New Introduction

[AskBelieveReceive]

Hello, my name is Christine. My, 71 yr old, Mother was diagnosed in Nov 2016 w/ Stage IV metastatic adenocarcinoma NSCLC (primary: right lung, spread to both adrenal glands, brain & right proximal tibia).  At diagnosis she was given an estimate of 6-12 months to live, which was quickly adjusted to 6 months after they discovered 13 brain mets opposed to the 3 they originally saw.  She had surgery to remove the tumor in her right tibia, which they filled with bone cement to stabilize the bone. She has completed whole brain radiation, radiation to the right tibia &  2 rounds of chemo: Paraplatin (Carboplatin), Alimta (Pemetrexed) & Avastin (Bevacizumab). The chemo was unsuccessful. The cancer spread to multiple bones in her left leg, her pelvis & spine. They stopped chemo & started Opdivo last week. It is too soon after completing whole brain radiation to do another brain scan to know if it helped. I'm sorry for the information overload....I'm just trying to give as much info as possible to see if anyone here has a similar situation & could offer some words of wisdom, offer a glimpse of hope or suggest ways I can help her. Thank you in advance for your help.

[Tom Galli]

Christine,

Given your mom's condition and treatments, words of wisdom are a tall order.  I've interacted with many in a similar situation and their dilemma was the choice between curative treatment or palliative and hospice care.  It is a difficult choice and since each of us is different, there are no rules or guidelines to follow.  However, if it were me, I'd chose a path that would allow me to be comfortable and interact with my loved ones.  Curative care is often difficult to tolerate, and I'd rather focus on interaction with my loved ones than pain and discomfort from more chemicals.

So you can help your mother make her choice between continuing curative care or changing to palliative and then as things progress hospice care.  You can start your search for a good palliative and hospice care team and provide her with input to allow her to make a decision.  Here is more information on palliative care and here is an explanation of hospice care that may be useful.

I am hoping Opdivo quickly arrests your mother's lung cancer.  It is known to produce remarkable results in some people and hopefully your mother is one of that population.

Stay the course.

Tom