Wife has SCLC long term advice please

Hi Les, I am so sorry to hear about your wife. It is so terrifying when a loved one receives a cancer diagnoses. You say you cannot find any information, so I guess you have been googling life expectancy. What I can say is google is very out of date. There are so many more people now who are living beyond their initial diagnoses. This is because there are new lung cancer treatments becoming available all the time.  For instance, immunotherapy has become a main form of treatment for many, although it is still relatively new, and has changed the outcome for so many people. 

The how long is a piece of string question, is a very difficult one, as everyone's cancer is different, and no 2 people respond the same to treatment. All you can do is trust that your wife's oncology team are doing the very best for her. Where there is treatment, there is hope. 

Caring for a loved one with cancer is very hard, and you need to make sure you get support as well. Here in the online community there are groups where there are many people like yourself who ae caring for loved ones. Being able to talk to others who are in a similar situation to yourself is very beneficial.  I'll pop the links here for you:

Family and friends 

Carers only

supporting someone with incurable cancer group

You can also call the Macmillan support helpline for support 7 days a week from 8am until 8pm on 0808 808 00 00 

Take care x 

Hi Les, So sorry to hear of your wife cancer,  My Mum has SCLC, spread to Liver, Lymph and spine - My Mum was given 6 weeks without treatment, we were totally broken, how can she only survive 6 weeks.  They gave her 6 rounds of Chemo and 6 Radiothereapy.  You are very correct this is the most agressive form of cancer.  With SCLC, it responds very well to treatment, we are now 10 months in and she is doing great.  The Chemoradio has srunk the tumours in her lung, has taken all the cancer away from the Lymph nodes and her spine is healing.  The liver is the one that is proving difficult but they have left her without treatment since Nov and she is still doing great.  She is due for another scan this month and to see encologist on 26th Apr, they will then decide when she will get more chemo. Googling, there is nothing out there, trust me I have googled near to the death of me. All it talks about is the life Median????.

Make as many small memories as you can but once treatment starts, She may not feel like doing much but you can prepare little things to make her feel special.  Everyone has their own journey and experiences with Chemo.

What I can say, is I have found new friends on this site, who are all going through the same.  We are all here to listen and help where we can.

If you eed to ask anything, just shout, I will answer as honest as I can

Love T xx

Hello,

I am reading this thread with interest as my mum has just been diagnosed with stage 4 SCLC and has started her first round of chemo last week. She is struggling with it and is very weak and we are worried that she is deteriorating. I know everyone responds differently to treatment but I was wondering  how your mum responded to the treatment when she first started? 

Thanks

Ness 

x

Hi Ness, Sorry about your Mum, It's so hard to get your head round it all.  My Mum coped extremely well, I am not saying it was easy, she had her up's and down's.  She got 6 rounds of chemo and we have been given an additional 10 months.  If you need any help, just ask or have a read at my profile, I have given an account of how it went on there.

Love to you both xxx

Thank you xxx

Hi Ness, How is your Mum doing xxx

Hi Les, How is your wife doing.