Hi. I have never posted before
My mum was diagnosed with lung cancer on 28th December. The PET scan showed a nodule in her left lung and one in her right. They also suspected it had spread to her lymph nodes. She had a biopsy on 8th Jan and was told it was SCLC. The nodules were very small 15mm and 20mm (I think) oncologist said the other nodule (away from lymph nodes) he wasn’t sure if it was the same cancer or another primary but if it responds to the chemo then it’s the same cancer.
Fast forward to now. Mum is about to have her final chemo treatment and we have spoke to oncology today. She’s had an xray day before her second treatment and oncology said the chemo was doing what we wanted it to do but never went any further. She had a CT scan a week ago and the phone call from oncology today. Who she spoke to said one tumour had shrunk further. But never mentioned the other she said she wasn’t going to make another appointment and she would hear from someone about radiotherapy appointment in due course. So we took that as a positive.
ten minutes later she rang back and said she had spoken to the consultant and he wants to see her face to face in 3 weeks time, to discuss radiotherapy and the quality of life.
now we are worried that there is something wrong. She has been fine through the chemo treatment feels a bit crap having the immunity booster injections after the chemo but nothing severe. She has lost all her hair but other than that and being a bit tired she had no symptoms of the chemo. I just don’t know what to expect. Mum is worried but I said surely if there was an issue he would want to see her sooner than 3 weeks time.
Hi Simulationsucess firstly well done to mum for getting through her chemo. I can understand why you are both concerned about this appointment in 3 weeks time, especially as it has become a face to face appointment. Before Covid, everything was face to face, and in many hospitals now, they are trying to get back to that as much as possible. I agree with you that if it was something that they had unexpectedly found on the scan that was a real concern, they would have called mum in this week, not in 3 weeks time.
Although radiation is looked at as an easier treatment than chemo, it can have some nasty side effects that can affect the body. My radiotherapy was 9 years ago, but I am only just having nerve damage effects now.
I agree with all that Dogmamma has said. I know it is hard, and I know these 3 weeks will seem long. Try and keep positive, it sounds like the chemo has done its job.
Good luck to mum, please let us know how she gets on at this appointment.
Hi, Sorry to hear about your mum. Please don't worry about radiotherapy, I wouldn't call it "brutal" as such. I had three weeks of radiotherapy treatment for upper left lung cancer beginning in November last year and ending mid-December, eight treatments in all. All treatments, be it surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy have risks and side effects. Your mum will be fatigued, which passes quite quickly after treatment finishes. I went off my food for a few weeks and only wanted to eat cold foods such as salads or cereal, this also passed quickly.
Regarding your mum having to travel. I had to travel 50 miles there and 50 miles back to get my treatment because I was having the SABR treatment (stereotactic ablative radiotherapy) and there are only a few cancer centres in the UK that have the facilities to do this. I used the hospital transport system, which is available to all cancer patients who are receiving treatment and have no means of transport themselves and is entirely free. They will pick your mum up from her home and return her after treatment. This was so helpful to me as radiotherapy treatment is either an every day treatment, or every other day, depending on the type of radiotherapy treatment given.
Ring your mum's cancer nurse specialist at the hospital where she will be treated and request hospital transport, this needs to be arranged beforehand to ensure your mum has her transport planned for the whole of how many treatments she will be given. It will ease your mind knowing your mum is in safe hands and you won't need to worry about transport.
As I said at the beginning, please don't worry about the radiotherapy treatment, it's not as bad as you think, request an information leaflet from the nurse specialists for you and your mum to read. I was back to normal with no side effects a month after treatment ended, but please read the leaflet on radiotherapy side effects, in the short term they are ok, but long term side effects can happen, although not all people experience this and radiotherapy treatment has come along in leaps and bounds. For instance, I had radiotherapy 34 year's ago for breast cancer, I was 41 with a young family. Radiotherapy in those days was brutal, I had treatment every day for six weeks. I developed long term side effects a year later with tender ribs and nerve damage causing neuropathic pain, which I still get today. But it saved my life, so a small price to pay.
I hope, in your mum's case, you can feel a bit reassured by my post, and I send very best wishes to you and your mum. Please feel free to ask questions, we are all here to help.
Ann 
