My 78year old mum has recently been diagnosed with possible lung cancer, following a CT scan. After the results she has had stents fitted in each lung and a Biopsey. She received two letters on Saturday, one addressed to her for an appointment Biops y results and a second addressed to my mum's GP.
The letter addressed to her GP has us quite worried. The statement says probably lung cancer provisionally stage T4 N3 M1a. I have searched this code and it's not good.
We now have to wait four days to speak to the consultant which is going to be unbearable.
My question is if it is as bad as predicted what is my mum's prognosis? Please be honest. Also is there anyone we can talk to about the results any sooner. Can they talk to us over the phone? Thanks Steve
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grayson99
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Hi Grayson, I am sorry to hear about your mums prognosis, I am sure one of the Roy Castle team will assist with those letters and numbers, I would only be able to go on google.
The worst part is now believe it or not, the bit between you have cancer, then the appointment, then the treatment. It's easy to say stay positive, but in reality it is harder. Try and do some things together that are fun and a distraction as once there is a plan in place, it does make things alot easier to deal with.
I am sorry to hear your mum has been diagnosed with lung cancer. This will be a very difficult time for yourself and the whole family understandably you will all feel very anxious.
T4 N3 M1a refers to staging you say this is a provisional staging which might suggest not all the results are yet available. Staging is important as it refers to the size and spread of the cancer below I have added a link to cancer research UK page which explains staging
Before your appointment with the oncologist a MDT (Multi-disciplinary Team) meeting will be held where various Drs and health care professionals from all specialties discuss your mums case look at all her results and going forward make recommendations on what is the best treatment regime for her. It is unlikely the oncologist will want to commit to speaking to you until after the MDT.
As the previous reply said this time of waiting is very difficult and it is only natural to feel anxious about the upcoming appointment
Over the last few years there have been great improvements in lung cancer care with many new drugs offered as treatment regimes, this has greatly improved treatment outcomes.
For some people, it is helpful to know as much as they can about lung cancer which can reduce some of the unknown and the fear that it brings. This link will take you directly to our booklet on 'Managing your lung cancer diagnosis'
It explains the types and staging of lung cancer and potential treatment options.
All our information books can be found on this link, they range from the different treatments to living with lung cancer:
roycastle.org/help-and-supp...
We have a range of support services, from one to one support to online support groups through zoom , if you are interested in any of these you can register through this link:
There may be times that your emotions overwhelm you, they can be intense and then pass, there is some good advice on this from Macmillan support online:
If you are looking anything up online, please avoid Dr Google, often it can take you to pages out with the UK and information on treatments can be out of date or inaccurate stick to sites such as
If you would like to discuss anything at lungcancerhelp@roycastle.org, our free phone nurse led helpline number is 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600
Thanks for replying. Mum's been given 6 months. Wish I could say more but doesn't feel real at the minute. My mum has come to terms with it. Can't believe Doctors missed it. She had an xray 6 months ago and they said it was fluid on the lungs but nothing to worry about.
So very sorry to hear about your Mum and how devastating this must be for you all. You may all be still in a degree of shock, which is understandably a distressing and stressful time for everyone.
Everyone deals with this news in different ways, there can be a range of different emotions from anger, frustration, sadness, and emotions can be sudden and intense.
Some find it helpful to use the present time to make it as special as they can for their loved one and Ii you want to find answers as to how it was missed, you could ask to speak to either your Mums GP or oncologist.
I take it your mum has not been offered any treatment, or you could ask if there are any clinical trials available. This can be a personal decision, as many balance up the quality of life versus any extension to life.
Please feel free to contact ask the nurse to discuss further, either by email at lungcancerhelp@roycastle.org or our free phone nurse led helpline number on 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600
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