Already a member? Sign in
What - Inspire is a place where you can connect with people who share your health concerns and find information and advice in groups sponsored by organizations you know and trust.
Why - As a member you can use Inspire to let friends and family know how you're doing, contact others who share your health concerns, receive personalized updates and information about participating in surveys and clinical trials, and more.
How - Joining Inspire is completely free and usually takes less than a minute. Join now!
So with multiple bulky mets in the mediastinum including subcarinal and on both sides of the trachea --where do I fall on the new classification system? Am I still IIIB or have I gone to IV? Not that it makes any difference...just curious.
I would say a stage iV. The treatment will be the same. Good luck, and God bless.
Sandy
Hate to say it, but I agree with Sandy. Please take care, JC
It doesn't come as a real surprise. When I was diagnosed it was inoperable IIIa--I wondered what the difference was between that and IIIb or that and IV. Did the reclassifications do away with IIIb? The good news is that I remain pretty much asymptomatic and feel fine.
Dear Lucca,
That is the best news you can get. I think the 3B was for a wet 3B meaning pleural effusion. This was why they changed it, I do think you can still be a 3B, only if the plerual effusion is not present? Still not really sure though. but if you have tumors outside of the lung wall, and it has spread to other areas the I was under the impression it was a stage lV. No expert by any means though.
As long as you feel good, this is what counts, anyone can say you are a stage 1 or a stage 3, but what happens to you, and your body is the real concern. If you feel good, maybe you will stay that way, lets pray for it.
I find for me lately, By me being in denial, it is the best I have felt.I still wish no doctor ever told me I had an inoperable cancer that was incurable.I really don't think I personally needed to hear that. God bless Sandy
There's plenty of pleural effusion--since the radiation last year. I don't want to offend. I don't doubt your good intentions or your sincerity, but to whom should I pray to stay feeling well? The God who gave me cancer? Actually I don't pray much at all these days--if there is a God who is micromanaging us all, I'm fed up with him on many counts--not just my little problems. I've already been "blessed" with Stage IV (or whatever).
Hi Lucca, your frustration with God is completely understandable. I don't blame you for one second. Its only natural to ask ourselves why he would send us such a tough medical problem. Having said that, I will tell you that, based on what you have mentioned, the current thinking is that you are in Stage IIIB - unless the tumor has spread to, for example, another part of the lungs or the liver or the bones or heaven forbid, the brain - then its a stage IV. From your description it sounds as if you have what is known as "bulky" stage IIIB. The new thinking is that "bulky" stage IIIB is best treated (if the person can put up with the formidable side effects and tolerate it) with both chemotherapy and radiation therapy at the same time. I hope that this helps. Wishing you the best, "Doc".
Thanks, Doc. It's nice to be back to 3b (like it makes a difference!) I did have a combo of cisplatin/etopocide with concurrent radiation last summer. It gave me the pneumonitis but didn't do anything to the cancer. It's not my illness that makes me want to rant when prayer is mentioned. My beloved aunt is suffering from aggressive brain cancer right now. Her husband of many years lost his first wife to brain cancer. If this is God's work, I don't want to know him.
Add to the discussion