the man ( woman) with a treatment plan says :

[mishamilo53]

Hi everyone  so I got my treatment plan at last …. Combined chemo ( carboplatin and paclitaxel )once a week / radio every day mon to fri for 6 weeks followed , if I’ve got the appropriate markers with immunotherapy as follow on … they said  it was a brutal regime but they are aiming for a curative outcome ( this was tempered with the high % of recurrences though ) so hope with one hand , downed with the other !!! Starts Halloween so I need a witch hat and stripey tights to wear ! much love Elly x

[Draigo]

Hi Elly a tough regime but sounds hopeful, stay strong. You definitely must have stripy tights! Xx

[mishamilo53 in reply to Draigo]

thank you Draigo , yes the striped tight hunt is on x

[JanetteR57]

Aiming for a curative outcome sounds really positive to me - they wouldn't suggest putting you through it if they weren't optimistic - plenty to have hope for in their words.... good luck with your treatment. It's 12 years yesterday since I turned up in A&E with what turned out to be a 7cm adenocarcinoma (non small cell lung cancer) - not everyone has recurrence - and I've had the privilege since becoming in lung cancer research of meeting many who survived longer than me - which it's easy to forget or be unaware of when we first start this roller coaster of a journey... take care

[mishamilo53 in reply to JanetteR57]

thanks Janette , I truly thought the only curative possibility was surgery to be honest hence my hesitation to fully engage in the full positive idea of it …..12 years though that’s amazing love and something to celebrate x

[JanetteR57 in reply to mishamilo53]

Treatments have changed considerably since my diagnosis - many are able to have curative intent treatment with radiotherapy like SABR (ablation) who may have been considered unfit for surgery previously. Immunotherapy and targeted agents have also been game changers for those who respond and the combination of different types of treatments rather than single treatment types has also changed the landscape beyond compare - I just wish those who research and publish studies would ensure their results/evidence were better in search engine optimisations and open access journals as many do not show up when googling so people keep only seeing outdated and inaccurate information. Trusted sites like lung cancer charities such as Roy Castle lung cancer foundation regularly update their information with input by clinicians and patient reviewers but sometimes treatments change too often to always be completely up to date with current practice..... if your clinicians are confident, I'd be leaping on that bandwagon too.... no magical spells or witches hat/broom required - just look after your general health and be as healthily active as you can be before treatment to prepare well. good luck.

[mishamilo53 in reply to JanetteR57]

thanks Janette , as always , so helpful and informative xx

[Elt79]

Curative is very positive! Guess this is going to be very demanding for you but the with possibility of cure and sure you’ll find the inner strength! Sending you positive thoughts! x

[mishamilo53 in reply to Elt79]

Thank you , I’m an anxious wreck I’ll be honest xx

[ginkgo]

Curative is VERY good news and I hope the treatment isn't too onerous for you. Worth it in the end so try to stay positive. It does help.

[mishamilo53 in reply to ginkgo]

thank you so much love , hope you’re doing ok ? X

[sassassas]

Hey mishamilo53 - how wonderful to read 'curative intent' ❤️

My husband (stage 4 NCSLC) had that chemo regime too. He had 4 cycles combined with immunotherapy and has since been on just the immunotherapy every 3 weeks. Can't lie, those 2 chemo drugs are a pretty tough combo, but he coped, as you all do, and it was actually not as brutal as we were expecting (easy for me to say, I know). It was definitely worth it as it knocked the tumours back pretty quickly.

Hope it all goes well. xx

[mishamilo53 in reply to sassassas]

thank you so much for your reply … I won’t pretend I’m not a bit nervous about the combined treatment but also determined to to give it my very best shot . Hope you and hubby are both coping …. What a palaver it all is hey? I’ve just been to have my radiotherapy mask made ….. crikey !!! That’s an experience ! My treatment starts Halloween so stripey tights and my mask I’ll look like Friday 13th !!!!! 😂

[sassassas in reply to mishamilo53]

I'm not surprised you're a bit nervous. Who wouldn't be...its all so daunting when you're 1st diagnosed.

It seems a lifetime ago that my husband got the shock news (it'll be 2 years in Feb). I'm not sure either of us coped over those early months, but 20 months on, our day-to-day lives are pretty much normal again. He has started counselling offered by Macmillan (via Bupa) and that's being really helpful, and he works really hard on his physical and mental health so he's in the best possible place should he need a different treatment plan.

Hope you get a positive result for your PDL / PDL1 markers too, Elly. The immuno drugs can be game-changing for improving the long-term outlook for advanced lung cancers. xx

[mishamilo53 in reply to sassassas]

thank you so much . I hope my markers enable immunotherapy also if I need it …. good to hear you and your hubby are regaining some normality …. It’s so hard to be normal during this isn’t it ? 🥰

[Ianhick]

Good to hear you've got a treatment plan in place. Whilst it's a tough regime, they are looking at a curative outcome which is really positive. Good luck for your treatment and the markers being good.

[mishamilo53]

thanks Ian good luck with your recovery and biopsy results . Keep us posted with your progress when you can x