joycealim
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Posts:2
Stage 3 nsclc sq cell . diag 4/14. took radia and chemo. the area is the right side of chest.
recent pet scan show possible areas of cancer retuning to same area. Now I go on carbo=gem.
no distant mets. nothing in lymph nodes. maybe cancer in pleural fluiod.
my oncol told me to get my affairs in order.
thoughts?
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Reply # - April 13, 2015, 03:59 PM
Hi joycealim,
Hi joycealim,
Welcome to GRACE. I'm sorry to hear of the possible recurrence, and I hope that you have a good response to chemo.
I've never found the "get your affairs in order" comment to be very helpful. Recurrence after one year is not necessarily a particularly aggressive cancer and in recent years more patients keep such cancers under control for a significant period of time. And there are new treatments being tested in clinical trials. Dr. West discusses second line treatment here. The links at the end of his post are also helpful.
Although targeted therapies such as Tarceva are not normally recommended for stage 3B lung cancer, after recurrence (and especially if there are cancer cells in the pleural fluid) they are a more attractive option. In that regard, if your cancer has not been tested for mutations, it might be a good idea to do so now.
We will keep good thoughts for you as you begin treatment. Please let us know if you have further questions.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - April 13, 2015, 07:59 PM
I hate to be a Johnny-one
I hate to be a Johnny-one-note, but this is squamous cell nsclc. If this is now stage IV, Opdivo was approved for this very application just a month ago, these PD-1 drugs offer real hope, no guarantee, but hope.
Reply # - April 14, 2015, 08:46 AM
Good point Tom, I guess I
Good point Tom, I guess I didn't notice the "sq cell" language.
Joycealim, if you are in the U.S. (where Opdivo has recently been approved) it would certainly be an option. In other locales, you would need to inquire if it has been approved yet.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - April 19, 2015, 05:39 AM
I was tested for mutations
I was tested for mutations and I do not have any. I have had the fluid drained from my right lung 5 times. They were looking for cancer cells. They told me that there were cells in my fluid. Three days later they tell me that there were no cancers cells in my pleural fluid.
Reply # - April 19, 2015, 05:56 AM
Hi joycealim,
Hi joycealim,
My only guess as to what happened was that when they drained the fluid it had the usual appearance of fluid that contains cancer cells, but that when it was tested in the lab none were found.
It's something you may want to ask your doctor about.
JimC
Forum moderator