on a few different chemos, 3 of the tumors stayed at bay while the largest kept growing minimal. He never had radiation. He also has severe emphysema and this is what is making him more ill now, he's on oxygen 24/7 having difficulties catching his breath. We're hoping he'll still be here next week for my son's Bar Mitzvah, but the way things look now he might not. Chemo helped him survive a lot longer than if he didn't have it.

frazierld

Catherine,
Thank you for responding and I am so sorry for what you and your husband are going through. I was devastated about my mother...I can't even imagine if it were my husband...
Many nights I would stay up late researching on the internet. Something shocking I learned after my mother was in the midst of her chemo, was that chemo typically only adds 2 to 4 months to the life expectancy of someone with stage IV cancer. Since my mother was already committed to following through with the chemo, I never told her that. She later came to her own conclusion about it though.
I wish I had found this board when my mom was alive. I looks like it could have helped A LOT!
Take care and good luck to your husband tomorrow. I'm here anytime you need.
Lynne

katharine · New User Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 3 Location: oregon

My father-in-law was diagnosed the end of january with stage 4 lung cancer based on xrays & his symptoms, but biopsy was inconclusive & he had a pet scan as well. He used to work in the shipyards, they say it's probably from asbestos exposure some 50-odd years ago...Initial forecast said 3 to 9 months, but this week he has taken a nose-dive, from being able to walk around to having to be helped onto a portable toilet next to the bed. Age is 80, they did not recommend any intervention treatment. He wanted death with dignity, but now the past several days he is mentally confused, so this is out. Can anyone tell me their experience once an elderly person declines so rapidly? My husband is so, so upset about the mental decline especially. Will they just start drugging him (grandpa) heavily now? He is in pain, he says it feels like a pulled muscle in his ribs. We need to know so we can tell relatives who want to say their good-byes. this is all so sad.

frazierld

Katharine,
I'm sorry about your father-in-law. My grandfather and grandmother both died from asbestosis/mesothelioma(sp?). Once diagnosed, it was very quick. My grandmother was diagnosed in July and was gone by October.
Everyone is different, of course, but I will tell you my experience with my mother, who had stage IV lung cancer with mets in her brain. Once I had to start helping her onto the toilet next to her bed and she became confused, the end was very close. Is hospice involved? If not, please call your father-in-law's doctor and get authorization for hospice to come. They were a Godsend and I wish I had called them sooner. They will have pain medicine delivered right to your house. In liquid form if he can't swallow. I'll tell you how my mother's decline went:
First she started falling down--from the brain mets, I'm sure. They affected her balance. At that point, I decided I couldn't go to work anymore. I started sleeping with her so I could help her to the toilet next to her bed at night. She would forget to wake me up and end up falling on the floor. She was very confused. At that point, I took her to her oncologist who said it was time for hospice.
Hospice came in every other day to give her a bath and put lotion on her. The nurses came to check her vitals and give her pain meds. Within a couple of days, my mom could not help me get her onto the toilet and I wasn't strong enough to do it on my own so we had to get Depends. Mom was very embarrassed but I told her over and over that it bothered her WAY more than it bothered me and please not to be embarrassed. Next she stopped eating--which the hospice nurses said is the HARDEST thing for family members to accept. This happened with both my grandparents as well. If it's toward the end, don't get mad at them for not eating. My mom then stopped talking altogether and had trouble swallowing. We had to put the liquid morphine in the side of her mouth (between her teeth and her cheek) so she wouldn't choke. She then went into a kind of "coma" -- her eyes were open all the time and she blinked and but she was "not there." She didn't respond to my voice or turn her head or anything. She just stared. The nurses told me the end would be very near when I looked at her legs and noticed discoloration. I looked at her legs every morning and the day I noticed the blotches was the day she died. This all happened in 10 days. It was very fast. It seemed endless as I was living it but in hindsight, it was very fast.
There is no reason that your father-in-law needs to be in pain. If you havent already called hospice, you should. They will walk you through the process to get authorization. They will even call your father-in-law's doctor.
I'm sorry to write such a depressing story but you want to be prepared. I had no idea what to expect and every new thing was a dreaded surprise. I wish you the best. Once your father-in-law is out of pain, it will be easier.
Lynne

catherine · New User Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 9

I agree totally with Lynne about hospice. We had them for both our parents and they made the whole experience so much easier, both for the sick and the well. Couple of questions: we have not gotten any disclosure about life expectancy. I tried asking the social worker if I could talk to the doctor alone, she said no. How can I get a good idea about Thomas's life expectancy (Stage IV, tumors in both lungs and lymph node, brain lesion) on my own? I don't want to make Thomas ask that question until he's ready, but in the meantime I would really like to have some idea so I can plan things and tell family. Who do I ask? Ditto for the chemo - I'd like to have more information on that (he'll be starting it in about 3 weeks) - is his oncologist the only one to ask? Lynne, your comment about it only adding 2 to 4 months is indeed shocking, and might change his mind about doing it if it's true in his case. So far he's Ok with radiation.

frazierld · Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:19 pm Post subject: chemo

Catherine,
I responded to your questions via private message. Please check your inbox.
Lynne

adr22367 · Experienced user Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 78

Too much morphine is what puts patients into a comatose state. Hospice is not allowed to give my Dad anything, only my Mom or I could give. We continue giving him 1/2 to 1 percoset with either a xanax or restoril.

andre · New User Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 3

My partner of nine years (45 years of age) had a sudden seizure in early February .
He was diagnosed with Stage IV NSCLC the following week. It has metastasized to his brain, spine, bones and adrenal glands. He has several lesions on the brain. He is unable to walk and goes in and out of lucidity. Needless to say this is all a shock as the only symptom he had was a persistent cough. He received 10 radiation treatments and is now in hospice care at home but his doctor thinks the time frame is short. I am a mess. I think I need to seek counseling myself. I live in New York City but have found little on the web when I have the time to look. Any suggestions?
BTW, this forum is a wonderful resource.

adr22367 · Experienced user Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 78

You could ask Hospice to recommend counseling for you. There's also the VNS in NY that could recommend someone for you to speak with, or just call the American Cancer Society.

frazierld · Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 6:20 am Post subject: Andre

Andre,

I'm very sorry about your partner. I'm sure it's devastating for you. You might also consider a support group. It REALLY helps to be around people who truly know what you're going through. I'm not sure about the hospitals where you are but here in Maryland, a few even run free ones.

Lynne

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> Lung Cancer Forum	All times are GMT - 5 Hours Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Next
Page 4 of 7

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others