Standard of care stage 1lung cancer

HapB
HapB Member Posts: 527
edited October 2017 in Lung Cancer #1

Hi, i am asking this for a friend. He was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer 2 years ago. At that time, he had come to the hospital presenting with severe bone pain and he thought that he had arthritis. Instead, it was lung cancer. That they found in a chest x ray.  The doctors did not recommend or offer chemo or radiation. They did surgery and removed a portion of his lung and he was told that no further treatment was needed. He was not given a full body scan. After the surgery, his bone pain got better, but not gone. Two years later, the bone pain got so severe that his GP sent him for an MRI and was told it was probably bursitis. Wrong. He had stage 4 lung cancer with mets to bones and brain. They did surgery on the bone, heavy chemo, and radiation to the brain mets. He became totally incapacitated and very sick very quickly. He passed away after 7 months of this treatment. 

Does this sound like the standard of care for stage 1 lung cancer?  Are there any survivors of stage 1 here who would comment on this course of action( or non action by the doctors)? 

Thanks.

Comments

  • Katmar
    Katmar Member Posts: 55
    #2
    He should have been given a

    He should have been given a PET scan prior to surgery. Sounds like he did not go to a cancer hospital. So very sorry for your loss. I am a stage 1  survivor, and I have had every test under the sun and get CT scans every 4 months, as he should have had.

  • HapB
    HapB Member Posts: 527
    edited October 2017 #3
    kat

    Actually he was at a world famous cancer hospital...which I won’t name. They did scans, but only of his lungs.  Did they do full body scans on you? 

  • Katmar
    Katmar Member Posts: 55
    #4
    Yes, had Pet scan prior to

    Yes, had Pet scan prior to biopsy. Hard to believe a cancer center would handle things this way. Are you sure they did NOT do a pet scan and ct?

  • HapB
    HapB Member Posts: 527
    #5
    Katma

    They did not do a full body scan and because the tumor was small they told him there was no need for chemo or radiation. It appears to me that there were already mets to the bones at the time, as the pains in his leg was the original symptom.

  • Katmar
    Katmar Member Posts: 55
    #6
    My tumor was small, too, but

    My tumor was small, too, but they still did a PET scan and an MRI of the brain. This is STANDARD procedure. I am baffled as to why they did not do these tests.

  • jegan
    jegan Member Posts: 4
    edited October 2017 #7
    There were problems with

    There were problems with getting to the right diagnoses with me also. But once they identified that it was lung cancer, I had all the scans you are talking about plus the PET scan. I'm surprised that it was not done for your friend. I too am very sorry for your loss. The only thing I can think of is that the insurance company would not pay for the PET scan until I had had all the others, but it was the final scan I had to go through to ID the extent of the cancer in my body.

  • angelcher65
    angelcher65 Member Posts: 4
    #8
    They should always do chemo!!!

    No it’s very sad. 

    I’m still here 2 years later no pain I got chemo. 

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