What would you do?

Hi Mark

Firstly so sorry for your situation........but please try to go ahead with the cheme/immunatherapy   i was in your shoes in 2023    you dont know until you try this, it has worked for me,  the tumour died with treatment, so have been on surveillance since, ct scan every 3 months, than 4 months now from last Friday  its 6 monthly.  So please try, if you do became ill then cease, but at least you have given it a try.  I know it does not work for everyone, but like i say, you will never know until you try.....i wish you well.....good luck.

Hello Mark,

I'm so sorry to hear that surgery was not feasible leaving chemo and immunotherapy on the table. I don't have any experience of immunotherapy because it wasn't available when I was treated in 2014 but have seen numerous success stories about it in recent years.

My own journey involved a recommendation for chemo because the cancer was found in lymph nodes within my lung and there was a possibility it could also be elsewhere. I was petrified at the thought of chemo and told it was expected to give me an extra 5 percentage points for longer term survival. I decided to hit it as hard as possible whilst I still had the opportunity.

At the time I thought exactly what ella has suggested, that I could start and if it was that bad stop at any time I wanted. Not starting meant the opportunity would be lost forever.

You have age on your side and, due to your exercise regime, fitness which should equip you to withstand the treatment with far fewer side effects.

It's entirely your decision Mark, supported by your family, but with a 50% chance of 2 years and 20% of 5 years if it was me I'd take it. 

I hope you can come to a decision that you are comfortable with.

l wish you all the best and good luck,

Derek.

Hi Mark,

Well!  6-9 months without treatment but there is treatment for you and you’ve actually been given better odds than I got, I was told 3-6 months without treatment and 5% chance of living for 5 years. I agree with Ella and Excavator, you’ve got a treatment, why not start it and if you don’t want to continue you can stop but I think once you start your treatment you will start to feel more in control and ready for the fight. It seems better to start the treatment instead of wasting precious time thinking about it. I do remember you saying if you got a treatment you would fight.

Thank you everyone, i think im just shocked at todays negativity from the consultant, im going to go for the treatment and take one day at a time, it just seems like one piece of bad news after the next atm. i was really hoping for positive bio markers but they are non existent except for the low pd-l1. low is better than nothing however.

1. Hi my Dad, was diagnosed with nearly the exact same diagnose as you in june this year. He had a 10.2cm in lung and 4 lymphs plus adrenaline gland. He was given a prognosis of 6-9 months He was offered chemo and immunotherapy although they really wasnt sure the immunotherapy would help as he only had a PDL1 of 2-3%. He was going down hill quite quickly and we wasnt sure if he'd make treatment. However he had his first treatment in October and was scanned in November a week after his 2nd treatment where the ct scan showed a reduction of over 50% after just 2 treatments. Hes just finished his 4th treatment and now is almost back to his old self. Chemo wasn't as hard as we expected and the results have been nothing short of amazing. So please dont give up, there is hope 

Hi has he got squamous cell cancer? amazing hes doing so well im really pleased for you.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the lower left lobe T4 n4 m1 diagnosis. 

Could i ask what his consultant is like, did he offer any hope at all?

mine was terrible, i may as well have read what he said from a screen, negative, no advice and difficult to understand, my wife was with me and although im ok with bluntness and no empathy i feel he could have made an effort for her, weve paid into the system for 42 years and i served in the armed forces and this is what you get unfortunately.

I think that's a good plan Mark. 

I'm sorry about the negativity you experienced, some are good and others not so. I've experienced this twice over the years and it is definitely not good for you.

Hope all goes well and some good news starts to flow soon, let us know how you get on if you can.

Derek.