no more chemo for mom - Cancer: Lung Message Board

tandijac · 03-30-2007, 01:13 AM

hi, i went with my mom t the onco yesterday to get the results from her scans and xrays. she was diagnosed with stage4 NSCLC in September last year and underwent extensive chemo wich even landed her in hospital with an infection in january. The oncologist says that the cancer has not shrunk and has stayed the same and has said that no more chemo as it is pointless and will not help the cancer, this cancer is obiosly incurable, which i knew from when she was diagnosed last year, what i would like to know is wher does this leave us, i know she will have better qaulity of life now without the chemo, but what can we expect ?? i know that everyone is differant but i would just like to get some answeers or if others have been told the same thing

Janmarie2 · 03-30-2007, 01:02 PM

Sorry to hear that your mom's cancer has not shrunk. If it has stayed the same I take it that means it has not grown so isn't the chemo at least holding it stable? Has the doctor considered another chemo? Or adding Avastin to the chemo? Or how about Tarceva? Unless yoour mom's cancer has really spread and her quality of life is poor I would be pushing for trying avastin or tarceva. tarceva did not save my mom's life but it did buy her some great quality time that we are all thankful for. I know people that are NED from Tarceva and some from avastin as well. ( NED is No Evidence of Disease). If your mom wants to continue I think you should ask about both drugs if she is comfortable with stopping all treatment then it is her decision. It just seems odd as even after the 4th line chemo my mom's doctor was willing to try yet one more despite the fact she was told from day 1 any chemo was just to by time not save her life, it was my mom that decided she had had enough not the doctor. My mom was 82 your mom is much younger. With no treatment it is hard to say what will happen and how fast it will happen. JanMarie

tandijac · 04-02-2007, 05:44 AM

hi, thanks so much for this information, i will definately look into it and discuss it with her oncologist,

easyrun262 · 04-02-2007, 01:35 PM

Hi Tandijac- I agree with Jan. If your mom's cancer "stayed the same" that's considered a positive. No growth is good! I continue on my second line of treatment with stable results. I don't look forward to this treatment but it has kept me alive.

However, I do believe that quality of life far exceeds quantity of life. If your mom has decided to cease treatment because of treatment related issues I certainly can understand that. I waiver and waffle on whether the side effects of treament are worth it. Between mouth sores, itching out of my skin, total fatigue, diahrea, cramped muscles, low libido, headches, hair loss and nausea... I want to just quit!!!!

I'm tired of being tired. I'm sick of being sick. I hate to see what I'm placing onto my caregiver. I grieve the loss of my health.

Thanks for letting me vent today. Tandijac, I wish you and your family well. Tom

linda1962 · 04-02-2007, 02:36 PM

I feel for you - my Mom is stage 3 and after 6 rounds of chemo with no improvement other than no growth she decided that it will not leave her. She has lung cancer in both lungs. She was diagnosed 1 year and 2 months ago. Her decision to stop was for the quality of life. I think she is the bravest person I know. She has accepted her fate and wants to spend as much time with all her kids (there's 4 of us) and her grandkids (6 of them) as she can before she's too ill. She's 66 years old - my Dad passed from lung cancer at 67 four years ago this August- he never had treatment due to the late stage at diagnosis. My Mom has been through so much and has hardly made a sound. She comforts me when I get upset over her illness......wow, it's so hard, she's so amazing. I'm sending hugs to you and your mom. My mom's hugs are so comforting that all I can do is try to send them to you and hope they comfort you in some small way. Every moment is a gift......I hope she has the strength to do something that she always wanted to do and then some! We're hoping every day is as good as the last. Good luck!