Hi there
My name is Sean. I was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer in June 2019 and after 18 months treatment including a huge ELAPE operation I was given the all clear in Sep 2020.
My luck ran out on my last surveillance scan in July 2023 as 3 nodules appeared in my lungs. My oncologist is 95% sure they are metastasised tumours and I have been diagnosed with secondary lung cancer stage 4 with no hope of cure. Because the tumours are so small- around 5 mm in circumference- they are not suitable for radiotherapy or surgery . My option is just to observe them every 3 months with no treatment to see if they grow, or to have chemo to see if it has any impact. I have opted to try a 3 month cycle of capecitabine tablets and am just finishing cycle 1. No real side effects. If anyone has any ideas as to treatments for slow growing anorectal adenocarcinoma types tumours in the lung I would be interested , or indeed any general advice on how to cope with secondary lung cancer would be welcome.
thanks
Hi Sean
It must have been very disappointing to have been given the all clear 3 years ago only to recently discover that your cancer has spread to your lungs.
I don't have any relevant experience with this but I thought I'd suggest that you might also like to join and post in the secondary lung cancer forum as you'll then connect directly with others who have a lung secondary to ask questions, share experiences and get support.
If you'd like to join just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined the forum, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
Anne
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Sean, welcome to the group, but sorry you find yourself here.
My lung cancer is secondary, and like you I was given the all clear. I was just months away from being at the 5 year cancer free point, when I got the shock of my life! After a couple of months of antibiotics to fight a “chest infection” I begged the doctor to do a chest X-ray. The results were shocking! I had a huge tumour filling the top right lobe, which had broken through into my bronchial airway. I had to have surgery to remove this from my airway, and then radiotherapy to shrink the rest. I also had lots of small tumours scattered within both lungs, which were too small to treat. That was in 2014. Since then I have managed to keep the tumours stable on hormone treatment. I know they will always be there, so for me staying stable is my best option.
Well done for completing the first cycle of treatment. It is great to hear you have had no side effects. It is such a heavy feeling to hear you have a secondary cancer, but it can be controlled, and you are on the right path to do this.
I’m glad you have found my profile helpful. I feel a lot luckier now than I did at the beginning! Because my cancer is rare, when initially diagnosed in 2009, they had no idea it was hormone dependent. So being put on HRT was the worst idea possible! Now we have more knowledge, and more research has been carried out, there are other options if the hormone treatment stops working. It’s always good to have other treatments on the back burner.
