My brother's lung cancer came back - Cancer: Lung Message Board

julie99 · 09-14-2007, 12:14 PM

I have written on here before concerning my brother's lung cancer. Last Christmas he had a lobectomy on his right lung. This was non small cell lung cancer.
He eventually went back to work, started having pain again and found out (after x-rays) that he had broken two ribs (ribs had been spread apart during surgery).

Anyway, he kept having pain even after the ribs should have healed. He also could not eat. He has lost 36 lbs.
Finally after going to different doctors, he went back to his regular doctor here in town. She sent him for a ct scan, and it turns out he has a tumor on his spine.

Right now we're not sure where the tumor came from. They seem to think it's a new tumor.. It is on his spine very close to his lung on the same side the lobe was taken out.

Now, my question. They are going to do radiation on this tumor and then chemo-therapy.
I have been reading that there is a type of radiation
that targets the tumor and you can give stronger radiation directly to the tumor without
spreading the radiation to other parts of the body. "A standard radiation treatment can't tell you if there has been organ movement inside patient or if patients are in the exact position they were in when treatment was planned."
I have found this treatment on the internet in one city.I don't know if I can name the treatment on this site.
Does anyone know about this and whether it is better.My friend's sister had a tumor on her brain and they sent her to another city so she could get this done.
I don't know if it is as important on the spine as on the brain or not. She went a long way off to get this done.

Thank you for any help you can give.

miracleshappen · 09-15-2007, 01:21 PM

Do you mean Gamma Knife radiaiton? It is very effective for brain tumors. I think for other types as well, but not sure. Most major cities have a gamma knife center. I have mine done in Philadelphia.

Janmarie2 · 09-15-2007, 10:17 PM

Cyberknife may be what you are talking about as it can keep tract of moving organs like lungs and livers and be used on them.It zeros in on the tumor and spares healthy tissue. When we looked into it for my mom about 1-1/2 -2 years ago there were only a few places that were doing it. Cyberknife has a society that has a website and the doctors there will answer questions usually within a day or two and I found them to be very helpful.

The cyberkife doctors at Stanford even looked at my mom's CT which we mailed to them for free to see if it could be used on her liver mets. We were unable to have it done as she had too many mets in her liver, But I will be ever grateful to those doctors for their help.I recommended it to another person with lung cancer and from her hospital bed she and her kids called Stanford on a Sunday and a doctor that does cyberknife spoke to her and gave her advice. Even though we were unbale to use it I do always recommend people look into it as it is not very invasive and doesn't damage alot of healthy tissue. I think it holds alot of promise in cancer treatment. Hope this helps some, JanMarie

julie99 · 09-18-2007, 08:47 AM

Thank you both for your posts. I will be checking on the cyberknife site. Right now he is having radiation treatments here in our small town. I'm sure it would be all right but you never know about the people giving the treatments (how experienced they are).

They seem to be pretty sure this tumor mestastisized from his lung. I guess it must have started as a tiny spot before they took the lobe out. That would be the only way since that lobe is gone now. This cancer was non-small cell lung cancer. The doctor said it was the good kind to have because it didn't spread or anything. (the lung cancer) He did't run any CT scan or anything. He just did a bone scan. Even after he went back with all the pain he was having they didn't do a CT scan or anything. Of course later he found out his ribs were broken. I guess this threw them off track too.
I really believe the tumor has been there awhile since it is 3 inches long, but they say tumors that metestasize grow quickly. I just don't understand how it could metestasize from the lung when the lobe is gone. This tumor is very close to the same lung however.

Thank you again for your replies. We are all very upset of course.