 Extensive SCLC, new to board
Hello. Toward the end of April my wife was diagnosed with extensive SCLC with no mets. She's in her mid 60's and has been a smoker since she was 19. Apart from the effects of the disease she is a vibrant, self-assured, and insightful person.
The diagnosis came on the heels of an extended hospitalization, which was the result of a persistent back pain which sometimes radiated to her left abdomen. The onset was sudden, so much so that my wife believes she knows exactly what brought it on. After an initial aortic aneurysm repair which failed to stop the pain she was diagnosed with renal failure of the left kidney. A stent was put in place to repair the kidney as much as possible, but the pain persisted. She remained in the hospital for three weeks while the doctors attempted to find the source of the pain. Finally they concluded there was no physical cause for it and discharged her.
After about a week she went to another hospital recommended to her by a friend. The doctors there concluded the same thing, and sent her home with MSContin to manage the pain while the kidney healed. After about five days she complained of difficulty breathing. We went to the ER, where the doctors confirmed a slight reaction to the MSContin. They prescribed fentantyl and prepared to discharge her. Shortly after this the pulmonary doctor took a second look at her CT scan and concluded she might have LC. A subsequent bronchoscopy confirmed this.
My wife was convinced to undergo chemo. She had seen many of her friends die of different types of cancer, and she told me that she would never subject herself to such treatment. She knows that the side effects of chemo can be severely debilitating. She is of the opinion that, since there is no cure, there's no point in subjecting herself to such misery only for a little more life. Life is nothing, if it's not worth living.
Her family convinced her not to turn her back on her options. I told her that chemotherapy today is not what it was a few years ago, that the nausea and fatigue can be effectively controlled. However, neither of us believes in waging the big fight. We both recognize that is many instances the ministrations of others can only add to the distress of the patient. And with SCLC no matter how hard you fight the outcome will be the same.
So we spend our days and nights together, lying on the bed watching TV. Occasionally we talk. I try to comfort her as much as possible, getting her things and driving her to her appointments. Eventually we will ask Hospice to help us, and can only hope to comfort her when the time comes.
I came to this site while reading another board. That board is made up of posts from a very supportive group, and is an excellent source of anecdotal information. But I found the general tone of the posts to be somewhat too, well, homogenous. I think I might be coming from a different direction.
This board has been faulted as being too grim. As I read the posts here I think this is an ungenerous opinion. I find plenty of support among those who post here. Yet, LC is a grim business. And I value the opinions and experiences of those who can detail both the good as well as the bad of this miserable disease.
Hopefully I'll come away from this entire episode with a better understanding of the significance of small words of sympathy.
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