we have not been told what type of cell his is there are several types as you know.does it make any difference to the treatment/outcome if it is known.no change on xray yet but no bigger he has just started 2nd round of chemo .trying to remain calm and positive but some other peoples reaction is really odd and unpredictable. i have asked the lung cancer specialist nurse about the type of cell and she read the path report to me but it did not have any further info except "non small cell lung cancer.

any advice would be most welcome

i have not been told either what type i have got but i don't want to put anyone else's limits to recovery by giving it a name at the moment i want it gone now....... go on be gone ..... good luck stay positive always hope for a miracle xx

hi tracey  non small cell is the "type" as opposed to small cell, mesoliothioma etc. it would be a bad move on the part of the professionals to start chemo without knowing.  chemo is not a one size fits all treatment, what is used for nsclc is different to that used for sclc and so on.

as for recovery stats, they are a guesstimate.  just stay positive and believe that you can win the fight. absolutely believe from tip to toe that you will be a survivor.

gl with your treatment and your own miracle

heywood x

Hiya

My husband has Non Small Cell Lung Cancer.  When you mention the "type of cell" do you perhaps mean the "stage that the cancer has been diagnosed at"?

My husband is Stage 4 which is too advanced to operated. He gets his fouth Chemo tomorrow (diagnosed in May) and has already had radiotherapy.  His Macmillan nurse told him when he had a CT scan after 2 lots of chemo, if the tumor had shrunk or stayed the same that was good news.  His tumor has shrunk in size so this is good.  If your partners has stayed the same size that is also good news.

The prognosis for my husband has not changed but being comforatable and suffering no pain has to be a plus.  He takes regular pain killers and sleeps quite a bit but is a fighter.

sending you warmest thoughts

Gillian

Hi Gillian

There are various types of lung cancer, the main two types are small cell and non small cell.  The non small cell is further divided into subtypes, adenocarcinoma (which I have), squamous and large cell.  Personal choice if you want to find out exactly what you have so you know what you are dealing with.  Most prognosis is a best guess anyway so ignore it!  I was told 2/5 years but I am going for 25 years just to prove them wrong lol.   The staging does not significantly affect whether it is operable or not, its more where the tumour(s) are located.  Mine was relatively early staging, but because the tumour was too near a large artery in the chest and the lymph nodes were wrapped around major heart arteries, surgery is deemed too risky to attempt.  Inoperable does not mean terminal.

Like your husband, my CT scan after the 3rd cycle showed that the tumours had shrunk.  I had another cycle and have finished 20 sessions of RT.  At the moment they cant do another CT scan until 3 months after the end of RT as the lungs etc are still too inflammed to get an accurate RT report.  They do do a chest xray at the first followup and I have been told by both the Chemo Oncologist and RT Oncologist that the chest xrays are looking very good. I dont go back to see the Chemo Onc till end of October.  I wont see the RT Onc again as he is supremely happy with the results.  The CT scan will be done just before the Oct appt.

Too early to claim a cure or remission as others prefer to term it, but it has been successful from what they can see.  I was very lucky that although 5 months passed from 1st symptom to 1st treatment, it had not spread any further than the lymph nodes. I dont take any meds now except my usual inhalers and I was on some heavy duty meds at one point. Quite honestly before the treatment started, I was very very poorly with a massive chest infection, flu on top of that and shingles too boot so my immune system was under siege for nigh on 2 months. Massive steroids & major antibiotics quite probably saved me but meant I couldnt have concurrent treatment, having to switch to sequential.

Your husband has made a good start, hope the rest of his chemo blitzes the cancer as much as the rest has.  Is he having follow up RT?

Fight the good fight as the saying goes, be one of the survivors.

heywood x

Hi Heywood

Thanks for your reply, as you can tell I am new to all of this info - you have either asked a lot of questions or done a lot of research, you have an amazing knowledge .  Your fight is going well from the sound of things and I like your positive thinking :) You sound like a very strong minded person and have dealt with your cancer with incredible strength. 

My husbands tumor is at the top of his left lung.  It had spread to the lining of the lung causing a build up of fluid.  It was at that point he was taken into hospital and the fluid drained over a few days.  The diagnosis was given at that stage. At the appointment with the Oncologist we were told that there was no cure only pallative care which would be with chemo and radiotherapy.  We were told that he would not have years to live it would be months. He goes for his 4th chemo tomorrow and they were previously suggesting further radiotherapy. 

I am not a believer in statistics and hope that we can prove this.

Keep in touch  

take care

Gillian 

Hi Gillian

Thanks for your kind words.

Have a look at these stories by people who are in your husband/s position. Heartwarming to see so many years on still here.

http://www.inspire.com/groups/lung-cancer-survivors/discussion/stage-4-malignant-pleural-effusion-adenocarcinoma/

Heywood x