My Mum is 74 and was diagnosed with NSCLC Stage 3b back in April last year. This was a shock as, although an ex smoker 20 years previously, mum is very fit, never been ill and still working.
She was put on 2 x Chemo drugs and immunotherapy and after her first scan there was shrinkage. They then reduced the chemo to just the one and she continued with this alongside the immunotherapy. After her second scan there was marginal growth, but they said to carry on with the plan for the next 3 rounds and then review. Today we went to see the consultant following he most recent scan. It was horrible because I knew something was up when we were put in a room and the doctor attended with the nurse. He has basically said that Mum's tumour (in the upper left) has grown but there is also more cancer in the chest area. This means the treatment - immunotherapy/chemo is not working. He talked to us and it came across as very bleak even though he was lovely.
He was not at all optimistic about a second line treatment helping mum but said he would try it. He kept saying that we would have to have a conversation about whether to continue treatment if things continued as they are now and more words to that effect. It really felt like he was basically saying, mum's life was very limited. At the end it was agreed that mum is going to have 5 sessions of radiotherapy on the main tumour to help shrink it and help with the breathlessness and hoarse voice. He then talked about a chemo drug called Docetaxel. I asked him about Nintedanib (vargatef) and Docetaxel combined as I had done some reading and he said that he didn't think it would add any benefits for mum.
Mum is still determined that she will be here for a few years yet and happy to go for all the treatment they can throw at her.
I just feel so very scared and want to hang on to any thread of hope I can. Her cancer is still confined to the chest which I thought was a positive, but clearly not. I am also feeling angry that they continued with the same treatment for another 3 rounds (3 months) despite the last scan showing marginal growth. To my mind this should have meant a new treatment plan. Why continue with something if it's not helping?
Sorry for the long post. I am all over the place right now.
Hi and a warm welcome to the Macmillan Online Community but sorry that you needed to find us and I am especially sorry to hear about your mum’s diagnosis.
Although I had a different type of cancer a cancer diagnosis like this brings many questions, lots of confusion and stress on all the family but talking with other people who are on the same type of journey will help you navigate this rollercoaster.
The Community is organised into dedicated support groups so can I recommend you join our supportive Lung Cancer group, this will be a good place to connect with others navigating the support of a family member on the same type of cancer journey.
To join a group just click on the link above then choose 'click to join' or 'join' (depending on the device you're using) on the page that opens. Then you can introduce yourself by putting up a ‘New Thread’ or hit the box with the X on the top right (phones) you could just copy and paste the text from this your first post. You can also join in with existing ‘Discussions’ by clicking on 'reply'.
Talking with others caring for family and friends will help a lot so do check out our
Family and friends, Carers only and supporting someone with incurable cancer group Groups as you will connect with others walking the same journey supporting family and friends through their cancer journey.
It’s always good to talk and the Macmillan Support Services provides lots of information, support, financial guidance or just a listening ear.
Most services are open 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week and it's free to call on 0808 808 00 00 have a look by Clicking here to see what is available and we also have our Ask an Expert section, but do allow two working days for replies from our expert team.
((hugs))
