Hi, I'm new.

[Mel the Caretaker]

Hi, my MIL was just diagnosed with  NSCLC Stage llb3. Her Tx start next week and I will be her primary caregiver. Im quite nervous about what to expect. She's 78 yo and just had a major open heart surgery a little over a year ago. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks and stay strong!!

[Mister Whiskers]

My mother-in-law was a caregiver.  I'm new too and don't know anything.  But I think you're in good company.

[Mel the Caretaker]

Thanks Mr. Whiskers. ?

[Susan Cornett]

Good morning.  Do you feel comfortable discussing your mother-in-law's treatment plan?  There are so many different options with chemo, injections, radiation, etc., and we all react differently.  In my case, I had surgery to remove my primary tumor, followed by four rounds of cisplatin and alimta.  My side effects were manageable - nausea, fatigue, neuropathy, and ringing in the ears.  The only one that still lingers almost a year later is the ringing in the ears.  Depending on the course of treatment, your mother-in-law's physician may request a scan during treatment to check progress but may also wait until after treatment.  Frequent scans (i.e., every 90 days or so) will likely become a way of life.  

I hope that you find this forum useful.  It has been a great resource for me.  Please keep us posted.

[Melissa Blevins]

On 3/26/2017 at 0:23 AM, Mel the Caretaker said:

Hi, my MIL was just diagnosed with  NSCLC Stage llb3. Her Tx start next week and I will be her primary caregiver. Im quite nervous about what to expect. She's 78 yo and just had a major open heart surgery a little over a year ago. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks and stay strong!!

Hello.  My Mom just had a left lung lobectomy and I also am not sure about what to do.  She has had some pretty bad complications after surgery. I'm such a wreck!   I will pray for you and your family through this difficult time.

Melissa

[Tom Galli]

Mel,

Welcome here.  Susan gave a good answer about some things you may encounter.  Here is some tips and tricks I published several years ago that might give you further insight into the journey.

Age will complicate treatment and perhaps side effects, but I know eighty year old folks who are in treatment or who have successfully navigated treatment.  So my idea is to meander around this site and realize there are a lot of late-stage-diagnosed lung-tenured survivors here.  Your take away from that meander is that if we can live, so can your MIL.

You'll have questions and this is a good place to ask.  We are not doctors but have a wealth of experience about surviving lung cancer.

Stay the course.

Tom