i’m struggling.. i’ve had petscan but not biopsy and i’m 95 percent cancer stage 4.. it’s in both lungs and lymph nodes. the biopsy is in a tricky position and i decided not to go through with it as i was scared to do chemo.. my aunt passed a year ago off the same as me and she did chemo. so.. all i’ve done is gone on cannabis oil and cut out sugar .. i’m struggling mentally.. i’m tired and have no motivation and feel like i’m just waiting to die 🤷♀️ i was diagnosed October 4th .. but it’s like i’m depressed and no effort to fight. just looking for others to chat to
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mizzrm
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Welcome to the forum and so sorry to hear you have lung cancer. It is not unusual the emotions you are feeling and hope you find support and encouragement from others in the forum.
As you live in Portugal, the health care system may be different to ours, it would be good for you to talk to your primary health advisor, medical doctor about how you are feeling and what support you can receive locally.
Meanwhile it may be helpful to look at this link from Macmillan support on cancer and the emotions: macmillan.org.uk/cancer-inf...
It is a personal decision not to have treatment and sorry to hear this is from the experience that your Aunt had with her chemotherapy. Not everyone has the same experience of chemotherapy , most side effects are managed well and do disappear once the course is finished. It may be that choosing not to have treatment can seem quite final and bound to impact on your emotions. Do talk to a health care professional about your anxieties , and there may be options if you decide to go for some treatment.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss anything, you can email ask the nurse at lungcancerhelp@roycastle.org.
So sorry to read of your investigations and also the loss of your aunt. There are over 200 types of cancer and even with lung cancer many different types and stages. Even at stage iv there are now many treatments available - and many are living much longer than even in recent years. I'm unsure what's offered in Portugal but know they are part of the ERS (European respiratory society) and as I was part of a European patient group about lung cancer, have linked here to information about the many types of lung cancer in your language.
Many patients have combinations of treatment - sometimes targeted therapies, immunotherapy,chemotherapy and radiotherapy. There are different chemotherapy agents too so often if one is causing too many side effects, another type may be offered.
Yes, it's scary - I remember being similarly scared when going through investigations at this time of year myself - I had my treatment on 16th December and fortunately able to have surgery (although keyhole didn't exist back then) so having had a 7cm tumour removed and half my left lung I was back at work and swimming by the March. That was in 2011. I've worked, been active ever since. I've been involved in lung cancer research since the end of 2013 and information you can still access online is outdated and inaccurate as many studies that have changed the standard treatment are buried away on obscure scientific journal websites without public access in some cases.
Always use trusted sites to seek information like Roy Castle lung cancer foundation which works hard to keep its information updated but as so many new treatments come along all the time, it's not always possible. However they do have nurse led helplines and support online for individuals or in groups - maybe something similar exists in your country where you might get more up to date information.
I know that many who decide against treatment for whatever their reason don't have such good outcomes and there is no evidence that cutting out sugar or other food groups or taking cannabis oil makes any difference.
I was 52 when diagnosed and a 48 yr old nurse who had been told she had less than 6 months to live with stage iv lung cancer encouraged me to get more involved - she got onto clinical trials then for her EGFR positive lung cancer and lived 4 years 4 months - those treatments have since been superseded by many more. She died in 2015 and since then there has been no end of new treatments and therapy combinations for lung cancer so it is not necessarily the bleak outlook it used to be but refusing treatment is likely to be a different situation.
At my first cancer conference in 2013 I met a young man who had terminal bowel cancer - he was 18 diagnosed at 17 - he died at 19 but used his time to help people understand the value of time and life and raised over £5million for the Teenage cancer trust - I thought ' I'm struggling to acknowledge the word 'cancer' and here is a teenager embracing all that he has left of life to live it right until the end' - it changed my perspective.
Whilst always a shock when diagnosed, I've certainly enriched my life in many ways and much more appreciative of life being precious than I ever was before.
This information may help you in the meantime. Have you tried seeking help via your doctor? There should be support to help explain what options there might be for you.
Hello there. Please don’t give up ! You are much too young. I am now a 7 year survivor, and I was estimated at stage 3 aged 65., and gently told it was terminal.There is no question in my mind that chemo followed by radiotherapy has given me these years. Yes, I felt tired during the process, but no terrible nausea at all. Based on my experience, I say HAVE IT, 100 %. X
My wife had cancer in Portugal 5 years ago. The treatment at the IPO oncology hospital in Porto was superb. She was totally cleared of cancer after 5 weeks of chemo and radiation.
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