My dad has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 small cell lung cancer. He has an 11.5cm tumour in his lung. so far we know the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and the liver. He is not very well he has lost his voice, doesn’t have much appetite, can’t walk very far. He is either in bed or on the sofa all day and night. He feels very weak and tired constantly. The treatment being offered is chemo and immunotherapy. I’ve been told with treatment he may have 6-9months without it he would have less. My main questions are is it worth putting him through the treatment? He would have to travel from Essex to st Barts hospital also he would have to go on his own which is really worrying him. Is there anyone who has had stage 4 small cell that has survived much longer than predicted? Any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks.
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LouG83
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They will always have to give you the words odds as they don’t know how your Dad will respond to treatment. Everyone is different. Did they give any better statistics? Is the intent with treatment to shrink the tumour? I don’t know what ones they are using but I had great results after 8 rounds and didn’t have any side effects until the 8th round. Wishing you and your dad all the best. Xxx
Thank you for your reply. I believe the aim is to shrink the tumour so that they can prolong his life and hopefully get him feeling a bit stronger and better than he is now. The chemo drugs would be a combo of carboplatin and etoposide. The immunotherapy drug would be atezolizumab.
It's a personal choice, I wish you all the very best, Immunotherapy is a game changer for lung cancer so I hope it works for him if you go ahead with treatment xx
Hi Lou I'm on the same drugs as your father and this is my first chemotherapy. My next in 10days my tumour is quite large on the lung bi was was told the aim is to really shrink the tumour and a course of radiation which forms a crust round the tumour that's stops it from starting off again and it's there to help prolong your care and life which can only bee good. I have every faith in my treatment and knowing I have a great team gives me encouragement and hope. Which I pass on to everyone suffering with this horrible disease. Keep going. I was chatting to someone the other day and 8yeR later still in a good place. Sending hugs to you all.
Can’t offer advice but sending you a big virtual hug & my very best wishes. Be kind to yourself so you can support your Dad through this...give him lots of love xxx
Nobody knows how well the cancer will react but I know small cell is very reactive to chemotherapy.
One of us is allowed into the consultations with my dad so I always go with him. We can’t sit with him when he has his chemotherapy or immunotherapy or radiation treatment but the nurses are all lovely and we take him and pick him up.
My dad felt a lot better after starting chemotherapy and thankfully he never had any nausea or vomiting and has put the weight back on that he lost before he started treatment.
Sending prayers for your dad and love snd hugs to you both xxx
Hi there my husband has advanced lung cancer with liver mets. He had 2 sessions of chemo and if I had known how badly it would affect him, I would not have put him through it. However, people react differently and it is a personal choice. If I had to make that decision again , I would have gone for quality of life.
Thank you everyone for your replies. There is so many unknowns it’s hard to know what to do for the best. As has already been said everyone reacts differently. I will respect my dads decision whatever he wants to do. If he goes ahead me and my husband are going to take him and pick him up, so that should at least make it a bit better. I think my dad wants to give it a try and see what happens. I’m just worried because he is already so fragile. We just need to get through each day the best we can. X
Try making your dad some cancer fighting smoothies there’s recipes online that include lots of greens, kale, broccoli and turmeric etc i avoid processed sugar and have changed my diet to fight the cancer
Hello I’ve heard combining Chemo and immunotherapy is really affective I have nsclc and was given 9 months to 2 years to live in autumn 2018 I had immunotherapy til Oct 2020 and have been stable my advice would be give it a go
My partner was diagnosed in Aug 2019 non small cell carcinoma spread to liver lymph adrenal and brain..he had immunotherapy then radiotherapy but since march 2020 no treatment...he is very fatigued poor appetite somedays just stays in his pyjamas ..wont even walk around the garden..x
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