lung cancer not growing? - Cancer: Lung Message Board

linda1962 · 04-17-2007, 03:29 PM

Hi all,

My Mom was diagnosed with a slow growing lung cancer 1 1/2 years ago - she was told then that she had several months to several years. She stopped chemo about 4 months ago because the cancer did not reduce but it wasn't growing either she just wasn't happy with her quality of life and if it was going to take her then she was just going to let it run it's course and enjoy what she had left. She just had her check-up and was told that the cancer hasn't grown at all. Is this unusual? I know it's good news but it kinda makes us (her kids) wonder if she's been properly diagnosed. Any thoughts?

conan1017 · 04-17-2007, 07:15 PM

Hi Linda-

I don't know how unusal that is, but it sure is interesting. ...Not to mention, encouraging for you and your mom. Did your oncologists offer any explanations?

My wife has stage 4 nsclc and is on Tarceva, a once a day tablet that specifically targets the protien development in cancer cell which promotes growth, therby stopping (slowing) progression for a period of time ....perhaps as much as 2 years. But for most, the treatment eventually becomes ineffective over time. Tarceva is not near as toxic as chemo and is very tolerable for some as it is for my wife.

Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of disfuctional cells. The actual type of cancer cell identifies how aggressive the cancer is. However, cancer is characterized by growth. I am in no way and authority or expert on cancer, but your question is thought provoking. My first thought is perhaps your moms cancer has mutated in a way that inhibits growth. My second thought is there could be some kind of chemical change in your mom's body which has interupted the cancer's growth (like an absence of a nucleic acid), which may have been triggered by the chemo itself.

These are just wild guesses, but please ...keep us informed as to what you learn. If this trend continues, you may want to request a biopsy and perhaps that would shed some light on things. At any rate, I hope your mom's quality of life is better now that she's off the chemo. I don't now her name, but will keep you both in prayer.

conan

easyrun262 · 04-19-2007, 09:18 AM

Hi Linda1962- It still puzzles me as to how doctors can forecast the amount of survival time left for their patients. In the case of your mom- several months to several years. This is like the weather person forecasting tommorrows weather as cloudy to sunny. A pretty safe bet!

This disease is very complex. A mystery most of the time. If your mom's cancer has not metastized to a vital organ, I question how any doctor can predict the amount of time left before death. It appears as irresponsible.

I wish you, your mom, and other family members the best. I pray all will be well. Tom

linda1962 · 04-19-2007, 11:59 AM

Thanks for your input Conan and Easyrun. The Oncolgist hasn't offered any real explanation. Just said it is slow growing and if it hasn't grown any in the next 3 months they'll look into it further but for now it's a wait and see. She's a stage II non-small cell lung cancer. She has 3 tumors on/in her left lung and with her years of smoking and the onset of emphysemia they will not remove the lung. It just seems incredible to me that this hasn't progressed the way they made us think. My Dad died from lung cancer 6 weeks after diagnosis but he was a stage III and developed an infection that compromised his ability to breath. That was 4 years ago. That's when I quit smoking, my Mom quit almost 1 year to the day she was diagnosed, she's only 66. My Dad died when he was 67. I'm rambling now but I'm also scared for my Mom. It wasn't easy for my Dad. They had been divorced for a number of years so my Mom didn't see all of what happened but she knows the details from us kids. She's so brave in all this. Thanks for letting me talk and thanks for your input. I have just a little hope for her now but I'm afraid to get my hopes too so it's just hard. Anyway, thanks!