AMartin190 Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 MY SISTER IN LAW - 37 YRS - DIAGNOSED WITH NSCLC-METASTISED IN BRAIN - 7 TUMORS - HAS HAD FULL BRAIN RADIATION AND STARTED CHEMO TODAY -ANYONE THAT CAN GIVE ME AN IDEA OF WHAT TO EXPECT -AND ANY EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE WITH THIS - WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED. THANKS! AMARTN190 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hi there AMartin and WELCOME! Your sister-in-law sounds almost just like my husband's diagnosis, only he had 8 brain mets. Check out his profile below. He's 15 months post-diagnosis, has had some very rough days, but currently is stable and doing great - working every day and almost 100% back to normal. The cancer is still there, but the Iressa is keeping him nice and stable. Hope to hear more from you. We're here to help. God bless, Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMartin190 Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hey there - Thanks for the reply - I see you are in Indy -I live in Fishers - Kim - my sister in law lives in Tennessee - They used to live here - she goes to UT Med Center for treatment - I amconcerned because they have not tld he r the exact kind of cancer - only NSCLC -The DRS havn't told her the stage or anything else -when do they know this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenl Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hi and welcome. Very sorry to hear about your sister-in-law. She, like many others on this board, is way too young to be in this battle. No experience with brain mets or radiation, but Mum has been having pretty aggressive chemo for most of the last 12 months, and is doing really well. Everyone responds differently to treatment, but I hope Kim handles it as well as Mum has. If Kim has brain mets, then her cancer would be classified as stage IV. Have they done other investigations, like a PET scan or bone scan to determine whether the cancer has spread anywhere else? The outlook for stage IV patients is getting better every day, and I hope that your sister-in-law is able to join with us in proving the statistics wrong!! You have come to a great place for information and support. Wishing you all the best. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie Daughter of Bill Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hello and welcome!! I'm sorry that you are going through this. I have no personal experience with the brain mets as my Dad has not had that happen, but there are MANY here who have had brain mets, had radiation and are now doing great! There is reason for hope. As far as not knowing the type of cancer, etc..........has your sister in law had a biopsy done? If so, they should be able to tell her what type of NSCLC it is. She might have to ask. Some oncologist offer lots of info while others, well you have to pick things out of them. As someone mentioned, she would be a stage IV since it has moved outside the lung. My Dad has Stage IV squamous cell. It will be one year in January since his diagnosis. All in all he is doing pretty good. He did have a REALLY bad week last week. Turns out he was dehydrated. He got some IV fluids and is feeling a bit better now. Please stick around and let us hold your hand through this. It's a difficult road to walk, but when someone is walking with you, it's not as bad. In my thoughts and prayers~~~~ Angie P.S. Your sister in law and I are southern neighbors. I am in the extreme northest corner of Alabama. (about 30 miles from the state line of TN) What part of TN does your sister live in? If you want to send me a personal message, feel free. (there is a button below posts that will send a personal message to someone.........took me a while to figure out the site.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hi again. I live in Brownsburg. Are you Kim, or is your SIL Kim? They may never tell your sister her stage or anything else, unless she asks. Karen told you exactly right. Since the cancer has metastasized to the brain, it is considered Stage IV, but also like Karen said, there is a lot more hope these days for Stage IV patients. Also (and hopefully), they might not give her a prognosis. We don't like it much here when people are given a certain amount of time to live. The reason is because the doctors really don't know and it can be very discouraging. It's also based on outdated statistics and doesn't include the effects of all the wonderful new medications available today. After 6 months had passed with my husband's diagnosis, the doctor said to me privately in the hall that "He has already far exceeded our expectations." He is now 15 mos. post diagnosis, so they REALLY don't know. Come back and talk to us often and keep us posted about your SIL. Also, give her this website address. It will really help her to have the support of everyone here. Love, Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remembering Dave Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Peggy - your "handle" says it all - Stand For Hope! You do, and you are living it. You are right on, with everything you said! Karen C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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