So my 60 year old healthy mom was having back pain since October. Numerous doctors treated it as sciatica. In the beginning of February it got so bad we went to the ER where a bunch of test determined it was stage 4 adeno. She has mets on her lower spine and several on her liver. Her only symptom was back pain and the other organs where cancer is present are functioning perfectly normal. The lung mass is on the lower right lobe and is 4cm. She had 10 radiation treatments to back which is improving the pain. She is due to start carbo/alimta/avastin this Thursday 3/20/14. We transferred her to sloan Kettering in NYC. Docs there said she is healthy and can tolerate treatment and the fact the cancer is causing no other symptoms is a good thing. They said as long as she responds to treatment it can be managed as a chronic illness. We are waiting on results for mutation testing. We want to stay positive and don't pay attention to statistics. Just looking for feedback if anyone has a similar story or thoughts on our treatment. Thanks!
Dana
Reply # - March 18, 2014, 01:13 PM
Reply To: Mom has stage 4 adeno…looking for feedback. Are we on
Hi Dana,
I'm sorry to hear of your mom's diagnosis, but it's encouraging that the radiation has helped lessen her back pain. The fact that she is otherwise healthy and relatively young is also in her favor. What her doctors have told her seems quite appropriate, as does the treatment regiment they have recommended.
You do well to ignore statistics; they are all at least a bit old and don't relate well to one patient's prognosis, since some patients fare much better than the median.
Let us know if you have any specific questions. You may want to encourage her to stay active and keep a step ahead of the nausea which she may feel two or three days after each infusion by taking her anti-nausea meds on a schedule rather than when she begins to feel ill, taking walks and eating small meals rather than a large meal.
Good luck with her chemo treatments.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - March 18, 2014, 01:20 PM
Reply To: Mom has stage 4 adeno…looking for feedback. Are we on
Hi Dana, Welcome to Grace. I'm very sorry your mom has been diagnosed. It's actually very common for people to be dx just as your mom was, some met causes problems before the primary lung tumor does. Most often early stage is caught incidentally when looking at something else.
It sounds as though you mom could do very well for a long time. Too you seem to have a good attitude about not comparing her with a stat/nonexistent person.
The only thing I wonder about in your post is that if your mom in now being seen at Sloan is she having to travel further? I ask because unless she's in a trial she can get the same drugs at a cancer center nearer home (a big bonus when you're feeling bad). In his blog post Dr. Weiss says and I paraphrase, one can access the 2nd opinion doc at important junctions in treatment decisions and still stay in the comfort of a local facility for treatment. The blog post can be found here, http://cancergrace.org/cancer-101/2011/11/13/an-insider%E2%80%99s-guide…
I hope for the best, please keep us posted but mostly don't hesitate to ask questions if you can't find what you're looking for.
Janine
Reply # - March 18, 2014, 04:02 PM
Reply To: Mom has stage 4 adeno…looking for feedback. Are we on
I would just add that the treatment plan seems completely appropriate for someone with her current clinical situation. Although "individual results may vary", the treatment combination is one that typically provides a very good balance of efficacy against the cancer and favorable tolerability.
Good luck. I hope you soon have occasion to post about how well she's doing.
-Dr. West