Off Topic: Small Cell Lung Cancer

[delerium12345]

Hello all,

I was just curious to know if anyone here has had any experience with family members who have had small cell lung cancer. My mom was diagnosed with extensive stage (or stage 4) SCLC a few months ago -- it has metastasized to her bones and her liver (luckily it is not in the brain yet). No one in my family really knows for sure where to go at this point...it is considered terminal, so the only care that has been recommended is palliative care. This includes chemotherapy as this type of cancer supposedly responds very well to chemo initially, but in almost all cases the cancer grows back.

My mom is on the fence about it all, and while we all have an opinion on what we should do, we all plan to respect whatever decision she makes. Initially, she didn't want to do anything and said she feels any kind of treatment for stage 4 is pointless, but now she does want some relief from her symptoms. She says the worst part aside from all her pain is the fact that she is starving to death but can't eat because the mets to her liver have caused her liver to expand and press on her stomach so that she has no room to eat. The oncologists have said that chemotherapy would shrink the tumors and give her some relief from that for a while... My dad refuses to consider chemo as he feels she will die sooner if she has it -- he demands that she pursue alternative therapies (but it has been a few months since the initial diagnosis and we haven't seen progress yet from anything they have tried). The rest of us see that my mom is getting worse, and we are thinking of encouraging her to do it -- if we wait too long she may not be eligible for chemo anymore. There are also clinical trials that one oncologist said look promising, and I would like her to be eligible for that as well -- but she would have to do the chemo first. Whatever my mom decides to do, I respect her decision 100%. I was just curious to see if anyone else has had any experiences with this type of cancer (or any type of cancer, for that matter).

[AndreaAndee]

Hello, wow, your story almost mimics mine. My mom was diagnosed with "non-small cell" lung cancer in 2002, also stage 4. Her first symptom was pain in her hip, therefore it had already spread to her bone. She wasn't sure about chemo either, but decided to try it for us. I believe that the doctor respected her wishes and gave her chemo, but not the really bad stuff, so that she wouldn't have all the side effects. It may have helped some, but sadly, she passed away in early 2003 (she had about 8 months from the first symptom until she passed).
Now, that was going on 14 years ago. A lot has changed, and I have seen two meds recommended for lung cancer. And clinical trials may be the way to go. Also, being an emet, I have told my husband that I would never do chemo. I would definitely seek alternative or natural therapies.
I guess it is really up to your mom, and what she would like, but yes, the longer you wait the harder it will be for her to qualify for things if her condition worsens.

I totally feel for you...it's the most difficult road to travel. Just try to be there for her, and your whole family. Spend as much time as you can with her. I'm sorry to tell you that my mom passed, but it is an awful disease, and one of the harder ones to treat. Best of luck to you all and I will be thinking of you and praying for you all...feel free to pm if you'd like.

[TryingToBeBrave]

My Uncle had it maybe 2 years ago, but it was stage 1, I believe. The chemo worked well, and he is in remission. I'm not sure if they expect it to return or not. He had a cough that wouldn't go away, and they found it on X-rays. I'm so sorry for her diagnosis. I think the type of chemo mainly made him very tired. The chemo very well could make her more comfortable. It's a hard decision, I'm sure.

[mess_of_a_dreamer]

I'm so so sorry you (and your mom) are going through this. My grandma was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer (pretty sure it was small cell) in March 2015. It had metastasized to both lungs but not to anywhere else in her body. Thus they could not operate surgically. Her doctor felt that because she was quite old (almost 86 at the time) that chemo would be pointless - they said she'd never be 'cured' and chemo would just cause unnecessary pain. They told her she would probably only make it to Christmas. Most of our family agreed that she should just enjoy the time she had left.

She wasn't satisfied with that though, so she went to another doctor a few hours away at a very well-renowned clinic. He was much more understanding and said it's up to her, if she wanted to do chemo he said it was a totally valid option and he recommended only using one of the drugs that her doctor said he'd use so it wouldn't be quite as harsh on her body. He did say she'd likely never be cured completely but that this might extend her life, and if she wanted to do it she should. Every case is unique and a lot of it depends on what the patient wants.

She's been having her doctor give her chemo (the kind that the other doctor recommended) once a week for over a year now, and she's doing great. She's 87 1/2 now, and she's more forgetful because of the chemo but otherwise mostly the same. She's had almost no side effects, though eventually she did begin losing her hair (but no nausea or life-affecting stuff). She pretty much leads the same life she lead before, she just has to be more careful not to be around sick people because of her weakened immune system. Her scans have all come back showing that her cancer, while not getting "better" so to speak, is not getting worse either.

I wish you and your mom (and your family) the best of luck in making the right decision for her. Nobody thought it would be worth it for my grandma to have chemo, doctors included, and yet here she is. My grandma had already overcome cancer once - colon (that HAD metastasized to other places, I think) about 20 years prior so while it's not guaranteed chemo will work, it can do amazing things.

[deerpilgrim]

My great uncle recently passed away from lung cancer, though I'm not sure if it was small cell or not. He was a heavy smoker all his life, unfortunately, but nonetheless despite being stage 4 chemo worked quite well for him and they were able to counteract most of the worst side effects with other medications. I believe he lived about 20 months from diagnosis.

I'm sorry you and your mother are going through this. I hope you're all able to make the decisions that are right for her as well as you and your family.