frenchy Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Hello, I am new to this so be patient with me. My mother was diagnosed with stage III NSCLC within the last 3 weeks. She is 81 years old we have done the ct scan,the biopsy and the pet scan.It is only in the upper left lung approx. 3cm.x4cm.She only has 55% lung capacity so operating was nulled.The oncologist suggested radiation for 6 weeks.After speaking with him he suggested chemo once a week during radiation.We met with the chemo dr. today and said it would be a lite dose that she would not lose any hair.My mother lives alone within 15 minutes of me i am the only child and i lost my father in sept of 05 to leukimia he was 77.I really do not know what to do or what to expect from all of this.I am really concerned about my mothers health when this all starts as of now she has no symptoms and she gets along well on her own.Is all this worth putting her thru this? please help with anything you can comment on. Thanks mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyr Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Hello Mike & Welcome. Sorry you had to find us but there are some wonderful caring people here who can answer questions and offer support. My husband had 6 weeks of radiation and also weekly induction chemo during that time. He tolerated it all pretty well until about the 4th or 5th week and then the radiation started to tire him and he had some swallowing problems that I believe are pretty normal. The chemo was a light dose & he tolerated it very well with no nausea or hair loss. The only advice I can offer is to work closely with your mother's radiologist & oncologist and always get their input as to what they feel is the best course for Mom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masspa Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Hi Mike, My Mom (83 years old) was also diagnosed with stage III lung cancer - surgery not an option because of the location of the tumor. She began with chemo (because they thought at her age, they'd do sequential chemo and then radiation). However, when she met with the rad onc, he recommended going ahead with radiation, so she got 3 days of chemo every 4 weeks (1 round before starting radiation, 2 rounds during and 1 round after) She managed remarkably well. I certainly had the same questions that you have about how much you want your Mom to get beat up by the treatment that's supposed to help her, but in my Mom's case it was worth it!!! She's had a follow up CT scan which showed improvement. SHe had a small amount of esophageal pain 4-5 weeks into the radiation, and has had some fatigue weeks 5-6 and the week following her last radiation. THe fatigue didn't keep her from going to dinner, theater, and other social stuff, she just learned that she needed a recovery day after a busy social day. As Wendy said - keep in touch with the docs. Mom's were great about checking in and making sure she was handling the treatment well.The addressed side effects early and kept discomfort to a minimum. I don't know the rest of your mom's history, but even though she's 81 it's definately doable - good luck!!! let me know if there's anything I (or Mom) can do to help Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 My MIL was 84 on diagnosis and had radiation only to her tumor. She did not want to have chemo. She came through it fine and is still feeling well at 86. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy-OK Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Hi Mike. My nsclc was also inoperable due to percentage of lung function. I underwent 35 radiation treatments and receive chemo of carbo/taxol once a week for 6 weeks. I say if your mom is in fairly good health otherwise and it sounds like she is since she lives alone and takes care of herself the battle the beast!!!! Please let her maintain what independence she can unless of course like me she is to stubborn to ask for help when she knows she needs it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fillise Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Hi Mike--I, too am new at this with my 77 year-old mom. What does your mom want to do? My mom did three weeks of radiation for mets to her spine. That was a piece of cake for her. She then started chemo and while that hasn't been a piece of cake, it hasn't been nearly as bad as she feared. Other than the first weekened after chemo (she takes one treatment every three weeks) she can go to her church meetings and out with friends. But she is committed to fighting this. How does your mom feel about this and what is she willing to do to fight it? It's important to listen. Good luck--Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy Posted April 11, 2007 Author Share Posted April 11, 2007 I WANT TO THANK THE ONES THAT REPLIED TO MY TOPIC IT MADE ME FEEL ALOT BETTER ABOUT THIS.JUST TO UPDATE ALL OF YOU MY MOTHER IS HALFWAY WITH HER 30 RADIATION TREATMENTS AND ALSO WITH HER CHEMO.SO FAR SHE IS DOING GREAT NOT LOSING ANY WEIGHT,RADIATION SO FAR IS GOOD.CHEMO IS SO-SO SHE CANNOT ACCEPT THE TAXOL BUT NO PROBLEM WITH THE CARBO.SHE IS NOT LOSING ANY HAIR AND HAS NOT BEEN SICK.LEAVE IT ALL IN "GODS" HANDS AND HE WILL DO HIS WILL.ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU.[/b] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masspa Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Mike, I'm glad to hear your Mom is doing well with her treatment. My 83 year old mother just went through the same routine. I think the old galz are a tough breed - good for her for getting through it so well. I hope treatment continues to go well and that your Mom responds well to it. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiredmom959 Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Mike ... my mom was 75 when diagnosed with IIIB. Radiation and surgery were never an option, only chemo. She contemplated not doing anything at all, in which case they mentioned palliative care (sheesh, I hate that phrase). The doc wanted to give her six rounds of chemo ... she agreed to have three and see how things went. If she was too sick/it wasn't helping, she'd quit. That was a year ago ... the chemo (which she had no significant side effects with) shrunk the cancer to the point of being operable, she had surgery, and has felt great pretty much the entire time. The recovery from the surgery was a little rough for a couple weeks, but she's back to all her activities. We have to wait a couple more months for a follow-up PET scan. As I said in a previous post, I never thought she'd even be here this time this year, let alone making plans to attend my son's high school graduation, see her sister in Florida ... heck, she now claims her goal is to see my 13 year old graduate. I'll keep you in my prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don M Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Hi Mike; I am glad to hear your mom is doing ok with the chemo-radiation. After your mom finishes her treatment, if there is any residual disease, she could have it killed off with cyberknife. There are a lot of elderly patients who use cyberknife because they cannot do conventional surgery. Check out the message board. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?f=6 Don M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbara5452 Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Mike, I agree with some of the others, It's what you mom wants to do. If she is willing to treat then let her, but if she feels at her age not too, respect that. I'm stage 3 (the second time around) and have done very well with all the treatments. Keep us in touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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