Good morning. I'm sorry about your mom's diagnosis. It's never easy to hear either as the patient or the family member. First question would be to ask if there has been any genetic testing to look for mutations. Targeted immunotherapy can be effective when there is a mutation. There may be treatment options available but if your mom's doctor isn't pushing any of those treatments, ask why. Treatment can be any number of options or combinations thereof: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation. There are a lot of people on this board who have lived with late stage cancer diagnoses for years, well beyond the "norm" for the diagnosis. That said, please understand that cancer treatment is tough, physically and mentally, on the patient, the caregiver, the family. It is a battle best fought by all involved.
Have you encouraged your mom to get a second opinion? It's always a good idea and might give a different perspective.
I hope you find some answers on this board and within the responses. Please keep us posted on her progress.
Clarry,
Your mom has stage IV, non-small cell (NSC) Squamous cell, lung cancer (LC). To your questions:
It is not "totally untreatable." It can be treated with conventional chemotherapy and that is often successful in extending life. Moreover, as Susan indicated, there are immunotherapy advances that are just emerging from research that are proving useful in treating Squamous cell NSCLC. Here is information on Squamous cell LC, and here is information on immunotherapy. Your mom's age and general health may be complicating factors and her doctors are likely aware of that complication.
Two weeks or longer is not an unusual wait time for a treatment plan. I'm not familiar with the UK medical system but it took about a month for me to navigate the diagnostic phase of my disease. After a successful treatment that resulted in "no evidence of disease" (NED), we scheduled an extensive and expensive celebratory vacation. Shortly before vacation day, a scan showed a recurrence and my oncologist advised we enjoy our trip forecasting no problem with a month delay in addressing the recurrence. So, I'd say a month to no more than 6 weeks to start treatment is a US norm. Again, I don't know about the UK medical system, but I don't think "first line standard of care" (the treatment administered to most all stage IV, NSC Squamous cell LC patients) will be hard to arrange. One exception, however, is complicating medical conditions.
Advice. Your mom will almost certainly receive chemotherapy as a treatment. Understand that chemotherapy often extends life. Help her to enjoy the extension. No one knows how long of an extension lasts. Many of us were exactly where your mother is and we are still living the extension. I've found in lung cancer, that persistence is required. I had four unsuccessful treatments in the course of 3 years until the fifth yielded NED. I wasted a lot of time fretting during that 3 year period when I could have been living. Help your mom enjoy life.
Guidance. Read into the disease. Once treatment is administered, there will be side effects to deal with. Fortunately these are cyclic and will appear about the same time after each infusion. Help your mom chart the onset of side effects. My doctors advised starting my nausea medication shortly before the onset of nausea. I did and I didn't experience nausea. So, help your mom by creating her "cancer calendar". Record her treatment days, post treatment scheduled tests (blood work), diagnostics (scans in treatment) and date and time of each side effect presentation. Cancer treatment is a scheduling exercise. Help her create and maintain a schedule.
More guidance. Read steps four through ten.
There are miracles. These are events where cancer stops growing without medical intervention. They are rare and unexplainable. There are no miracle cures so avoid falling into that pitfall. But hope is not a miracle cure but I believe it essential to successful treatment. This explains my belief of the importance of hope in lung cancer treatment.
We wish the best for your mother. You'll likely have future questions and this is a good place to ask them. And, to reinforce the importance of hope, if I can live, so can your mom.
Stay the course.
Tom
