My sister has Stage IV indolent lung cancer. She was dx'd about 1.5 years ago and has taken rounds of chemo. She was able to be off chemo for 7 months. It was wonderful.
She has progressed some and a biopsy was done at James Cancer Center in Ohio to see if she would be eligible for a trial; it was found that her tissue was not compatible for the LD ?? trial so she will now start chemo again next week.
She has been in horrible, deep/aching agonizing pain in her shoulder and arm for about 4 weeks now. The oncologists say it is NOT cancer pain, but rather a pinched nerve. She did go the ER and the ER doc said it was most likely, in his opinion cancer pain.
This is just a nightmare. So far the cancer has not spread outside of her lungs.
I am so worried about her. I am afraid I am going to lose her sooner than later.
My hope is the word "indolent" and I am hoping maybe because of this she will live several years longer and maybe there will more out there to help her during that time.
I don't understand "indolent"??
Thank you.
Reply # - August 30, 2014, 10:28 AM
Reply To: Stage IV Indolent Lung Cancer
Hi jennyh,
If her doctors have described her cancer as indolent, then they feel that it has not progressed much and very slowly. Unfortunately no one can say whether a cancer will remain indolent, but it is better to have that history than one which has been aggressive.
Follow-up scans (MRI or CT/PET) may be able to determine the source of her shoulder/arm pain. In the meantime, it would be good to see if her doctors can prescribe or modify her pain medications.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - August 30, 2014, 02:07 PM
Reply To: Stage IV Indolent Lung Cancer
Obviously, if she is getting different interpretations of her imaging and symptoms from different doctors viewing her imaging, we have less insight than they would. However, my experience is that ER physicians don't tend to have a very nuanced interpretation of cancer.
As I've written in many places on the site, cancer can sometimes be so indolent (as in "slow moving") that it poses a very minimal threat over the next several years and is expected to follow a MUCH slower trajectory than the outcomes often seen for an "average" cancer). In such cases, it makes sense to avoid reflexively treating an indolent cancer just like any other that is likely to have a very different behavior.
Good luck.
-Dr. West