Lung cancer

Hi Daisy... you came to the right place for inspiration on surviving lung cancer... my dad has been battling since June 2005...he has had brain surgery, brain radiation, lung radiation and just this past week started chemo. It sounds like a lot, but he is doing well. We have found that we got all worked up and worried before a procedure/treatment and after found that it was all ok, really. We've gotten lots of inspiration from the stories of survivors on this site like: "enrol", "plymouthean" and "michaelcie" to name a few (type their names in the search box)... go back and read "kaitek"'s August 8,2006 entry(looking for survivors-need some strength)...never give up, pray constantly and just "be there" for you brother. God Bless you and you brother...take care

Hi Daisy. I'm a five year survivor of nsclc, 3a. I recently had the occasion to ask my oncologist about Fox Chase. He's a very knowledgeable oncologist, and he said that Fox Chase is THE place to be for cancer treatment. Regarding prognosis and statistics, - ignore them. I was inoperable/incurable at diagnosis, and here I am, cancer free! My prayers and best wishes to you and your brother.

Hi daisy8,

You definitely came to the right place for encouragement and hope. When I became distressed at the cold, dry information on stage 4 lung cancer where the sites would cover the back stats, I found this forum to comfort me and reassure that those stats mean nothing, especially if your brother is not a smoker or hasn't been one for years. I tend to believe the discouraging stats are skewed by patients of smokers who couldn't quit smoking. And nicotine I read (it's also intuitive) impairs treatments. Only a minor percentage of non-smokers succumb to lung cancer, so logically non-smoking lung cancer patients wouldn't sway the unpromising stats one way or the other. That's what I'm hanging my optimism for my mother.

I understand that doctors may need to go over expectations so patients have an idea of what they're dealing with, but to me, it's horrible for them to give up on their patients (as I have read of members saying their doctors told them had a short time to live or there wasn't anything that could be done. I believe it was Sloan-Kettering site that categorically stated there is always a treatment no matter what stage the cancer is. The choice should be the patient's whether he or she would like to risk the discomfort and other side effects of the damaging treatments (which primarily kill the cancer cells). For people at peace with their fate, forgoing treatments may be the right decision for them. But for me, I will fight tooth and nail for my mom to triumph over cancer. Don't be discouraged.

I will give you perspective of the attitude of my mother's doctors. She was first with a pulmonologist who took the conservative approach in diagnosing cancer. Once it became urgent with blood in her lung fluids, we were referred to another thoracic surgeon (mostly because the pulmonologist had a scheduled vacation).

Now, this thoracic surgeon has a more upbeat, resilient attitude about my mom's cancer. From the get-go when he suspected cancer from the PET scan (he said the PET scan wasn't definitive until the biopsy), he gave a shot of encouragement when he mentioned there was a treatment that was very good for Asian women who have never smoked. Later, after the pleurodesis surgery he performed, he was less forthcoming in providing cancer information as he wanted me to speak with the oncologist. I did find that off-putting then as I don't like passing off their help when they could easily answer the questions. But he was always good with my mom on his manners. He was attentive and caring. Me, eh, he couldn't be bothered. I didn't mind as long as he paid attention to my mom. Then, in a follow-up visit, I got more encouragement from him that reinforced his positive attitude. In answering my questions about chemoresistance testing and EGFR mutation tests, he basically stressed to me not to place all my hopes on those tests as treatments are effective even without them and in spite of the missing EGFR. He noted that people survive without that EGFR mutation. After leaving his office that day, I was optimistic.

My mother's oncologist is very professional in being clinical. He's not the country doctor type to provide that extra comfort or assurance. (I've encountered just two doctors who impressed me with their attentive care in listening and speaking understandably.) He's not one to rely on for seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. But where he lacks in boosting morale, he makes up in his availability. He is willing to take our calls at all hours and meet us in the hospital should my mother need emergency care (he rather we don't go to the ER for any urgent care). And he does have our best interest at heart, even making sure we're not paying too much for prescriptions (or warning us of expensive drugs). Bottom line, I do have confidence in his competence and skills. The answers he's given make sense.

My mother has been responding well to the chemo treatments with no side effects. So, I like the weekly regiment he decided on.

As a caregiver, I can give you some advice. My mother was plagued with fatigue, so any help provided - whether housework or cooking meals - is a great relief and aid in a cancer patient's recovery. I believe providing those meals is a major boost as they say 40% of cancer patients die from malnutrition and weight loss. Keep them well-fed so they can focus on willing their bodies to fend off the cancer cells.

I'm not religious but I have great faith in the advances in medicine and drugs. As others have noted, there have been great strides in the discoveries of the mechanisms of cancer and as such, how to arrest those mechanisms.

Have faith!