flyboy

Okay All, I must apologize for the delay in this. My friend has had surgery for the mets to the brain, two surgeries in fact. The doctors left the brain "open" to take care of more of the tumor after the swelling had reduced. They have been giving her an oral chemo drug (etoposide I believe). They have now started her on IV Chemo every other day for the time being. I wish I knew which one they were using. I presume it is either Cisplatin or Carboplatin. Her spirits seem much better, though she does not want to be in the hospital for all of this. My prayers are with all of you. Eric aka Flyboy

Hello ALl, I am still not sure what the doctors are intending to do. However, today she is in surgery for the Brain Mets. From everything I have read or seen here on the internet, this seems to be uncommon. They want to relieve pressure or swelling to the brain. I am hopeful this will return some of her motor skills and that she can function better. It certainly has been a rollercoaster ride thus far. They then want to do an even more aggressive chemo therapy. Right now, I am just praying for positive results to give her some hope and to lift her spirits.

Hello All, Now it seems that the doctor has decided they want to try some other sort of treatment for my friend. They called her twice after telling her that there wasnt any more they could do for her. They want to admit her into the hospital for 2 weeks to undergo some sort of treatment. She wont tell me what this is. I am not sure she really even knows what they want to do. She seems to tune them out when they start talking about it. She is scared that she will not make it out of the hospital. Though she was a little hesitant about it, she is going to try it. I wish I knew what it was they were going to try. I just pray that it works.

Well ALl, Thank you one and all for the words of encouragement and hope that you have bestowed on me for this brief time. Sadly, we have ceased all treatment, or should I say the doctor has ceased all treatment. Right now, she is being made comfortable in her remaining days here on earth with us. I just hope that God calls her home soon, so there will be no more pain, no more suffering.

Well All, Thanks for the posts and responses. I am sorry I have not checked them until now. There has just been a lot to deal with. The chemo was stopped for a week and in that time, the doctor said that the chemo combo was not working. After much debate, another chemo combo was started. I am not sure what that is. Also, they have started Tomotherapy Radiation as well. Also, in the mean time, they have put her on a morphine drip and oxygen. I am still hopeful, but she is one moment wanting to give up and the next heading out the door for her chemo treatment or radiation. I wish I had more information to share. She now keeps telling me it is time for me to say "Good Bye and Let Go." However, then she reaches out to me. I am just confused. I know we are barely into the treatments. She says things are going to quickly slide downhill and does not see an up-slope at all. I know that with chemo and radiation, things get worse before they get better. I just pray that it is God's PLan that she sticks around for a long time to come. I am still hopeful even if she says she isn't.

I have some questions regarding Extensive Stage SCLC. My friend was diagnosed with Extensive Stage SCLC back in April of this year. We discovered a couple weeks ago, almost a month now, that she has mets to the brain, spine, and liver not to mention the lung and lymph node involvment. She started chemo shortly after being diagnosed. She had to stop chemo due to low blood counts. At that point, they did a CT scan and found the other areas of involvement and the doctor told her that the chemo she was on, sorry not sure what that was, was not working. They switched her to a new chemo drug and is now under going tomotherapy. I am trying to make heads or tails of all this. She has been put on a morphine drip for the pain and is also on oxygen. This has been a terrible setback for her. She tells me in one sentence that she is giving up and then the next she tells me she is going for her therapy. I have no clue what her doctor is doing really. I dont know if it is intent to treat or palliative. Her current schedule is chemotherapy Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She does the tomotherapy on Tuesday and Thursdays. I am not sure if they are still doing the radiation on the chemo days or not. She is not telling me a lot of things. I am wondering if anyone has had any success with the tomotherapy?

I have been reading posts on here and scouring the internet for information, but seem to be coming up short on what I am finding. Can someone please tell me about Chemo and Radiation Therapy? The chemotherapy is 3 days per week for 6 weeks with thoracic radiation. Brain mets were found and immediate WBRT was started. Is this palliative or is this intent to treat. I do not know the chemo drugs or what is going on with the radiatioin. I am just looking for answers. Thanks, Flyboy