Stage IV Lung Cancer with 4 brain Mets

lung cancer stage 4
I related to your situation! My husband was diagnosed with lung cancer, stage 4, in Nov. 2011. It too had spread - to the brain (which I learned is not an unusual occurrence for lung cancer) where there were two lesions (one on the right and one on the left) and to the adrenal gland. We discovered it after he had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. The news was devastating! And I cried for weeks. Although my husband is in his early 60's, I guess it is never an easy diagnosis to hear - it changes everything. Although it is very difficult to hear the prognosis, it does give family a sense of time in which things can be handled. And a game plan means that action will be taken by people who know what they are doing; it gives you something to hold on to. I would definitely recommend that you pursue any questions you have with the dr. and staff. Our doctors have been quite forthcoming, and it has been encouraging to feel that they are knowledgeable and to feel their confidence and there is a plan in an area where we feel so lost. Although there was a plan in the beginning, it was tentative - there was Plan A, and if that didn't do what was needed, there was Plan B. Also, there may be opportunities to participate in studies, which can be helpful options; just be sure to get all questions answered about them.

You are so smart to search for information. Learning from other people's experiences can be a great help and can generate questions to ask the dr., even though each situation is different. I know that our children are a wonderful support for us and also for each other.

For my husband, the plan was first to do surgery to remove the tumor that was responsible for the seizure. For the 2nd tumor, we had the choice of going with radiation or surgery. After gathering information, we elected to do surgery. For us it was a good choice because of where the tumor was in the brain, but it was very scary. After about 3 weeks, radiation was begun. Ours was 15 treatments – 5 days a week for about 15 minutes a day. The only after-effect of that was the loss of hair. Then, it was time to address the lung cancer, where all of this started, with chemo – about 2 months after diagnosis.

It was difficult for me to think of how much time went by before the lungs could be treated. I knew the tumors would continue to grow while all the other was being done. But I discovered that the order in which they were done was necessary. So many problems can develop from tumors in the brain, so they must be dealt with first. We are currently in the middle of 6 treatments of chemo – one every three weeks. Each treatment takes about 5 hours or so – with two medications, taxol and carboplatin. The plan includes a CT scan after every two treatments to assess the growth of the tumors. The first scan indicated that the tumors were neither shrinking nor growing, so we continue with the same treatments. The dr. told us that because cancer cells grow quickly, the fact that the tumors were stable was a very good sign. Although the side effects are much worse than with radiation, we have found by talking to other people as well as with the dr. and the literature he has given us that most if not all of the side-effects will disappear after the treatments.

I have also found that people with the same cancer will sometimes get different treatments. But I have come to trust our dr. and his judgment because he is willing to share with us the whys of our particular path and to answer any questions we have. We have also requested copies of the scans and the written reports, and they have been provided for us very willingly (they are, after all, our personal records). But reading through that info has been difficult for me. My husband does not read through the written reports nor look at the scans. A couple of our children have medical backgrounds and are interested in these things – and understand them better! But asking for that information is up to you.

It sounds to me like you have come to terms with this new course in your life – that is a healthy beginning. Doesn't make the road any easier, just makes you more able to navigate it. Prayer will give you great strength, comfort, and learning. Best of luck to you and your family!

Tac1126 said:

Thank you for your response.
Thank you for your response. It truly does help to talk to other people who are going with similar experiences. I hope that your husband and family are doing well. I will pray that you all have the strength to contuine this joruney together.

We found out today that that cell type is squamous cell carcinoma. We are scheduled to start the chemo treatment next week. In the past few days my mom starting to have blury vision again so they doctors deciede to do another MRI scan to see if it was just swelling in the brain from the radiation treatment or if there are more tumors on the brain. We got the MRI results back today and they told us there is another 3mm tumor on her brain. This wasn't what we were hoping to hear but he docotor did say the 4 other tumors that were treated with raditaion about a month ago were in fact shrinking.

I have yet to ask any doctors we have seen how long they predict she has with treatment. I know whatever they say is just a number and isn't always the results people see, but I feel like this is something we should know. I just got enagaged 2 months ago and we are planning a wedding for June 2013. My worst fear is to wait that long and something bad happen to my mom. I dont know what to do. Does anyone recommend asking the doctor that type of question? or do you think its just too negative and discouraging?

Hola
Hola Tac,

reading your post has opened my eyes as to are my girls questioning the same as you? How long do i have? As a mother who has been recently diagnosed, My advise is, ask your docs all the questions you have in mind. You might ask your docs in private. But do write down all your questions cause we tend to forget when infrint of the docs. I must also say, my dad passed away of colon cancer in 01 and I did tones of research n informed myself real good. Thnk for opening my eyes from a daughters stand... You will all be in my nigthly prayers. Give ur mom lots of hugs n kisses, something I'm lacking from my girls right now.. Maybe they r scared...


Gracias
Marcia

My husband

On September 1 my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer non small cell. The doc found squamous cell in the tumo. Yesterday he did the MRI and Pet scan and bad news came.!The cancer metastasis to the brain. It is a little bit bigger than a centimeter on the right side. We will see the doctors today. I'm so scared! Is there anyone that is in remission or had lived more than 5 years with this type of cancer? Is there any Hope? I have 3 kids. 16,13 and 10. i fear for my kids. Im devastated. 

My husband also has squamous

Hi Hope,

My husband has stage 3b squamous lung cancer. He was diagnosed in April 2014. Initially he was given 8 months to live by the radiologist. But the oncologist wanted to try to save him. He got heavy rounds of chemo and radiation at the same time. In Dec 2014 he was pronounced NED - no evidence of disease. Some people may want to call that remission but that term is only used for those with lymphoma actually. Now unfortunately with stage 4 there is no cure but that does not mean the end either. I know an elderly gentleman who has had stage 4 for 10 years and just went hiking through a national park. Another good site is cancerforums.net

I like this site too. Only one with a chat room. It is busiest at night at 8pm mountain standard time or 10 om eastern standard time. Please come join us!.