I would like to hear from any lung cancer survivors

Melanie_Rose
New Contributor

I would like to hear from any lung cancer survivors

I have just been diagnosed with lung cancer am at the 4th stage. Are there any cancer survivors out there who have survived at this late stage? I am just about to start chemo and would any advice. Thanks. Melanie Rose

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Symphony
Occasional Contributor

Re: I would like to hear from any lung cancer survivors

Hi Melanie, My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer 5 months ago. Non small cell. He has just finished 4 cycles of chemo (pemetrexed) and is currently on a break from treatment. The chemo was once every 3 weeks via a drip, a couple of hours in the chemo suite at the hospital and then he could go home. The main side effects my husband experienced/ is still experiencing now (1 month after the last cycle) are: exhaustion, fatigue, nausea (but no vomiting), diahorrea, lack of appetite, loss of facial hair (eyebrows), pulmonary embolism (blood clots) requiring him to be on daily injected blood thinners (people with cancer are at high risk for blood clots, people with NSC adenocarcinoma are higher risk, and then if you do chemo the risk increases again.) He had neutropenia once, when he caught a cold in the middle of the chemo cycle when he had no white cells. He was in hospital for 5 days. Chemo is "cumulative"- so some symptoms have only appeared after he finished the fourth cycle- dark spots on his toenails (we have been told that they may fall off but should grow back), loss of body hair. He lost all the hair on his head when he did whole brain radiation a few months ago. The doctors want him to go on "maintenance" chemo now to stop it spreading. The maintenance chemo will be for the next year, or "as long as it keeps working". We will consider doing this if the cancer starts to spread. In the meantime, we are having regular tests and scans to keep an eye on what is happening. I am not sure what advice you were after, Melanie. My husband has sees a homeopath and a naturopath for help with symptom management and diet and an acupuncturist for help with the nausea. Having said that, we also contact the doctor, the palliative care team and the Silver Chain nurses for the same issues. We try everything. There are a great deal of supplements that are recommended for cancer and are worth trying (with guidance from someone trained in this area.) It is good to make contact with a complementary health professional (eg naturopath) before you start chemo and find someone that you trust who can support you through the treatment and help with anything that comes up. We also follow Ian Gawler who has written books on surviving cancer: http://www.iangawler.com/ If there are any cancer council support groups/services in your area, give them a go. Hopefully you would have been in contact with the cancer council coordinator who can put you on to what is available- free counselling, Solaris treatments, Chemo Club, support group meetings, free yoga sessions, free social workers, free financial counsellors, lawyers, etc. Looking forward to hearing from you. xxx Symphony
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Melanie_Rose
New Contributor

Re: I would like to hear from any lung cancer survivors

Dear Symphony Your feedback was very helpful. I will go for my first chemo session today. I will accept what ever is coming my way and fight it with every strength I have in me and with prayers. I know it will be a hard road ahead but I am lucky to have a loving family and friends supporting me all the way. I hope your husband has a lot of positive news ahead of him. Warm regards Melanie
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Nigwar
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Re: I would like to hear from any lung cancer survivors

On the 12th January 2015 I will become a five year survivor. I was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma 3B, it has now reached stage four, I also have Myelodysplasia. My first treatment was chemo but I could not handle it and changed over to Tarceva, it worked well for me for 31 months. I'm now on Alimta chemo every three weeks and it is working very well for me, I have become very stable. My wife and I have tried to live as normal a life as possible, travelling as much as ever. We have plans to renovate our house of 30+ years to make it more comfortable and easier to manage, we did have plans to move to a retirement village but may not do that now. We believe that great contribution to survival is have a strong desire to live, it is far stronger than all the medicines. I've made a few more comments in introductions, don't want to repeat them here or it might become boring. Basically letting cancer win is not part of our plans.
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topenddownunder
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Re: I would like to hear from any lung cancer survivors

Hi Melanie Rose..I too am a Stage 4 Lung Cancer sufferer and have now undergone 2 cycles of Chemo (Carboplatin and Gemcitabine)and 5 days of Radiation on the pelvis (mostly for pain management) I`m about to start my 3rd Cycle of Chemo on Tuesday (as long as Neutrophils count is ok) I have suffered neutropenia and spent a few days in isolation as the Chemo knocked the Neutrophils about a bit (immune system)I now take it easy and careful not to expose myself to cuts or viruses.There is talk about reducing my Chemo down to 80% to help my immune system but my next blood test will tell the story (on monday)I hope to have my next CT scan in One month and hopefully this will show the Tumor is reducing.I have completely changed my diet (LOTS AND LOTS of fresh veggies and Fruit) and have tried to keep fit and POSITIVE Minded (as possible)The Chemo has lots of side effects.For nausea I take PRAMIN Tablets....but prefer Normal Ginger (1000mg) Tablets as they work better for me. I take Endone and panadol tablets for the pain (NOT Too much Endone..as they bind you up)and half a Diazapam Tablet to help me sleep.It Is important to have supportive/positive people around you and I pray that this will help you through this horrible time.Please dont hesitate to contact me if you need any more info/recipes/or things that may help you. Greg & De Reilly
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