My husband has just been diagnosed wi... - The Roy Castle Lu...
My husband has just been diagnosed with sclc and it has spread to his liver. He starts chemo this week and I am worried re side effects.
Hi Maurina, really sorry to hear your news. We have a section on our website which will give you some information and advice on side effects of chemotherapy roycastle.org/lung-cancer/T... Hope this helps. Emma
Thank you Emma. We are in complete shock over the diagnosis as my husband has never smoked and the consultant said he has an aggressive neuroendocrine tumour and the liver biopsy showed it contained lung cells. He said the treatment was for sclc and they will be using carboplatin and etoposide. He was a fit man until1st April and it has taken from then until last week to get a diagnosis. I am too afraid to ask the prognosis and just hope that treatment will shrink the tumours and make him more comfortable.
God bless you.. I hope so much for you x
Tough break, I hope it all works out for the best.
My relative had carboplatin and etoposide. The carboplatin is delivered by IV. The etoposide by tablets at home, twice daily, for seven days. For the first couple of days she also had steroids. Overall she seemed to tolerate the regime with few side effects, although it is worth noting that those that do happen will get cumulatively worse with each cycle.
Obvious side effects are hair loss which starts a couple of weeks after the second cycle means that by the end of the second cycle he will be bald. Fatigue was also a problem. In my relative's case it affected an existing heart arrhythmia which meant that she got severe palpitations during the first week after finishing the etoposide. On the plus side she didn't get any metallic taste in her mouth, nor mouth ulcers - both of which another relative had with his leukaemia/lymphoma treatment. She did have dry skin and a rash, but this cleared up easily with a bit of hydrocortisone cream and some Doublebase moisturising gel.
I would say that having seen someone go through really nasty side effects with chemotherapy that the carboplatin/etoposide regime is a pussycat in comparison, although the cumulative nature means that by cycle four it can be quite difficult. My relative was all for stopping after the fourth cycle but was persuaded to have just one more and found the effects of that one almost impossible to cope with.
On the plus side there was a noticeable reduction in the tumour after just two weeks and by the end of the fourth cycle the tumour had shrunk by a massive amount. How that translates into prognosis is something that we are trying to find out right now.
Good luck.
Ed
xx
Just to add, that we were told the prognosis without the chemotherapy was a matter of weeks, and that untreated SCLC tumours can double in size in two weeks!
Dear Ed, thank you for the information. My husband is finding it hard to be positive and is quite depressed unfortunately. I am hoping that if he responds reasonably well to the treatment and if they manage to shrink the tumours he will feel a little brighter. I must admit he has deteriorated quite rapidly since the 1st April and up until then he had been a very fit man with no symptoms of anything amiss.
Thank you again
Maurina
Hi Maurina,
so sorry to hear your news. This isn't quite an answer to your question but it is important for me to say this too you. Its very rare for a non smoker to be diagnosed with sclc but not unheard of. Please try and stay postivive, steriods would help with appetite for your husband and lift his spirits. The gp may also prescribe an anti depressant.
What 'Edwardbear' said is quite right, sclc is agressive but it does resond very well to chemo! I met a man on holday last year who was given several weeks to live and was very fit and well 7 years later!!
The stats are based on old treatment regimes and are 5 years out of date, also everyone is different and the time scales they give you are just an average.
The most important thing is for hime to stay positive and keep as active as he can (chemo permitting) its the one thing the survivors have in common. There are people beating the odds all the time.
I hope that gives you some hope, let us know how you get on. Wishing you both all the best.
Love Lyn x
Dear Lyn
Thank you for your helpful comments
My husband started his intravenous chemo last Wednesday (just one day), and has had two days of oral etoposide capsules at home (8 at a time). I am giving him injections for 5 days for his immune system also. He now has 18 days break before the next course starts.
The steroids appear to have lifted his spirits a little and also helped his appetite. He has now finished the course of steroids and I hope the improvement stays for a little longer!
It is encouraging to read your positive comments because I have read so many depressing statistics.
Kind regards
Maurina
