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"terminally ill"
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Sep 19, 2007 - 3:44 am
hi guys.. I just have a question for the survivors: This is such a scary word and it's incredibly hard to digest. I'd like to hear from some people who've showed their doctors that you can still look forward to years with loved ones despite being "terminal". I'm still keeping all of you in my prayers. God be with us during these difficult times. |
Joined: Apr 2007
Hi ITRUSTGOD,
The answer is yes. Lung cancer is most often diagnosed in late stages where it is too late to expect a cure. Caught early and localized to only a few locations, surgery or radiation may eliminate the tumors. If it has already spread to to many locations or is in a place not a candidate for radiation or surgery then chemo can become your only option. That is my experience. The Doctors did a week of tests and then bluntly told my wife and I that I had terminal cancer, and surgery and radiation would not be an option. Oncologost #1 estimated 7 to 12 months, and the second opinion from Cleveland Clinic guessed at 24 months.
The only good news is that these are wild guesses made before seeing how your cancer will react to chemotherapy. My first round of treatment was GEMZAR/CARBOPLATIN and it worked wonders. The tumors shrunk like mad and were almost gone after 5 months. I have met lung cancer patients beyond 5 years of treatment at the Wellness Center. One said he still plays basketball once a week. So I am about 16 months since diagnosis and I am still here and fighting.
One possible outcome is that chemo or radiation can kill or shrink the tumors and then a drug like TARCEVA can keep it from comming back. Another possibility is if you are a candidate for one of the new treatments like RFA Radio Frequency Abalation, or the Cyber Knife.
Cyberknife = http://azoncology.com/trmtoptions/cyberknife.aspx
RFA = http://www.geocities.com/rfacancer/
Joined: Feb 2006
hi, I was given a death sentence a