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Hi everyone I am new to this group my husband has stage4 lung cancer with mets does not look good for him we were told 2 months without treatment maybe a year with he choose treatment we are into his 3rd round of chemo and have a ct scan friday to see if it is working he does chemo every 3 weeks just wondering if anyone else is going trough the same thing and how it worked for them
Exercise Cancer Surgery Back pain Coumadin Avastin Diabetes Pain Tarceva Carboplatin Palliative care Lung cancer Depression Stress
I had response I am sure right away. The first CT scan was in 2 months already showed marked reduction. I was just -- lucky I guess? Some do though, and then don't later. Some are the other way around. It depends partly on happening to get the right chemo with the right kind of tumor and that's not always really easy to tell.
Hello Sunshine: Has your husband looked for a clinical trial? or asked the Doc about one? We jumped at the chance to try one and so far.....it has worked. He has two more treatments w/the study drug and then they will take him off and use Avastin. He gets Avastin now along with carbo and the study drug. Does your husband feel sick after chemo? My husband takes a pill for three days starting the day of chemo (Emend) and it has worked wonders I think. His appetite is great! We have also changed our way of eating. Only healthy, nothing else.
Granny how many treatments did you get before they saw shrinkage, I am so scared right now i cant even discribe it all i can think is what if it didnt work what will we do? Your a strong lady !!!
Hi Patty, sorry it took so long to get back to you. Internet was down, My husband 's chemo was carbo/taxol/avastin he had 6 treatments at 3 weeks apart. At 3 weeks we had a ct scan that showed no change you hubby had done well to respond. we go back in 3 weeks for test to see what is going on. Avastin is suppose to cut off blood supply to the cancer. I think they try to get rid of the cancer or maybe they hope. My husbad still will not eat much and still has not regained his voice i dont understand this I got him refered to a throat dr to maybe he can tell me what is going on. Sorry to go on i think i talk to much lol I I wish your husband all the best in his treatments and will keep you all in my prayers. Please keep me posted
No, I never once thought to would try everything to get rid of the tumor. I was pretty much told at the start I was palliative care only.
Avastin I was told works by cutting off the blood supply to the tumor. It is not considered a chemo. It also is given every 2 weeks maximum, and is sometimes used with tarceva or another agent as long-term stabilizing.
I was given the 'gold standard' of carbo/taxol and avastin to start, then avastin only (after no evidence of disease) after 6 months -- November through January when stopped avastin due o what we thought were mets in the C-spine (but apparently weren't). We never went back to anything until this recent fiasco which uncovers the hidden brain tumor (which means I was never actually in remission) which was easier to irradicate than anything else.
I am on the fence right now about adding avastin to the mix, think at the least I'll wait a while after the swelling from the brain mets is 100% gone.
Hi! Can I ask you what chemo treatments you were given? My husbands diagnosis sounds quite similar to yours. The tumor has been dying from the inside out (necrosis?) and the lymph nodes have shrunk to about 50% the size they were. He has been in a clinical trial and has two more rounds of chemo left on that, then they said Avastin. We were also told Avastin would not shrink the tumor but hold it at bay. Is this correct? I am confused by this. I thought they would try everything to get rid of the tumor (like you).
Hi gig, so sorry for your mom and you & your family it is a very sad thing to watch. My husband has finished his 6 treatments 2 weeks ago i am praying when we do test in 3 weeks we will see great improvement. as you see the chem is rough, he was only in the hospital 1 time for a lung infection so i feel blessed in that. how is your moms spirits? I try never to let my husband see me cry and upset thats hard all by its self. so be strong for your mom and pray really hard for her healing and your & her strength. i will keep you all in my prayers. i will be happy to give you my email if you like. My mom had cancer 9 years ago i was her caregiver to & I would do it all again if i had to take care. I was reading on the chem drugs that he was taking and it said astavin(misspelled) can cause bleeding in the intenstines might want to look into that
Hi Sunshine,
Mom was diagnosed 4/16/09 with stage IV NSCLC with MET. She had her first round Carboplatin/Taxol/Avastin on June 11th. In three weeks she has lost all muscle tone, is unable to drink large quantities, cannot eat, is in pain in abdomen which had swelled following first hospital stay 5/28 with 7 days of intravenous antibiotics, has had much back pain due to swelled pocket on her lumbar spine, and is so weak that it is difficult to keep the Faith and find the Hope...Until I found this site :~) Prayers to all
sunshine, hi darling i know that this might be much but if he is having a hard time eating its time to turn to the herb. marijuana it helps so much. it will help him eat, sleep with the sickness. and new study show that thc kills cancer cells. also the goji berrys are a drink u take in two shots a day if must u can force it down his throat. its so important to eat healthy and as organic as you can when u are fighting cancer. its the lifestyle change that beats the cancer with the help of chemo and radiation. believe me it works. you can get thc in pills, or even better you can make butter out of the herb and spread it over some veggies or toast. he will eat and feel better. u must fight to the fullest, and believe in the food. no one was getting cancer so not long ago than we started putting hormones and pest. on all the food. eating out of boxes and we suddenly forgot how important our body is. we need to put nothing but the best in it all the time. please try it will help i promise.
Hi Ollie, Thanks so much for your advice it was really good. Sadly to say we did get a second we went to Moffitt in Tampa Bay Chemo is his only treatment I am praying that after his 6th and last treatment we will see some shrinkage.I do try to get him to eat but he eats a little not nearly enough please keep us in your prays and thanks again
hi everyone has given you great support i just want to let you know that u should get a second opinion always and find the best group of doctors that will give him radiation and chemo at the same time. that means he has to get him self in great shape start eating raw veggies and fruits, dirk goji berry, acai, alove vera and lots of carrots. get a great juicer... pray and learn to manage his stress and fear. attitude is half the battel. it seems that everyone forgets to do non conventional therapy with conventional which is the most important to learn and know how to live with. statistics are wrong and old and most people that do non and conventional therapy are those that live with the cancer for many years cause they manage it. self healing is half the battle. it is important to have great doctors that are willing to fight with you. please look up varium its a miracle herb....
will be keeping you and yours in my prayers. i know He hears them and answers...he did mine, or at least so far he has. listen to folks here...they are right, only god knows. what i do know, is that you have been given a precious gift. a warning light that we all must face our mortality, and to cherish every moment with loved ones. even the hard ones. never stop asking the docs questions, they might get a bit tired of it, but thats too bad. its what you pay them for.
anyway, ive rambled too much already...just know you are part of a big family that cares a whole lot about you and your loved ones, so please keep us informed.
god bless,
deb
Sunshine,
Finding out I had lung cancer crushed me.
The decisions were difficult and important.
Some of the procedures were a near death experience.
It has been over two years.
I value every day.
Jim
Thanks so much for your kind words. We went for the results of the ct scan done on Friday the cancer has not grown but has not gotten any smaller but he said he has had 3 out of 6 treatments so we will stay on the same course. Blood pressure was 68/52 was really weak so he hydrated him he feels better this afternoon. I think the hardest part is watching my strong husband get so weak and frail. We will fight till the end.My mom has to have surgery Thursday she has a clogged vein in her neck i can not spell it but it is the main one to the brain but she has beat cancer 2 times and i am sure she will beat this. I found out today i have to have a biospy on my thyroid the 13th so when it rains it pours so keep us all in your thoughts and prayers I really do not have time to be sick now lol thank you all for your replies they really me a great deal to me in our journey.
Hi,
First if you haven't gotten a second opinion - GET ONE!!! Even if you are happy with your care - get a second opinion!!!! It can save your husbands life.
Second, ask about Tarceva and other genetic specific treatments - demand a test for EGFR test!
While my Mom lost her battle - she was dx just a year ago - I now know that there is HOPE, POSSIBILITY and new treatments around every corner even stage IV -
Blessings!
We are not born with an expiration date stamped on our bottoms! The docs do not know. "Many" things factor into this... ATTITUDE is a major factor. My husband was diagnosed Aug 08 with NSCLC adinocarcinoma of the right lung with mets to pelvic bone, spine, ribs, and his brain= stage 4. It was very scary at first, so unexpected. Our doc is at UNC in Chapel Hill NC. He told us that he could not give us a stat!! (Love him). He did say that there is a new drug, Tarceva, which works great in 'never smokers'. So, Roy is in a clinical trail at UNC and you would never know that he has this disease. He feels okay and goes to work M-F. He does everything that he has always done. He has a wonderful attitude. He also told me that he doesn't want to know everything that is going on with him (he doesn't even know all the sites that the cancer was in) He says that it gets in the way of living!! I am a nurse and I know too much- so I went into a depression for the first 2 weeks until I finally turned it over to God and let go! Now I live like my husband. We love each and every day and play as often as we can and I take tons of pictures!!
We will be praying for you both. ((Hugs))
Bert
Sunshine:
I was diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC in March of this year after going to the doctor for what I thought was a mild case of walking pnuemonia. I know exactly what you and your husband are feeling and I wish neither of you had to experience that. The first two months after diagnosis were the worst for my husband and I. I had surgery immediately to remove the primary tumor from my right lung. I've been healthy all my life so all of this was like a terrible nightmare. I cried every day, sometimes several times a day.
I, too, felt defeated. Thankfully, my onc told me about this site. This was the first place I saw the light, the possibility of a favorable outcome and HOPE.
One of the members here, KatinNM, is a 10 year survivor. She was an inspiration to me and gave me excellent advice. The hardest part of this is learning to see past the statistics and other forms of negativity that make this fight more difficult than it has to be. Please don't listen to any of it! Do educate yourself about things you and your husband can do to help boost his immune system while he's being treated. Not everyone has to or chooses to go this route but I (for the 1st time in my life) also chose to go on an antidepressent when I was so depressed I couldn't eat. I couldn't even stand the smell of food. When you're fighting cancer, you need to eat. When you're depressed that's nearly impossible to do. I was put on an a/d that had increased appetite as a sife effect. Within a few days I felt better prepared to fight and I ate! Again, this is a very personal decision but this, exploring immune system boosting methods (supplements, etc.), excercise (I walk at a nearby park on sunny days to lift my spirits), and keeping in touch with friends and family have really helped me.
Anytime you need an ear, we're here for you!
I am so sorry i know how you feel i felt like a mac truck hit me my husband did not say anything for a few days then was asking me what the dr said i told him everything I also told him if he wanted to fight he had to fight i can not fight for you he choose to fight i tell him all the positive things i read he it seems to help him maybe your husband has to let it sink in tell him to fight good luck to you keep me posted
We are doing chemo only ever 3 weeks to. He had his 3rd round Tuesday and it has really kicked his butt this time. He had a ct scan Friday and we will have the results Tuesday. I refuse to belive he will not survive this. He retired in June and we had big plans for the golden years so he has to stick around for that. We have 8 grandkids who adore him and are not taking this very well our oldest is in Afganastan now in the army it is hard for him to be gone we raised him most of his life so i do not share most of the bad stuff with him.I do not want to distract him from his job he has to do. Keep us in your prayers.
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