masspa Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Hi, I've been reading your stories of hope since my mom was told she has a "spot" on her lung in late october (this was after 8 months of chronic, racking cough), Now with more information (and some time to accept that Mom has lung cancer, and be ready to fight), I'm ready to post - so here it is My mom is 83 and has been recently diagnosed with Non small cell lung cancer - her bronchoscopy yielded small path specimens, but from what they can tell, it's squamous cell. Her main tumor seems to ne in and around her Left mainstem bronchus and left pulmonary artery - both are still patent, but surgery really isn't an option. SHe smoked for 25 years, but quit 15 years ago. She's otherwise healthy, and has a great support system, as well as a fabuously positive attitude. We've seen the medical oncologist at Dana Farber who recommended sequential chemo then radiation given my Mom's age and prosimity of the tumor to her heart and great vessels. SHe's calling it stage IIIA (or B, we'd need a mediastinoscopy to confirm no spread to those nodes - but none lit up on the pet) Her plan was for 2 cycles of taxol/carbo, then re-evaluate and eith continue with that combo, start radiation, or change drugs - depending on whether the tumor shrinks, stays the same or grows - obviously we're all hoping it shrinks. Mom went for her first treatment last week, but unfortunately was not able to tolerate the taxol. she had two different episodes of shortness of breath after 8-10 cc of the infusion, so the decision was to wait until the next week (12/8) when she'll meet with her doc again, and probably start with carbo/gemzar. Anyone have any thoughts?? We were disappointed that the taxol didn't work - both because we were anxious to start shrinking things,and because our impression is that gemzar is kinda the second choice and might not be as affective. Mom has an appointment for a second opinion at a closer facility, but for now we're gonna stay with the Dana Farber plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mary colleen Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Welcome! My husband is on Cisplatin/Gemzar as an alternative to the originally planned Cisplatin/Taxol. (He works with his hands, and wanted to decrease his chances of peripheral neuropathy.) When the Oncologist offered to switch the planned Taxol to Gemzar, I researched the comparative effectiveness of Gemzar against Taxol. They appear to be very comparable. There is quite a bit of lengthy literature out there on this subject, but here is one of the more concise summaries: Analysis of numerous trials involving thousands of patients has shown that each of these agents alone leads to tumor shrinkage in about 20-25% of patients. When combined as a doublet with cisplatin or carboplatin, that figure increases to around 30%. The most well-known trial comparing these regimens was conducted by Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), which compared Gemzar/cisplatin, Taxol/carboplatin, and Taxotere/cisplatin to Taxol/cisplatin. The study found that each regimen was approximately equal in its ability to shrink the tumor and prolong time to relapse. An informal analysis of the ECOG trial and an additional 11 clinical trials that enrolled a total of almost 4,100 patients showed the same thing: Many of the regimens that combined Taxol, Taxotere, Navelbine, or Gemzar with either cisplatin or carboplatin had similar effectiveness. Best of luck, and again, welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Jen- My MIL is 84 and also has NSCLC. She elected not to have chemo or surgery, and had radiation only. She is doing very well and has elected not to do any more treatment due to her age. I think the second opinion is a good idea - if your mom only has a "spot" cyber knife or something else may help her and give her a good quality of life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masspa Posted December 5, 2006 Author Share Posted December 5, 2006 Thanks for the response!! that's all very encouraging. I'll tell Mom and let her know - I'm sure it will put her mind at ease! As for the radiation - Her appointment with the rad onc is in 2 days, so hopefully he'll have something to offer thanks again Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ztweb Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Jen, I am so sorry about your mom's diagnosis. What a mess cancer is. Please know you have come to a wonderful place, where you can get wonderful information and amazing support. Please keep us informed, and let us know what is happening. God bless, Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiesia Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 My father was offered cisplatin/gemzar (this seems to be the standard first line treatment in Europe) and I have researched the question of effectiveness as well. It seems that the best combinations have to include a platinum drug. But otherwise they were quite comparable (as mentioned before here). wiesia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don M Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Hi Your mom may be a candidate for cyberknife surgery if the cancer has not left the lung. If it is in the lymph nodes or otherwise has already left the lung, she could still be a candidate following chemo. Here is a link. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 Many cyberknife patients are elderly. They go there for treatment because they are not candidates for surgery. If the cancer is early stage, the chances are very good for a cure. The radiation oncologists who practice it say the for stage 1a cancer in the lung, they have a 90% cure rate so far. The only thing is that those who have been "cured" have not yet lived many years to show that it is as effective as conventional surgery because the treatment is relatively new. One important advantage of cyberknife compared to other radiation treatment is that the treatment kills the tumor only. It does not harm normal tissue. Don M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernrol Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Jen, Sorry to hear about your mom. Tarceva is now being used as a stand alone treatment in some cases. Tarceva has fewer side effects than some other chemo. You might ask about it, also Avastin has been given along with Tarceva for first line. Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrea Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Just FYI, my mom did great on Carbo/Gemzar I hope the same for yours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick C Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I'm very sorry about the dx, I don't have experience with this particular situation/treatment options, but am wishing you and Mom Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Huguley Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 You and your mom are in my prayers...so sorry to hear of her dx... Love, Tracey Huguley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marym Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Hello and welcome. I just want to let you know that my initial chemo was carboplatin and gemzar. I had 11 cycles and was removed from it due to the effect on my blood counts. Other than that, I had no problems with tolerating the treatment. Good luck to your Mom. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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