small cell lung cancer...limited

jynxy
jynxy Member Posts: 8
edited March 2014 in Lung Cancer #1
I am newly diagnosed with small cell lung cancer....limited. I meet with the oncologist next weeki but I have already been informed that he already has me tentatively scheduled for chemo next Wed, Thurs, and Friday. Is it common to have chemo 3 days in a row? Is it possible to continue working while on chemo? My surgery was less than 2 weeks ago. It was just a wedge resection done through a thoracostomy so the recovery has been minor and I fell almost back to normal but I have already lost 2 weeks of work. What can I expect?

Comments

  • medi_2
    medi_2 Member Posts: 505 Member
    #2
    Hi jynxy!
    My lung small cell was limited also. There was one tumor and it hadn't spread so they treated it very aggresively. I had 4 'rounds' of chemo and 33 days of radiation. The chemo sessions were 3 days in a row, every three weeks. The Doc. tested my blood before each 3 day session and if he had to, he adjusted dosage (cistplatin is heck on your kidneys). I never missed work, the anti-nausea iv was awesome and I started off healthy. I _did_ go to bed at 7 or 8 each night though ;), I was kind of tired...I had a complete response and have just had my 8 month scan, but don't get results until the 28th.
    Needless to say, I feel very lucky.
    Good Luck, my thoughts are with you!
    Medi
  • jynxy
    jynxy Member Posts: 8
    #3
    medi_2 said:

    Hi jynxy!
    My lung small cell was limited also. There was one tumor and it hadn't spread so they treated it very aggresively. I had 4 'rounds' of chemo and 33 days of radiation. The chemo sessions were 3 days in a row, every three weeks. The Doc. tested my blood before each 3 day session and if he had to, he adjusted dosage (cistplatin is heck on your kidneys). I never missed work, the anti-nausea iv was awesome and I started off healthy. I _did_ go to bed at 7 or 8 each night though ;), I was kind of tired...I had a complete response and have just had my 8 month scan, but don't get results until the 28th.
    Needless to say, I feel very lucky.
    Good Luck, my thoughts are with you!
    Medi

    Thanks medi_2
    You have allayed most of my concerns. I was sort of blown away at the thought of 3 consecutive days of chemo and I imagined I would end up out of commission for one or 2 days afterwards. losing just 3 days every 3 weeks is doable! Good luck with your results..please let me know how you make out.
    jynxy
  • pkaz53
    pkaz53 Member Posts: 84
    #4
    jynxy said:

    Thanks medi_2
    You have allayed most of my concerns. I was sort of blown away at the thought of 3 consecutive days of chemo and I imagined I would end up out of commission for one or 2 days afterwards. losing just 3 days every 3 weeks is doable! Good luck with your results..please let me know how you make out.
    jynxy

    jynxy
    I had the same treatment that Medi had, the first 'round' was not bad, yea I can do this- it gets a little tougher as you go on --lots of fatigue,-- hang in there all my hopes and prayers
    Paul.
  • Sunshine 66
    Sunshine 66 Member Posts: 9
    #5
    pkaz53 said:

    jynxy
    I had the same treatment that Medi had, the first 'round' was not bad, yea I can do this- it gets a little tougher as you go on --lots of fatigue,-- hang in there all my hopes and prayers
    Paul.

    Hi Medi 2
    I have read some of your post about the PCI that you had in July 2009. I alo have very limited sclc (stage# 1 ) If you were staging ! My Dr. said it hadnt been there long !It is in my bronchial tube ! I have heard that is where it first starts out ! It has'nt spread anywhere else. I have had chemo & rad to bonchical tube. Now I am debating the big decision about PCI ? I just had an MRI done on Dec. 29 2009 on my brain & it came back still clear of any mets !I finished my chemo the first week of august 2009. So that is over 5 months ago.
    What if there isn't any brain mets there & I wait for a couple of mounts to have another MRI ?
    Or am I taking a chance of making the wrong decision ? Could you please let me know, did you have any brain mets show up after you had PCI ? And how are your side affects from it now ?
    How long did it take for your hair to start growing back in. And did it all grow back in ?I know that after I had chemo it has taken 5 months to grow an inch or two.I was just wondering if it would be about the same amount of time or sooner ? I need to let my Rad DR. know tomorrow or as soon as possible about the PCI ? Thank you for any help you can give me !
  • medi_2
    medi_2 Member Posts: 505 Member
    #6
    Sunshine 66 said:

    Hi Medi 2
    I have read some of your post about the PCI that you had in July 2009. I alo have very limited sclc (stage# 1 ) If you were staging ! My Dr. said it hadnt been there long !It is in my bronchial tube ! I have heard that is where it first starts out ! It has'nt spread anywhere else. I have had chemo & rad to bonchical tube. Now I am debating the big decision about PCI ? I just had an MRI done on Dec. 29 2009 on my brain & it came back still clear of any mets !I finished my chemo the first week of august 2009. So that is over 5 months ago.
    What if there isn't any brain mets there & I wait for a couple of mounts to have another MRI ?
    Or am I taking a chance of making the wrong decision ? Could you please let me know, did you have any brain mets show up after you had PCI ? And how are your side affects from it now ?
    How long did it take for your hair to start growing back in. And did it all grow back in ?I know that after I had chemo it has taken 5 months to grow an inch or two.I was just wondering if it would be about the same amount of time or sooner ? I need to let my Rad DR. know tomorrow or as soon as possible about the PCI ? Thank you for any help you can give me !

    Hullo!
    Hi Sunshine! Hmmmm, the decision about PCI: I had a CAT, PET and MRI before I started any treatment of the tumor. My brain and body were clear of any cancer except for the tumor and treatment started immediately. I had a few CAT scans after the treatment and the tumor was a pinpoint, so I was declared a 'complete response' patient. It was then that they brought up the evil PCI. Yuk, sounds awful doesn't it. I didn't care for the idea, but my Radiation Oncologist told me that it would cut my chances of developing brain cancer in the future 50% and (in her words); "Honey, compared to brain cancer the PCI is a walk in the park". ;)
    Good enough for me. As to my brain functions, she said that maybe for awhile what took me 10 seconds to remember would take me 25. True enough. As to hair, well I had grown a nice full head of it (see my pic) and was sorry to see it go but such is life...it took alot longer to come back than it did after chemo. It started coming back after 3 months. Pain in the butt I know, but then again, so is cancer. My hair looks just like it did before...my only problem is: should I dye it black? or black with white tips? haha. or maybe just white? Right now it is the color of a steel filing cabinet. Anyway, back to my story, I never had a follow up MRI after the PCI because there was nothing there to begin with. They will probably order one somewhere down the road. I can't tell you to do it or not: it's a very personal thing, but I agree with the Soccer guy, the technology is out there to help us, we should take advantage of it. And am I any different now? Don't know, I was always a little crazy anyway...;0.
    Good Luck to you Sunshine! Let me know what happens!
    Medi
  • mtngirl
    mtngirl Member Posts: 2
    #7
    medi_2 said:

    Hi jynxy!
    My lung small cell was limited also. There was one tumor and it hadn't spread so they treated it very aggresively. I had 4 'rounds' of chemo and 33 days of radiation. The chemo sessions were 3 days in a row, every three weeks. The Doc. tested my blood before each 3 day session and if he had to, he adjusted dosage (cistplatin is heck on your kidneys). I never missed work, the anti-nausea iv was awesome and I started off healthy. I _did_ go to bed at 7 or 8 each night though ;), I was kind of tired...I had a complete response and have just had my 8 month scan, but don't get results until the 28th.
    Needless to say, I feel very lucky.
    Good Luck, my thoughts are with you!
    Medi

    Hi
    I am starting my 3rd round of chemo for limited, 3 day sessions for 5 or maybe 6 rounds. I am also getting radiation for 30 days..(chest area) with side effects........but after I finish my chemo i will be getting 15 brain radiations.........did you have to do that. My docs say that cells have to be a certain size to detect and with sc it could be in the brain and scan would not pick it up......they are doing this as precautionary measure. The brain radiation scares me............doing chemo and rad. totally exhausts me, plus a i have a shot to raise my wbc after end of 3 day chemo.....that puts me down for 2 days due to bone pain....I feel blessed that this was caught by accident and very early.......only 2 centimeters........but im still scared.......
  • mtngirl
    mtngirl Member Posts: 2
    #8
    medi_2 said:

    Hullo!
    Hi Sunshine! Hmmmm, the decision about PCI: I had a CAT, PET and MRI before I started any treatment of the tumor. My brain and body were clear of any cancer except for the tumor and treatment started immediately. I had a few CAT scans after the treatment and the tumor was a pinpoint, so I was declared a 'complete response' patient. It was then that they brought up the evil PCI. Yuk, sounds awful doesn't it. I didn't care for the idea, but my Radiation Oncologist told me that it would cut my chances of developing brain cancer in the future 50% and (in her words); "Honey, compared to brain cancer the PCI is a walk in the park". ;)
    Good enough for me. As to my brain functions, she said that maybe for awhile what took me 10 seconds to remember would take me 25. True enough. As to hair, well I had grown a nice full head of it (see my pic) and was sorry to see it go but such is life...it took alot longer to come back than it did after chemo. It started coming back after 3 months. Pain in the butt I know, but then again, so is cancer. My hair looks just like it did before...my only problem is: should I dye it black? or black with white tips? haha. or maybe just white? Right now it is the color of a steel filing cabinet. Anyway, back to my story, I never had a follow up MRI after the PCI because there was nothing there to begin with. They will probably order one somewhere down the road. I can't tell you to do it or not: it's a very personal thing, but I agree with the Soccer guy, the technology is out there to help us, we should take advantage of it. And am I any different now? Don't know, I was always a little crazy anyway...;0.
    Good Luck to you Sunshine! Let me know what happens!
    Medi

    PCI
    What is PCI? I have not heard taht before. Thanks!
  • Sunshine 66
    Sunshine 66 Member Posts: 9
    #9
    mtngirl said:

    Hi
    I am starting my 3rd round of chemo for limited, 3 day sessions for 5 or maybe 6 rounds. I am also getting radiation for 30 days..(chest area) with side effects........but after I finish my chemo i will be getting 15 brain radiations.........did you have to do that. My docs say that cells have to be a certain size to detect and with sc it could be in the brain and scan would not pick it up......they are doing this as precautionary measure. The brain radiation scares me............doing chemo and rad. totally exhausts me, plus a i have a shot to raise my wbc after end of 3 day chemo.....that puts me down for 2 days due to bone pain....I feel blessed that this was caught by accident and very early.......only 2 centimeters........but im still scared.......

    Medi 2 !
    Hello, I just wanted to get back to you & let you know that I did alot of research about the PCI. I also asked my family for their opinion. I really wanted to thank you for sharing your experience with me , it helped alot ! Ialso went to church & asked God to point me in the right direction & I decided to go ahead & do it !!! It is a very scary decision to have to make & you are the only one who can do it !!!! I went to the dr. on friday 1/16/10 & asked if they could just make up the mask while I was trying to make up my mind ? I told them that I would have an answer fo them on Monday ! The Dr. office called & Isaid yes & I started my first treatment on tuesday 1/19/10 ! I wrote out a lenghty post a over the weekend & when I pit out & I ressed post comment it just disappeared!! I stayed up till 1 oclock in the morning writing it out & I got so upset that I havent been back to this sit since then ! This is the second time this has happened to me & I reported it the first time & they said they couldn't find it ! This time they didn't even say anything! Hey, I asked how much radiation they were going to use on me the very first day that I went in for my treatment & the radation tech told me my treatment would be 2oo x 15 for a total of 3000. She said at first she didnt know how much hairloss I might have with the treatment being low (200) ! She said I would have to ask my Dr.
    Was your treatment 200 or was it higher ? I wonder if I could have a (Miracle )7 I wouldn't lose my hair ? I guess I'll find out in about 4 more treatments !! From what I've read, your hair starts falling out after the second week of radation ! Is that when yours fell out ? I'll let you know if there is a rainbow at the end of this storm !! ha ha
    I saw my Dr. yesterday & he told me that I made a very wise decision to do the PCI ! That I have taken all the steps for a cure ! I was debating about what if there isn't any cancer cells up there ? Am I putting my brain through all this for nothing ? Well, I guess we will never know ! At least I can sit back & relax , knowing that I did everything that I could possibly do to try to survive this & spend as long as I can on this earth with my daughter & two grandsons & boyfriend!!!
  • djomjo
    djomjo Member Posts: 7
    #10
    medi_2 said:

    Hi jynxy!
    My lung small cell was limited also. There was one tumor and it hadn't spread so they treated it very aggresively. I had 4 'rounds' of chemo and 33 days of radiation. The chemo sessions were 3 days in a row, every three weeks. The Doc. tested my blood before each 3 day session and if he had to, he adjusted dosage (cistplatin is heck on your kidneys). I never missed work, the anti-nausea iv was awesome and I started off healthy. I _did_ go to bed at 7 or 8 each night though ;), I was kind of tired...I had a complete response and have just had my 8 month scan, but don't get results until the 28th.
    Needless to say, I feel very lucky.
    Good Luck, my thoughts are with you!
    Medi

    my brother just got diagnosed with limited small cell
    Can you just give me some insight on how things are going for you? My brother's doctors told him (Feb 1, 2011)he can't return to work until after the treatments. Did you drive yourself to the radiation treatments? I know he can't for the chemo since they premedicate him with Benadryl and such. When were you diagnosed? I'm honestly so scared. I can't sleep, eating habits affected too. I have no patience with my kids. I think it's just the unknown. And seriously the statistics out there scare me to death.
  • medi_2
    medi_2 Member Posts: 505 Member
    #11
    djomjo said:

    my brother just got diagnosed with limited small cell
    Can you just give me some insight on how things are going for you? My brother's doctors told him (Feb 1, 2011)he can't return to work until after the treatments. Did you drive yourself to the radiation treatments? I know he can't for the chemo since they premedicate him with Benadryl and such. When were you diagnosed? I'm honestly so scared. I can't sleep, eating habits affected too. I have no patience with my kids. I think it's just the unknown. And seriously the statistics out there scare me to death.

    Hello!
    I drove everywhere myself. I had a radiation appt. every morning at 7:30 before work. It took awhile for my hair to fall out and a longer time for it to come back. Oh well. After the treatments are over you may get side-effects but usually your doc can help you with those. You can do it! ;) Phooey on statistics; everyone is different...just like snowflakes...and kids try your patience anyways; it's part of their job ;).
    Cheers!
    Medi
  • medi_2
    medi_2 Member Posts: 505 Member
    #12
    Sunshine 66 said:

    Medi 2 !
    Hello, I just wanted to get back to you & let you know that I did alot of research about the PCI. I also asked my family for their opinion. I really wanted to thank you for sharing your experience with me , it helped alot ! Ialso went to church & asked God to point me in the right direction & I decided to go ahead & do it !!! It is a very scary decision to have to make & you are the only one who can do it !!!! I went to the dr. on friday 1/16/10 & asked if they could just make up the mask while I was trying to make up my mind ? I told them that I would have an answer fo them on Monday ! The Dr. office called & Isaid yes & I started my first treatment on tuesday 1/19/10 ! I wrote out a lenghty post a over the weekend & when I pit out & I ressed post comment it just disappeared!! I stayed up till 1 oclock in the morning writing it out & I got so upset that I havent been back to this sit since then ! This is the second time this has happened to me & I reported it the first time & they said they couldn't find it ! This time they didn't even say anything! Hey, I asked how much radiation they were going to use on me the very first day that I went in for my treatment & the radation tech told me my treatment would be 2oo x 15 for a total of 3000. She said at first she didnt know how much hairloss I might have with the treatment being low (200) ! She said I would have to ask my Dr.
    Was your treatment 200 or was it higher ? I wonder if I could have a (Miracle )7 I wouldn't lose my hair ? I guess I'll find out in about 4 more treatments !! From what I've read, your hair starts falling out after the second week of radation ! Is that when yours fell out ? I'll let you know if there is a rainbow at the end of this storm !! ha ha
    I saw my Dr. yesterday & he told me that I made a very wise decision to do the PCI ! That I have taken all the steps for a cure ! I was debating about what if there isn't any cancer cells up there ? Am I putting my brain through all this for nothing ? Well, I guess we will never know ! At least I can sit back & relax , knowing that I did everything that I could possibly do to try to survive this & spend as long as I can on this earth with my daughter & two grandsons & boyfriend!!!

    Hi Sunshine!
    I'm glad you are happy with your decision! I don't know what my radiation numbers were, I didn't check. My hair took awhile to fall out but I have heard of people whose hair doesn't fall out at all...
    Take care of yourself and thanks for the update.
    CHeers!
    Medi
  • djomjo
    djomjo Member Posts: 7
    #13
    medi_2 said:

    Hi Sunshine!
    I'm glad you are happy with your decision! I don't know what my radiation numbers were, I didn't check. My hair took awhile to fall out but I have heard of people whose hair doesn't fall out at all...
    Take care of yourself and thanks for the update.
    CHeers!
    Medi

    my brother just got
    my brother just got diagnosed with limited small cell
    Can you just give me some insight on how things are going for you? My brother's doctors told him (Feb 1, 2011)he can't return to work until after the treatments. Did you drive yourself to the radiation treatments? I know he can't for the chemo since they premedicate him with Benadryl and such. When were you diagnosed? I'm honestly so scared. I can't sleep, eating habits affected too. I have no patience with my kids. I think it's just the unknown. And seriously the statistics out there scare me to death.
  • djomjo
    djomjo Member Posts: 7
    #14
    medi_2 said:

    Hello!
    I drove everywhere myself. I had a radiation appt. every morning at 7:30 before work. It took awhile for my hair to fall out and a longer time for it to come back. Oh well. After the treatments are over you may get side-effects but usually your doc can help you with those. You can do it! ;) Phooey on statistics; everyone is different...just like snowflakes...and kids try your patience anyways; it's part of their job ;).
    Cheers!
    Medi

    did you have radiation and
    did you have radiation and chemotherapy? And if you don't mind me asking.....what's your age and your general state of health when you were diagnosed? My brother is 46 and other than the smoking and now this,,,,he's healthy. Did you quit smoking or were you one of the ones who never smoked? When were you diagnosed? I see you started here Aug 2009. I'm so scared for my brother and for what he's about to go through. He's healthy enough to argue about going back to work but actually the doctor is advising he doesn't go back until after treatments. It'd be nice if he could at least go part time. thanks for re posting. That lifted my spirits when you said PHOOEY on statistics!

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