so many questions, new here.

Roisin_ said:

SCLC
For a friend -

I have sent you an email/private message, please check.

roisin
That's two posts you've made so far, two different people, same exact message, is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?
stayingcalm

stayingcalm said:

roisin
That's two posts you've made so far, two different people, same exact message, is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?
stayingcalm

Posts
Hi -

Its only regarding SCLC and I'm not too comfortable posting openly as this board can be read without registering, and I'm a little odd that way Thats all - no secrets, no ulterior motive, zilch.

Thank you and Happy New Year.

Cancer is
Cancer is an umbrella term for a lot of diseases that share certain traits. In every case the genes in the cells involved have gotten messed up so that the normal cellular blueprint is messed up. In every case the body's immune system which normally gets rid of messed up cells has missed these particular cells. The messed up cells grow and divide without the normal stops that cause normal cells to stop. The cells can grow into the normal tissue around them and interfere with their functions. They can also sometimes travel through the body(through the lymph system and sometimes the blood stream) and plant themselves in other spots where they can also cause trouble. Small cell lung cancer looks different under the microscope than non-small cell lung cancer. The cancer is named after the way it looks under the microscope. Doctors are working on labeling cancer by its genetic traits, but it is still more common for it to be labeled by how it looks on a slide. I have also read that small cell cancer tends to respond well to chemo. The growing cells may be faster growing, but because of that they take in the chemo better than the kind I have so it has a better response to the chemo. Some folks respond so well that they test out with NED (No Evidence of Disease). If this happens, rejoice! And yes, NED does happen. Oh, the cancer may resurface, but it might not and anyways, it takes time for it to grow back even if it does come back. Cancer does not grow overnight, not even fast growing cancers. Oncologists schedule visits and tests so that they can catch cancer and treat it promptly if and when it reoccurs. Oncology research grows by leaps and bounds every month, so the longer you live the more likely a better treatment (and hopefully a cure) might be found. Stage four cancer (when the cancer is found in a site far from the original location) is not considered curable. However, it is STILL TREATABLE. Even folks with stage 4 cancer are often NED. So don't give up hope! The university teaching hospitals with cancer centers tend to be on the cutting edge. When you are facing a deadly disease, you need the best treatment you can get to. Sometimes that treatment is easier on the body. Sometimes it is tougher on the cancer. Sometimes it is both. Treatment research for cancer changes so rapidly that even a few months can make a lot of difference. My oncologist for breast cancer (I have lung cancer too) told me that I am about to go off the medicine I have been taking as a breast cancer preventitive for the last 5 years. But he wants me to come back anyways in June when a big study will decide whether it is best to continue treatment with this particular preventitive indefinately or stop after 5 years. He won't know for another 5 or 6 months. Stopping the meds for me is the current state of the art treatment but in a few more months that might change and he knows it. I point that out because any books in print even if they came out yesterday have been in the process of being printed for at least 2 years. That means the statistics and treatment plans they contain are already ancient history. Most of the books in my public library are over 5 years old. Much of the stuff on websites is also more than 6 months old as well. Some of those websites haven't been updated for years! I don't mean that it is all useless. But the stats just don't tell you what you want to know if you want to know how long your friend is going to live. And they can't. Your friend is an individual. Even if the "stats" were perfectly up to date and said that she had a 1 out of a 100 chance of living 10 years, whose to say she wouldn't be the 1 that they were talking about? Stats can only describe groups, not an individual like your friend. So get her to the best treatment center you can get to and help her find the best doctor she can get on her team. It may be wise to make wills and other final arrangements in case the worst happens, but it is also wise to hope for the best. Good luck!

cabbott said:

Cancer is
Cancer is an umbrella term for a lot of diseases that share certain traits. In every case the genes in the cells involved have gotten messed up so that the normal cellular blueprint is messed up. In every case the body's immune system which normally gets rid of messed up cells has missed these particular cells. The messed up cells grow and divide without the normal stops that cause normal cells to stop. The cells can grow into the normal tissue around them and interfere with their functions. They can also sometimes travel through the body(through the lymph system and sometimes the blood stream) and plant themselves in other spots where they can also cause trouble. Small cell lung cancer looks different under the microscope than non-small cell lung cancer. The cancer is named after the way it looks under the microscope. Doctors are working on labeling cancer by its genetic traits, but it is still more common for it to be labeled by how it looks on a slide. I have also read that small cell cancer tends to respond well to chemo. The growing cells may be faster growing, but because of that they take in the chemo better than the kind I have so it has a better response to the chemo. Some folks respond so well that they test out with NED (No Evidence of Disease). If this happens, rejoice! And yes, NED does happen. Oh, the cancer may resurface, but it might not and anyways, it takes time for it to grow back even if it does come back. Cancer does not grow overnight, not even fast growing cancers. Oncologists schedule visits and tests so that they can catch cancer and treat it promptly if and when it reoccurs. Oncology research grows by leaps and bounds every month, so the longer you live the more likely a better treatment (and hopefully a cure) might be found. Stage four cancer (when the cancer is found in a site far from the original location) is not considered curable. However, it is STILL TREATABLE. Even folks with stage 4 cancer are often NED. So don't give up hope! The university teaching hospitals with cancer centers tend to be on the cutting edge. When you are facing a deadly disease, you need the best treatment you can get to. Sometimes that treatment is easier on the body. Sometimes it is tougher on the cancer. Sometimes it is both. Treatment research for cancer changes so rapidly that even a few months can make a lot of difference. My oncologist for breast cancer (I have lung cancer too) told me that I am about to go off the medicine I have been taking as a breast cancer preventitive for the last 5 years. But he wants me to come back anyways in June when a big study will decide whether it is best to continue treatment with this particular preventitive indefinately or stop after 5 years. He won't know for another 5 or 6 months. Stopping the meds for me is the current state of the art treatment but in a few more months that might change and he knows it. I point that out because any books in print even if they came out yesterday have been in the process of being printed for at least 2 years. That means the statistics and treatment plans they contain are already ancient history. Most of the books in my public library are over 5 years old. Much of the stuff on websites is also more than 6 months old as well. Some of those websites haven't been updated for years! I don't mean that it is all useless. But the stats just don't tell you what you want to know if you want to know how long your friend is going to live. And they can't. Your friend is an individual. Even if the "stats" were perfectly up to date and said that she had a 1 out of a 100 chance of living 10 years, whose to say she wouldn't be the 1 that they were talking about? Stats can only describe groups, not an individual like your friend. So get her to the best treatment center you can get to and help her find the best doctor she can get on her team. It may be wise to make wills and other final arrangements in case the worst happens, but it is also wise to hope for the best. Good luck!

So many questions
Hi,Sorry your friend has joined our club..I was diagnosed with limited sm cell lung cancer 8/12/2010; I have completed 4 rounds of Cisplatin and etoposide; chest radiation twice a day for 3 weeks.Last CT scan on 12/29 shows no evidence of disease! I am presently doing 10 prophylactic brain irradiation txs,4 down 6 to go. Being a nurse I was devastated at small cell diagnosis,I've stopped reading the stats and concentrate on what I can do next,what is the next treatment after I finish the one I am on. There is not alot of research going on with sm cell. But I have a good team of doctors. They have me looking at a trial at Mem Sloane Kett,I live around Philadelphia. I found what works best for me is to take it one step(day) at a time. Positive attitude. Be careful who you listen to there is alot of fanatical guilters(its their way or no way).A dear nurse friend asked me if the odds are 85% fatality in 2-5 years who is to say YOU aren't in the 15% survival group! Positive thoughts and Good Luck. Mary Ann

I am a non small cell
I am a non small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer survivor. My tumor was not nearly as large as you speak of and was removable with surgery. I now live with 1/3 of my left lung and I do it quit well. It is not for you to understand treatment. It is up to your friend if they find enduring treatment worth doing. I myself was offered chemo after surgery and chose not to. Getting used to living on less of a lung took me almost 2 years of being out of breath constantly to only being out of breath if I exert myself. I did not choose optional chemo, because I didn't want to live that way. But I am the exception. I am 7 years cancer free. Most people are not that lucky. Going through chemo is a choice that for some reason your friend wants to do. It should be her choice and her choice alone. Most people are driven by people that love them to do things they really don't want to do. It is the job of friends to support them no matter what that is.

My step father at 75 had that type of cancer and it was located in the same area you said your friend has. They were not able to operate on it. He had to go through chemo and radiation. He lived to be 82 and at least 5 years out of 7 were of good quality. Approx. 2 years were spent in chemo, radiation and recovery. After that I think he died of old age. Don't know if any of this helped, but I just spoke with a man today who has chosen to not do chemo and radiation and having your friends and family behind you on any decision you make is key in improving the quality of what life you have left.
I wish you and your friend the best.

SCLC surgery, 2 year survivor as of 1/15/11
This is my first effort at relating my experience, please bear with me. 60 years old, 40 year smoker (quit the day they told me I had cancer, haven't smoked since). Diagnosed with SCLC January 15, 2009 from a routine physical & chest xray that I get every January. Lobectomy of upper left lung on Feb 4, 2009. Zero mets, tumor was @ the size of a quarter hiding behind a rib. They could barely biopsy it. I was six days in the hospital with some very caring people tending to me (only other hospital stay was being born). All the pain meds I needed eased everything but the constipation which lasted for a month. Fleets enemas from CVS solved that.

I was in the hospital 6 days, home with Oprah for 2 weeks and said to hell with this & went back to work. Did 4 rounds of chemo in APR-MAY-JUN. No sweat, hair got thin, face turned gray, pretty tired, never got sick. Did 15 brain irradiations in September. Would rather have had more chemo than getting my eggs scrambled every morning. Hair completely fell out this time, ears got scabby, head really itched. Hadn't worn a hat since Cub Scouts. Chemo & radiation were both preventive.

It is 2 years later and my ribs & back still bother me. Lat muscles on left side are shortened and they do cramp up, especially in the cold. Oncologist is very happy and tells me I am in remission and does not expect a further presenting as SCLC is very aggressive. It would be here by now if it was coming back.

My wife, God bless her, insisted that I go to a pulmonologist which I would recommend to anyone surviving lung cancer. The chemo fried some lung and I have idiopathic fibrosis but there is no trajectory to it. I go to rehab every M-W-F for exercise and all the O2 I can suck down. The REHAB IS EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL to recovering strength & stamina. I walk a treadmill for 20 minutes, stationary bicycle for 10-12, recumbent stairstepper for 20 minutes. When I started I was on all the lower settings. A year later and I am on the high settings.

I take the Target equivalent of Mucinex w/cough suppressant every morning, takes care of the coughing and gets the tubes cleaned out. I also use a Homedics vibrator that really shakes the sticky stuff loose. I recommend both.

When I was diagnosed, I did the usual internet research and found the same dismal statistics. I couldn't find anyone, anywhere that could relate a positive outcome. I think I owe it to tell some stranger somewhere to never give up, there is always hope. I expect to get my three score & ten or fifteen in. My wife and I are closer than ever after 34 years of marriage. Our faith in God is stronger than ever. We have experienced an inner peace during this trial that can only be a foreshadowing of what is to come. We pray together daily and always thank God for our blessings.

Gilhooley said:

SCLC surgery, 2 year survivor as of 1/15/11
This is my first effort at relating my experience, please bear with me. 60 years old, 40 year smoker (quit the day they told me I had cancer, haven't smoked since). Diagnosed with SCLC January 15, 2009 from a routine physical & chest xray that I get every January. Lobectomy of upper left lung on Feb 4, 2009. Zero mets, tumor was @ the size of a quarter hiding behind a rib. They could barely biopsy it. I was six days in the hospital with some very caring people tending to me (only other hospital stay was being born). All the pain meds I needed eased everything but the constipation which lasted for a month. Fleets enemas from CVS solved that.

I was in the hospital 6 days, home with Oprah for 2 weeks and said to hell with this & went back to work. Did 4 rounds of chemo in APR-MAY-JUN. No sweat, hair got thin, face turned gray, pretty tired, never got sick. Did 15 brain irradiations in September. Would rather have had more chemo than getting my eggs scrambled every morning. Hair completely fell out this time, ears got scabby, head really itched. Hadn't worn a hat since Cub Scouts. Chemo & radiation were both preventive.

It is 2 years later and my ribs & back still bother me. Lat muscles on left side are shortened and they do cramp up, especially in the cold. Oncologist is very happy and tells me I am in remission and does not expect a further presenting as SCLC is very aggressive. It would be here by now if it was coming back.

My wife, God bless her, insisted that I go to a pulmonologist which I would recommend to anyone surviving lung cancer. The chemo fried some lung and I have idiopathic fibrosis but there is no trajectory to it. I go to rehab every M-W-F for exercise and all the O2 I can suck down. The REHAB IS EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL to recovering strength & stamina. I walk a treadmill for 20 minutes, stationary bicycle for 10-12, recumbent stairstepper for 20 minutes. When I started I was on all the lower settings. A year later and I am on the high settings.

I take the Target equivalent of Mucinex w/cough suppressant every morning, takes care of the coughing and gets the tubes cleaned out. I also use a Homedics vibrator that really shakes the sticky stuff loose. I recommend both.

When I was diagnosed, I did the usual internet research and found the same dismal statistics. I couldn't find anyone, anywhere that could relate a positive outcome. I think I owe it to tell some stranger somewhere to never give up, there is always hope. I expect to get my three score & ten or fifteen in. My wife and I are closer than ever after 34 years of marriage. Our faith in God is stronger than ever. We have experienced an inner peace during this trial that can only be a foreshadowing of what is to come. We pray together daily and always thank God for our blessings.

Thanks
I just finished the chemo,chest radiation and PCI for my limited sm cell.I am NED. It is so nice to hear good news from SmallCell survivors!!God bless you! I feel we have a duty to share positive outcomes to the newbies. I will keep you and yours in my prayers.Thanks!