Husband diagnosed

[Debby eastwood]

My husband has just been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Devastation has spread through the family. The cancer has gone to the chest bone and he has a spot on his thigh bone also. 

Before diagnosis 5 days ago he had been seeing the GP since January  where we was told it was a scapula sprain. 15 weeks of shoulder pain and then we get to this. 

Can anybody recommend any alternative dietary needs etc or been in this position? 

From a heartbroken wife 

[Laurel]

I am so sorry about the news. As you get more detailed information, you might share here. You would be surprised what people on this site have survived. 

[Curt]

Hi Debby.  I’m sorry to hear about your husbands diagnosis.  Lung cancer diagnosis are usually shocking and often the result of testing for other ailments.  The initial days after diagnosis are tough.  Many describe it as a fog of emotions.  I would recommend a healthy diet of things that your husband enjoys for now.  Just eating anything when he’s under this much stress is tough.  Trying to make a wholesale change in his diet right now may make eating even tougher.  Once you have a treatment plan in place you can alter his diet to help boost energy and to offset side affects from treatment.   Most cancer centers either have a dietitian in house or can recommend one that they work with.  You’ll hear from others on here who will have their recommendations and experiences  

 

Hang in there .  There are affective treatments for Stage IV cancer and new drugs being released.  There are also a lot of ongoing clinical trials.    

[Rower Michelle]

Hi Debby,

Its nice to meet you. I can feel your devastation; I want you to know I’m one of those Stage IV people doing very well on targeted therapy (pills).  Today lung cancer can be managed as a chronic condition.  I was diagnosed in September, 2018, doing very well. 

Curt has given you some great advice; first things first.  It takes some time to get your head wrapped around this surprise diagnosis. 

At the time of  my diagnosis I had pneumonia & pleural effusion.  My hubby had to do  the cooking so he is actually a 1st generation Brit, I survived on tea, toast & scrambled eggs.  I had a chocolate milkshake every day just to help keep my wits about me & stop my rapid weight loss  

Once we got the treatment plan underway we started to take a closer look at how to optimize our diet.  We are just seriously  digging in now.  Cancer Fighting Kitchen by Rebecca Katz is an excellent  resource.  

Your husbands diet will depend on the treatment plan & how well he tolerates it. 

We have transitioned to mostly an organic plant based diet high in antioxidants upon my doctor’s advise.   It’s not an easy transition as hubby really loves Shepard’s Pie.  I also take a number of supplements prescribed by my Integrative Medicine Doctor.  

Take this one step at a time, you will feel a greater sense of control once treatment has initiated. 

Let us know what types of questions you have as there’s a wealth of information and steadfast support among friends.  

Michelle

[Tom Galli]

Debbie,

Sorry to learn of your husband’s DX. Eating?  Keep it simple at this juncture. Treatment may affect his appetite and calories are most necessary because radiation and chemo kill cells (some good and hopefully a lot of cancer). Nutrition will be essential to continuing treatment so encourage eating. 

My appetite was so diminished during treatment, my wife force fed me ice cream. I normally dislike mint taste but it was appealing during my treatment so I had Oreo chocolate mint ice cream 3 times a day. 

Stay the course. 

Tom

[Debby eastwood]

On 5/15/2019 at 2:05 AM, Curt said:

Hi Debby.  I’m sorry to hear about your husbands diagnosis.  Lung cancer diagnosis are usually shocking and often the result of testing for other ailments.  The initial days after diagnosis are tough.  Many describe it as a fog of emotions.  I would recommend a healthy diet of things that your husband enjoys for now.  Just eating anything when he’s under this much stress is tough.  Trying to make a wholesale change in his diet right now may make eating even tougher.  Once you have a treatment plan in place you can alter his diet to help boost energy and to offset side affects from treatment.   Most cancer centers either have a dietitian in house or can recommend one that they work with.  You’ll hear from others on here who will have their recommendations and experiences  

 

Hang in there .  There are affective treatments for Stage IV cancer and new drugs being released.  There are also a lot of ongoing clinical trials.    

 

On 5/15/2019 at 1:45 AM, Laurel said:

I am so sorry about the news. As you get more detailed information, you might share here. You would be surprised what people on this site have survived. 

 

On 5/15/2019 at 2:05 AM, Curt said:

Hi Debby.  I’m sorry to hear about your husbands diagnosis.  Lung cancer diagnosis are usually shocking and often the result of testing for other ailments.  The initial days after diagnosis are tough.  Many describe it as a fog of emotions.  I would recommend a healthy diet of things that your husband enjoys for now.  Just eating anything when he’s under this much stress is tough.  Trying to make a wholesale change in his diet right now may make eating even tougher.  Once you have a treatment plan in place you can alter his diet to help boost energy and to offset side affects from treatment.   Most cancer centers either have a dietitian in house or can recommend one that they work with.  You’ll hear from others on here who will have their recommendations and experiences  

 

Hang in there .  There are affective treatments for Stage IV cancer and new drugs being released.  There are also a lot of ongoing clinical trials.    

Thank you so much biopsy was performed today and seeing bone specialists tomorrow. My husband is coming home tomorrow so it’s nice to see him smiling. Thank you again for your advice 

[Debby eastwood]

On 5/15/2019 at 9:20 AM, Tom Galli said:

Debbie,

Sorry to learn of your husband’s DX. Eating?  Keep it simple at this juncture. Treatment may affect his appetite and calories are most necessary because radiation and chemo kill cells (some good and hopefully a lot of cancer). Nutrition will be essential to continuing treatment so encourage eating. 

My appetite was so diminished during treatment, my wife force fed me ice cream. I normally dislike mint taste but it was appealing during my treatment so I had Oreo chocolate mint ice cream 3 times a day. 

Stay the course. 

Tom

Thank you Tom for your advice and reply. Husband had biopsy today so things are happening quickly 

I wish you well 

[Debby eastwood]

On 5/15/2019 at 2:44 AM, Rower Michelle said:

Hi Debby,

Its nice to meet you. I can feel your devastation; I want you to know I’m one of those Stage IV people doing very well on targeted therapy (pills).  Today lung cancer can be managed as a chronic condition.  I was diagnosed in September, 2018, doing very well. 

Curt has given you some great advice; first things first.  It takes some time to get your head wrapped around this surprise diagnosis. 

At the time of  my diagnosis I had pneumonia & pleural effusion.  My hubby had to do  the cooking so he is actually a 1st generation Brit, I survived on tea, toast & scrambled eggs.  I had a chocolate milkshake every day just to help keep my wits about me & stop my rapid weight loss  

Once we got the treatment plan underway we started to take a closer look at how to optimize our diet.  We are just seriously  digging in now.  Cancer Fighting Kitchen by Rebecca Katz is an excellent  resource.  

Your husbands diet will depend on the treatment plan & how well he tolerates it. 

We have transitioned to mostly an organic plant based diet high in antioxidants upon my doctor’s advise.   It’s not an easy transition as hubby really loves Shepard’s Pie.  I also take a number of supplements prescribed by my Integrative Medicine Doctor.  

Take this one step at a time, you will feel a greater sense of control once treatment has initiated. 

Let us know what types of questions you have as there’s a wealth of information and steadfast support among friends.  

Michelle

Thank you Michelle for your reply and advice. I feel I need to take 5 minutes for research but too difficult at the moment. 

 

Your story has given me inspiration so thanks again and I wish you every best wish in your journey 

[Rower Michelle]

Hi Debby, 

I thin The research can wait. My  Hubby was too paralyzed at first to do any research so I gave it a shot. For me, it was not productive for two reasons: 1. The LC data is out of date, not taking into effect the new treatments  2. I had scrambled egg head so my ability to understand and retain information was impossible.  I ended up doing the research over again when I had my wits about me.  

I think the key is having a doctor that is a lung cancer expert (not a general medical oncologist).  Those are the true science geeks that will have knowledge and courage to think out of the box.  

In the beginning we found our way back by trying to be with positive people doing the fun things we loved but sometimes had trouble finding the time to do in the general hustle and bustle.   

Michelle

 

[Curt]

@Debby eastwood were you given the option to do genetic biomarker testing on the biopsy?  If not I highly recommend it.  Treatment can be tailored to certain specific genetic mutations.  

 @Tom Galli Oreo chocolate mint ice cream!?   I didn’t know such a thing existed.  I will have to investigate.  

[Debby eastwood]

No I haven’t really had a chance to ask these questions as everything has moved quickly. I will definitely mention and look that up. Thank you so much 

[BridgetO]

Hi Debby,

A good place for clear and concise informtion about biomarker testing and treatment tailored to specific mutations is  https://lungevity.org/for-patients-caregivers/lung-cancer-101.

Bridget O