stage 3B lung cancer now mets to brain

mybravemom
mybravemom Member Posts: 20
in Lung Cancer #1
My Mom has been fighting lung cancer (stage 3B) now for about 8 months and all is no longer in her chest!!! YAY to that, however we are now dealing with mets to the brain. My mom has immobility on her left side (basically her leg and her arm is weak). Has anyone gone through this or knows of someone who has?? Is there any hope for independence???

It is breaking my heart to see my mom this way. She is on Decadron and that seems to help, but when they start the taper she seems to go backwards!!!

Please help with some answers!!

Thank you
Leslie

Comments

  • Dapsterd
    Dapsterd Member Posts: 291
    #2
    Hope
    Hello....I am 49 yr old and had IIIB for a year or so, My right lung was clear and lymph nodes were clear,--for six months....then three brain tumor mets, one surgically removed, others gamma-knife radiation. Your mom may have a brain met pushing on a certain area making her arm limp and causing various pain, this obviously should be reviewed via MRI As Soon As Possible, LIKE TOMORROW AT THE LATEST, VIA EMERGENCY ROOM. I had to have the one tumor removed immediately as it made me dizzy, unstable walking and vomitting, the other two were not swelling and caused no immediate danger, so radiation was the key here.

    Life is good !!

    Best wishes...

    Dave
  • mybravemom
    mybravemom Member Posts: 20
    #3
    Dapsterd said:

    Hope
    Hello....I am 49 yr old and had IIIB for a year or so, My right lung was clear and lymph nodes were clear,--for six months....then three brain tumor mets, one surgically removed, others gamma-knife radiation. Your mom may have a brain met pushing on a certain area making her arm limp and causing various pain, this obviously should be reviewed via MRI As Soon As Possible, LIKE TOMORROW AT THE LATEST, VIA EMERGENCY ROOM. I had to have the one tumor removed immediately as it made me dizzy, unstable walking and vomitting, the other two were not swelling and caused no immediate danger, so radiation was the key here.

    Life is good !!

    Best wishes...

    Dave

    Hi Dave,
    My mom has 2 mets
    Hi Dave,
    My mom has 2 mets and yes both on right side which is causing immobility on the left side with her arms and leg (we think it may be more the foot not the leg as much) (we have been dealing with this for the last 2 months). She had WBR back in January,scan in Feb and the MRI came back that the 2 mets were greatly improved however they looked a little larger than the first scan. The Rad/Onc seems to think that there may be scare tissue there and some swelling!

    I just feel so helpless for her, we beat the lung cancer and then end up with the brain mets....what next??? I guess I should not ask that. Thank you for your response and I wish you well! I hope only for the best for you :)
  • Dapsterd
    Dapsterd Member Posts: 291
    #4
    mybravemom said:

    Hi Dave,
    My mom has 2 mets
    Hi Dave,
    My mom has 2 mets and yes both on right side which is causing immobility on the left side with her arms and leg (we think it may be more the foot not the leg as much) (we have been dealing with this for the last 2 months). She had WBR back in January,scan in Feb and the MRI came back that the 2 mets were greatly improved however they looked a little larger than the first scan. The Rad/Onc seems to think that there may be scare tissue there and some swelling!

    I just feel so helpless for her, we beat the lung cancer and then end up with the brain mets....what next??? I guess I should not ask that. Thank you for your response and I wish you well! I hope only for the best for you :)

    hello
    Hello there....just wondering how it is going after a couple of weeks?

    Dave
  • mybravemom
    mybravemom Member Posts: 20
    #5
    Dapsterd said:

    hello
    Hello there....just wondering how it is going after a couple of weeks?

    Dave

    Hi Dave,
    Sorry, things have
    Hi Dave,
    Sorry, things have been very hectic....Thank you for responding. My mom is stable, but slowly declining. She has had an MRI on Thursday and showed the 2 original tumors have grown. We are taking her to a Neurosurgeon tomorrow to see what our options are. There are 2 procedures that we can possibly do to help releve the symptoms. One is the Steriotactial Radiology and the other is a surgical procedure where they can go in an remove the edema. I am not sure what the name is of this procedure!

    There are no other tumors in the brain (thank god for that). The surgeon wants to see her tomorrow to see her physical health and see if she can withstand any of the 2 procedures! She now has blood sugar and high blood pressure problems (they think that is from the steriods). So they are now slowly weaning her off of the steriods...

    I am so scared and upset for her and as you know that helpless feeling :(

    What is one to do????? I try to stay strong, but some days are so exhausting :(

    Thank you for your concern
  • Dapsterd
    Dapsterd Member Posts: 291
    #6
    mybravemom said:

    Hi Dave,
    Sorry, things have
    Hi Dave,
    Sorry, things have been very hectic....Thank you for responding. My mom is stable, but slowly declining. She has had an MRI on Thursday and showed the 2 original tumors have grown. We are taking her to a Neurosurgeon tomorrow to see what our options are. There are 2 procedures that we can possibly do to help releve the symptoms. One is the Steriotactial Radiology and the other is a surgical procedure where they can go in an remove the edema. I am not sure what the name is of this procedure!

    There are no other tumors in the brain (thank god for that). The surgeon wants to see her tomorrow to see her physical health and see if she can withstand any of the 2 procedures! She now has blood sugar and high blood pressure problems (they think that is from the steriods). So they are now slowly weaning her off of the steriods...

    I am so scared and upset for her and as you know that helpless feeling :(

    What is one to do????? I try to stay strong, but some days are so exhausting :(

    Thank you for your concern

    Brain MEts
    Thanx for getting back to us...yes the time is hectic.

    Docs will do surgery if immediately req'd to reduce symptoms, if there is more time Stero-Rad has great success. I had both on my brain, Stero-Rads for three tumors, one removed by surgery.

    SOunds like you are in good hands....best wishes

    Dave
  • mybravemom
    mybravemom Member Posts: 20
    #7
    Dapsterd said:

    Brain MEts
    Thanx for getting back to us...yes the time is hectic.

    Docs will do surgery if immediately req'd to reduce symptoms, if there is more time Stero-Rad has great success. I had both on my brain, Stero-Rads for three tumors, one removed by surgery.

    SOunds like you are in good hands....best wishes

    Dave

    That sounds so wonderful :)
    That sounds so wonderful :) I am so happy that it has worked for you! Is the Stero-Rad difficult to handle? My mom is aware of it, but scared to do the halo thing :(

    I will have to share your story with her, I think that it will give her some more hope!

    Thank you Dave, I will keep you posted :)
  • mybravemom
    mybravemom Member Posts: 20
    #8
    Dapsterd said:

    Brain MEts
    Thanx for getting back to us...yes the time is hectic.

    Docs will do surgery if immediately req'd to reduce symptoms, if there is more time Stero-Rad has great success. I had both on my brain, Stero-Rads for three tumors, one removed by surgery.

    SOunds like you are in good hands....best wishes

    Dave

    Hi Dave,
    To let you know my
    Hi Dave,
    To let you know my mom was a candidate for surgery. Her Neurourgeon did surgery for her on Monday and removed both tumors.... All seems to be going pretty good. It is hard to see her so out of it, but she is now finally trying to talk and open her eyes a bit.

    I guess there really are miralces aren't there? The surgeon said that he wanted her to have a quality of life and he did!!

    We will wait to see how she is in the next week or so and I will re post!

    I hope that you are doing well :)
  • Dapsterd
    Dapsterd Member Posts: 291
    #9
    mybravemom said:

    Hi Dave,
    To let you know my
    Hi Dave,
    To let you know my mom was a candidate for surgery. Her Neurourgeon did surgery for her on Monday and removed both tumors.... All seems to be going pretty good. It is hard to see her so out of it, but she is now finally trying to talk and open her eyes a bit.

    I guess there really are miralces aren't there? The surgeon said that he wanted her to have a quality of life and he did!!

    We will wait to see how she is in the next week or so and I will re post!

    I hope that you are doing well :)

    Great
    Thats Great!

    Keep us all posted!

    Dave

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