Atezolizumab - Lung cancer

IT's NSCLC

Dear,

Thank you for getting in touch and welcome to the Online Community. I’m Kerry one of the Cancer Information Nurses here on the Macmillan Support Line.

I’m sorry to hear of your mum’s lung cancer diagnosis. I can only imagine what a shock this may have been for you both, I hope you are both coping as well as you can at this uncertain time.

Cancer treatments can cause many side effects. It is however important to let your mum’s cancer team and the 24-hour cancer treatment triage support line know if she is experiencing any new, changing or worsening of her symptoms as they can assess and manage them further.

You mentioned mum’s lymph nodes are quite swollen. When a person receives a diagnosis of lung cancer and experiences swelling in their lymph nodes, further investigation and treatment may be required if they develop Superior Vena Cava Obstruction (SVCO).

The superior vena cava (SVC) is a large vein that carries blood from the upper half of the body straight to the heart. It lies in the middle of the chest, behind the breastbone (sternum).

SVCO happens when something blocks the blood flow along the SVC. The walls of the SVC are thin and can easily become squashed or compressed.

The cancer may press directly on the SVC. Or it may spread to the lymph nodes nearby, which become swollen. These may then press on the SVC and block the flow of blood along the vein.

If your mum experiences breathlessness, headaches or feelings of fullness in the head, which get worse when she leans forward or bends over, facial swelling, changes in her eyesight, a swollen neck, swollen arms and hands, visible swollen veins on the chest, or feeling dizzy she should contact her 24 hour triage line and cancer doctor or nurse straight away to get this assessed further. SVCO needs to be treated quickly. You can read more about it here.

When experiencing side effects such as fatigue, nausea, reduced appetite etc these should generally ease once treatment is completed. However, there are usually things the healthcare team and mum may be able to do to manage and cope with these effects during treatment too.

You can read more about the physical impacts of cancer and treatment and how to cope with them here.

Here on the Macmillan Support Line, we do not have access to the NHS or your mum’s medical records to understand what treatment options are the most appropriate for her. Mum’s cancer specialist team would be best suited to discuss this in further detail with you.

Generally, treatment plans are formed on an individual basis. Information such as test results, cancer type, grade of the cancer cells, a person’s general health and fitness, is discussed in a Multidisciplinary team meeting to formulate this plan.

These meetings consist of specialist cancer healthcare professionals such as surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, cancer specialist nurses, and pharmacists to determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

Immunotherapy can be given as a first line treatment for lung cancer. If further treatment is required to control symptoms, chemotherapy can be given with, before or after targeted or immunotherapy drugs as well as other treatment options. You can read more about treatments for lung cancer here.

I can only imagine how difficult it is to see mum go through all of this.

Supporting a loved one with cancer isn’t easy and can cause a wide range of feelings and emotions, this may be intensified with it being your mum who is ill. Please remember to look after your own health and wellbeing too.

If you think it may be helpful to chat things over in more detail with one of the nurses here, please do give us a call. We can often explain things better over a conversation with the opportunity to ask questions.

If you think it may be helpful to have the support of others in a similar situation to yourself, you might like to join one of our friendly online community forums such as our lung cancer forum and our family and friends forum. They can offer information and friendship from others in similar circumstances. Many people find this kind of support invaluable at times like this. 

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please get in touch again. You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email or contact us through Webchat.

Best wishes

Kerry

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

Ref KHa/GeS