New here! HI!!

tattoogirl1095
tattoogirl1095 Member Posts: 1
in Lung Cancer #1
Hey all! Just found this place. Lots of good info on here. A little about me... Mom was diagnosed in July with extensive stage SCLC. Had chemo and was done at end of Oct. Doc did PET and cancer was gone. Then a week before Christmas mom had trouble with vision so they did and MRI and found about 15 lesions on her brain. They did 15 rounds of radiation and symptoms got a little better but doc said not much more they could do unless her symptoms got worse. The she started having other issues a few weeks ago so the doc did another PET and cancer has returned to lungs and hip bones. Doc has her on another type of chemo but isn’t sure it’s going to work. She’s really gone downhill fast. She’s having a real hard time walking. Very confused and says weird things all the time. They just put her on morphine along with her Percocet. What I’m wondering is this…. For those that have been through this and lost the person, does this sound like it’s getting close to the end? My dad is so afraid to talk to the doctor about death that I feel like we are in the dark about whether we are getting close to the end. I really want hospice to get involved but don’t know. I just wanted some advice of info from others who have been in my place. Thanks in advance for any replies!

Comments

  • hope0310
    hope0310 Member Posts: 320
    #2
    Sounds familiar
    .....my mom was very similar.

    You need to have "the talk" with her oncologist. They are pretty much realists, and you need to know these things, as much as it sucks, as much as it hurts. When they told us we needed to contact Hospice, my heart sank, I was pissed, how dare they give up!!! However, we had to realize it is what it is, and how much more could we put her through and get the same results. They were amazing!

    Please know that your mother is a static of one. However, you asked for info on people who have been in similar situation....I have copied and pasted one of my posts below.

    For years.....46 exact, I would hear of someone I knew, someone I used to work with, old family friend, friend of a friend of friend.....whoevever...who one day was full of life and vibrant and the next day....the dreaded C word. How? Why? Never understood.....until March 1st, 2010 @ 3:20.

    Last week of February....my young 66 year old mom, who had retired 13 months prior, re-done her entire house, added the inground pool of her dreams.....went to Houston to visit her SIL... her brothers widow....a brother who past away September 2008 of lung cancer. The same brother who quit smoking 27 years prior after a favorite uncle died of pantreatic cancer....

    So,mom comes home the last day of Feb....something is wrong..she is slurring,but does not realize it. Her balance is out of whack...but she does not realize it.

    Monday March 1st, my stedad takes her to the doctor,she had refused going to the ER the previous day.....too bad, GP sends them straight to ER. I get the call and rush down there.
    Mom asks...What are you doing here?? Because you are mom, because you are.

    Tests,test and tests.....we are thinking she had a stroke. Mom tells us she had a horrible headache the whole time she was in Texas.

    3:20. March 1st..."Folks it is worse than a stroke...you have cancer in your right lung that has spread to your brain".....Everything goes BLACK...........

    Biopsies and tests confirm...SCLC, 5cm tumor in upper right lobe.....20, yes TWENTY mets to brain.

    March 3rd - start WBR
    March-30th -started Chemo
    March 31st - cannot walk - Med Onco sends to ER and refuses chemo
    March 31st - spread to thoratic spine...no big deal per rad and med Onco....Spine rad starts..
    April 28 - back to chemo

    Scans and chemo continue,scans of brain and spine great!!!
    Chemo ends.....trouble walking....test and retest...not in spinal fluid, no medial reason that she is unable to walk.....

    July 13th - REMISSION!! WHOOP!!
    Still cannot walk -so off to inpatient rehab.

    Aug 5th - tell my stepdad to take mom to onco......seems like she is backsliding..
    Aug 6th - ALL BLACK AGAIN - cancer is back in moms brain . . no further treatment.
    Aug 9th - Mom comes home under hospice care - doc says 4-6 weeks.

    Me,my brother and stepdad (who is 48 at that time - yes. mother was a cougar!) . ..we all tell work see ya later~~

    Mom was with us about 7 weeks. She was never in pain....and passed away holding my hand @ 10:20, Thursday September 23, 2010.
  • jasamarenumberone
    jasamarenumberone Member Posts: 13
    #3
    My dad's story is similar to
    My dad's story is similar to yours. My dad also has SCLC, diagnosed July was well. He had chemotherapy, and they said the cancer was gone. Then he had vision problems, and MRI revealed the cancer went to the brain. Don't give up. Your mom is a fighter, and so is my dad. They will get better, we just have to pray that they will continue to fight. This is really hard, I know. My dad is going to have a PET scan in a week. There's nothing fair about lung cancer. If you click on my username you could read more. Stay strong - Don't give up.
  • karenbeth
    karenbeth Member Posts: 194
    #4
    in the dark
    Trying to figure out what is causing her symptoms is difficult... could be symptoms of the lesions, could be side effects from medications and treatment..you really need to speak to the doctors and nurses who can help clarify. Feeling you are in the dark about what is going on just makes it scarier.

    My partner has ext SCLC and was, according to the radiation oncologist, about 6 weeks from death before he started whole brain radiation. That was in July, and he had vision issues, balance issues, and confusion issues. Now he has recovered enough to be able to work while undergoing treatment. So don't give up hope yet.

    Karen

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