Hi Friends- I am living full of life with Stage 4 lung cancer and was hoping to hear from others with a similiar diagnosis. I was diagnosed last October as a result of back pain. A base-of-the-spine tumor had developed and radiation eliminated the cancerous tumor. I completed 6- 6 week cycles of chemo. I also have many metastatic lymphnodes throughout my body but nothing creating problems. I am painfree but the fatique remains to the point that my activity level has decreased and my weight has skyrocketed. I went from 140 to 200lbs.

Since the cancer is dormant (my oncologist says that it is sleeping), and I'm painfree, I'm actually starting to think that I have been misdiagnosed. I'm also starting to feel guilty that I should be feeling this well despite a dire prognosis. Is there anyone out there who feels the same way? This is bothering me more than the cancer itself. Please, I welcome your feedback.

Hi-
Wow, I read your posting with much happiness that you are feeling great! oh, I would never feel guilty...enjoy life to the fullest! You have already been quite an ordeal having chemo and radiation so relax and let's hope and pray your cancer stays asleep forever while you run around and enjoy yourself.
I wish I could say my husband is feeling good, but not the case. I hope you come across someone else in your situation. I know there is a gal Pat would comes to the posting board once in a while who is cancer free.
Thanks for such a great posting...nice to hear some good news!
Kim

My God, don't feel guilty for feeling well. Don't know about mis-diagnosis, but would investigate the large weight gain to insure its not some type of edema problem. I to have gained 20 lbs in past couple of months, from 220 to 240, i'm under Radiation and Chemo now for NSCLC stage 1, 1A or something, but I had an echo cardiogram to rule out Pulmonary Hypertension which was negative. Weight gain will come with inactivity, but 80 lbs seems unreasonable. How are your legs, ankles extremities etc as far as water retention? I would pursue the issue of weight gain with the Doctors, it's great the big "C" is quiet, don't need any other problems. Be well and keep us up to date. Bill B

hi- i do understand what you are feeling. i was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer at the beginning of the year. except for a few pains in my back every now and then i feel really well. i had 3 weeks of radiation over the summer but no chemo. i did recently start to use supplemental oxygen, but not all the time. i use it when i ride my excercise bike and do strenuous stuff. otherwise my life is the same i have four kids and a husband that require my constant attention. instead of feeling guilty i feel blessed. i know it does seem strange im at stage 4 and still doing everything.
enjoy this time you have and maybe you are cancer free. i do believe in miracles. good luck to you.

Easyrun, I am so glad that you are in the position you are..........

My mom is in stage Iv...with brain mets. all went well with the tumor removal from her brain, and she is cancer free in the head........she had radiation in the head after the removal just as a precaution................

The tumor in her lung shrunk 30% after chemos........She will do 2 more and they will scan her again.

She is terribly fatigued at times. (depends on the cycle of her chemo)...BUT, (big BUT here)........she was atrophied a bit from the brain tumor, which put her body at a more restful state. She starts therapy on the 13th.

She is staying with me and my family. She cooks, sleeps, reads, talks on the phone, we take occasional walks, we run errands, grocery shop, and we even went to the cidar mill twice. She is limited as to how long and how much she can do. Alot has to do with the atrophy.

Question?

Did you have shrinkage? Or did it stay the same? How many chemos did you have? (I don't understand what a session from a line means)......

Why did you "stop" the chemo?

Ok, I would love to hear from you......

Is surgery an option....why, or why not?

((((((((((hugs)))))))))))

Angel

mabeg..........

can I ask why you never did chemo after a year diagnosis? You say you did radiation? Was wondering why they never opted to do that on my moms lung..........can you elaberate? Did you get shrinkage from the radiation?

Best wishes............

God Bless

Angel

easy run............

any info yet?

angel

Don't feel guilty...enjoy this time that you have been blessed with. Your story gives me hope for my dad and I hope one day he will enjoy the same as you do.

mabeg..........

can I ask why you never did chemo after a year diagnosis? You say you did radiation? Was wondering why they never opted to do that on my moms lung..........can you elaberate? Did you get shrinkage from the radiation?

Best wishes............

God Bless

Angel


Angel, I think the treatment depends on the patient. I am learning to accept this more and more as I go thru this journey with my father. He will be starting his 5th line of chemo treatments - been thru chemo 5x's every 21 days. Up to this point, he has not recieved radiation other to his head - as he has brain mets...as he had multiple tumors and was inoperable....but the doctor is now starting him on radiation to his chest today. He will under-go this treatment for the next 25 days. From what I know, they are giving him the additional treatments because the tumor in his lungs has responded well with the chemo, and this should help shrink the tumor more.. Unfortunately with this disease there is not a "one size fits all" when it comes to treatment. It would be so much easier to handle - for us - if we knew what to expect...I think not knowing is the scariest part for myself. I hope this helps - if you have any questions or need to talk please let me know
~Jeanie

Angel- I did receive chemotherapy, Cispaltin and Docetaxeral, 6x once every 3 wks. It was like taking me to the edge of death and then bringing me back. Very toxic, harsh- an absolute insult to the body. Fortunately, my oncologist felt I was fit enough to tolerate the combo. I pray to my higher power for this gift.

As mentioned in a previous posting, my cancer is sleeping. It is not expected to go away. I have made peace with this. I live each day in fullness. I remain grateful to be here in the presence of those who matter most to me- family, friends, casual acquaintance's, coworkers, and every face I cross paths with.

I'm truly, truly, grateful to all. To feel the expression of Love far exceeds any form of chemotherapy known to medicine. I pray that this is a feeling shared by everyone.

angel- i have a rare cancer called acc. what is in my lungs is metastasized from the original site. the radiation did help. i had 2 tumors closing off one of bronchial openings and after 3 weeks they were shrunk. chemo doesn't prove to be very effective with this cancer. surgery is the best option but not for me . they may try chemo a little further down the line to see if they can get some shrinkage. it is also a very slow growing cancer.

Jeannie............

Your story sounds like my moms. She also had the brain mets and underwent surgery and radiation for that. All is well...........cancer gone..........now we are dealing with her 4th chemo thursday. She actually is NOT handling this last chemo very well, and won't eat as of a few days ago. The dr's are going to talk to a panel and decide what to do, but they are going to do radiation on the chest most likely.

Can I ask if the radiation is called tomo (sp?)..........this is supposed to be farely new. Also, will they do radiation AND chemo on your dad? Or just the radiation?

How much did your dads tumor shrink? Did it shrink more after the first scan?

Thanks!

Angel

Angel, glad to hear your mom is responding well to the treatments. I think some treatments are worse then others - good and bad days. To be honest, I'm unsure what type of radiation he is recieving. No additional shrinking after the scan he recieved recently, but anything is better then nothing at this point:) We're keepin our fingers crossed on the radiation continues to shrink it. He will undergo both radiation and chemo this month. He has gone thru radiation in the past for his brain mets - and they responded well to the treatment.