michelleAUSTX Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Hi, I am the caregiver to my 70 yr old mother who is a 2x survivor of breast cancer (lumpectomy & radiation ), she now has been diagnosed with Stage4 squamous non small cell lung cancer. We are in Austin, TX, she just had a port put in on Friday, and is due to start Chemo tomorrow ( carboplatin and taxol) but has decided we are going to try and get a 2nd opinion from MD Anderson in Houston. Her oncologist here has told her, it is not operable, radiation is not an option, Chemo or nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Michelle, Glad you found us. MD Anderson is a wonderful resource but it is sometimes hard to arrange timely appointments. A stage 4 diagnosis generally means tumors are located in several places throughout the body. That rules out surgery and conventional radiation. I was treated with taxol carboplatin which I believe is the standard of care for squamous cell, non small cell lung cancer. Is she going to start her chemo while waiting to get an Anderson consult? Have you read into your mom's disease? Here is a good resource - Lung Cancer 101 - http://www.lungevity.org/about-lung-cancer/lung-cancer-101 You'll have lots of questions and feel free to ask. Stay the course. Tom CindyA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindyA Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Hi MichelleAUSTX, How is your mom doing? I just wanted to let you know that many people get 2nd opinions and sometimes it's a really good thing! Here is a link to Jane Elterman's story. http://www.lungevity.org/support-survivorship/get-connected/blog/lung-cancer-advocate-jane-elterman He story inspired me to be a better advocte for myself and encourage my family to speak up too. I look forward to your update. Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelleAUSTX Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Thank you so much Cindy and Tom for responding and the informaion you both provided! Mom is doing well, not any different that she did before the diagnosis....She has not yet started Chemo, yet, and yes, I have done a lot of research and gathering of information. Hoping to get a call on Monday for the appointment scheduling! Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyW Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 keep us posted on things!!! hugz and prayerz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Michelle - how is your mother doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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