My mother, who just turned 76, was just diagnosed with small cell carcioma. They are assuming it's from the lung, even though they haven't proved it yet, and even though she's never been a smoker. The small cell was found on biopsy of the femur.

I'm not sure where to start - maybe someone can direct me to the best web sites for info? I'm usually good at searching myself, but htere isn't much time this time. It took way too long to diagnose; the docs say on average people live only 2-4 months. Plus, so far she's too weak for chemotherapy. And the cancer pretty much destroyed the proxmial part of the femur; a few days ago an inpatient add pulled her too quickly - and it broke. She's scheduled for proximal femur replacement surgery (that's 1/2 a hip replacement surgery tomorrow - if she can be medically cleared. The morphine for the broken leg completely took away her apetite and she is even weaker with low albumin levels, electrolytes etc. If she has the surgery, by the time she recovers from it, there won't be any time left.

So, none of this looks good. We're obviously in despair; my mother knows the statistical prognosis (from me - none of her docs would admit it to her).
Any info appreciated.

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. My mom has just finished her first round of chemotherapy - she agreed to do it as a last effort, since she now has 3 PE's (blood clots) in her lung. They have hospitalized her in order to do the first round of chemo. The most we can expect from it is a reduction in the size of her tumor - which would ease her breathing. She has gone downhill rapidly, her doctors said she has a 50% chance of not surviving this hospital stay. She is extremely weak and confined to her hospital bed. Unfortunately, everything I have read about small cell cancer is discouraging. I spent a day on the computer reading medical journals and papers, I needed to make sure I understood the disease before speaking with her doctors, I needed to be sure I wasn't being lied to. She is fortunate to have some wonderful doctors (Massachusetts General Hospital). Wish I had something more encouraging to say. I will keep your mom in my prayers.

Well, My father has small cell for 13 omonths. He has had 2 rounds of raidation and 3 chemos. He went to Sloan Kettering on Friday and they told him of a chemo drug CPT-11. It is the new standard in Janpan.

You will be in my prayers! God Bless!

babs- hi thanks - had your father's cancer
metastasize to other cites, or was it "just" in the
lung? Any info on that new drug? (by the way my mother
was at sloane kettering for a week and hated it -
they misdiagnosed her as having multiple myeloma and then threw her out even though she was very sick. a different placedid the biopsy and found it to be small cell)

jody - sorry also about your mother. I agree with you that everything there is to read is pretty discourating. were the blood clots from the chemo?

My father's cancer was in his esophagus to start. He recieved chemo and VP-16 and Cisplatin and radiation. It had gone in to remission. Then at the next CT scan it was in his lymphnodes, he went thru radiation again. The next scan showed that it had moved to his liver and other places. He started topetecan scan showed it stabilezed the disease. The docotr wanted more reduction so he was switched to paxical and cabolplatin. He will get another scan in May. He says this is a tough one but so is he.

We have been on an emotional roller coaster, some good and some very bad. He is doing well and gaining weight. I believe in miracles. It has definately taught our family a lot about ourselves. It is a struggle every day.

I am sorry to hear about your loved one. I looked on the internet for CPT-11. I will look for the articles I printed out to tell you where to look. Also another site I belong to said Celebrex is not being tried to stop cancer from growing. My father got a prescription for that. I figured it coulded hurt.

There are people on this site who have survived sclc for years.

My sone threw up. I have to go.

Keep strong.

Babs -

the oncologist today said that in 2-3 weeks
my mother will be ready for chemotherapy,which I guess is better than what they said 3 weeks ago that she was not a candidate.

The 2 drugs he plans to start her on are etoposide and I think coblatin (the newer platinum drug - he said she is too old for the other one - cisplatin is it?). He also said as an option that they could just start her on etoposide since its lets toxic, and then add the other if they need to. One of them, I forget which, is toxic to the brain.

It sounds like your father and lots of other people on this list are tested with cat scans often to see where the cancer has spread - one of the disturbing things in this case, I think, is that they are not intending to do any scanning. His reasoning is that the treatment would not change anyway, and that its hard to find on cat scans since theyre not tumor masses. He's assuming the cancer always goes all over the body, and says if you pick pretty much any part of the body and look under a microscope, you'd see it.

Does this sound right? Seems to me in other small cell cancer, they look to see where it's spread even once they know its metastiszed. How will they know if she is responding to the chemotherapy if theyre not scanning?

Has your father been to sloane kettering all along? it looks like his treatment plan is different and seems to be on course. Too bad we had that bad experience there.