Hello Doctor,
My name is Vinod from India. My mother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in July 2013 and we had treatment done in AIIMS, Delhi. She was given chemotherapy first and later she had surgery in December 2013.
By grace of God and help of Doctors the cancer cells were removed and she was cancer cell free. We were having regular check up for her after surgery through PET Scan and regular x-rays till now since last 18 months.
But sadly, during her recent PET Scan, the results were showing new cancer cells around her same previous areas and it has also spread to the bones.
Kindly advise what are the chances of cure of cancer after coming again and what are the steps we can take to avoid further spreading. its 4th stage cancer for my mother.
Please advise us what can be done in tis situation.
Regards,
Vinod Rajan
Reply # - August 10, 2015, 09:13 AM
Hi Vinod,
Hi Vinod,
Welcome to GRACE. I'm sorry to hear of your mother's diagnosis and recent evidence of recurrence. I'm also sorry to say that when lung cancer has spread outside the lung, as in your mother's case to her bones, it is not considered curable. But it is treatable and there are a number of established treatments as well as many exciting drugs showing promise in clinical trials.
Stage 4 lung cancer is treated systemically with chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy. In your mother's situation, she could move to a different chemotherapy with which she hasn't yet been treated. Another option, if tissue from her surgery or a new biopsy is available, is to test that tissue for certain genetic mutations or alterations, most notably EGFR and ALK. If either of these mutations are present, there are drugs which specifically target cancer cells with those mutations. Some patients respond to those drugs for quite an extended period of time, and there are newer drugs which may be used if the cancer becomes resistant to them. In recent years, immunotherapy drugs have been developed in an effort to utilize the body's immune system to fight cancer, and these drugs are currently in clinical trials. I would recommend a discussion with her oncologist regarding all of these options.
Here are some links which may provide you with good background knowledge:
http://cancergrace.org/lung/2010/04/05/an-introduction-to-lung-cancer/
http://cancergrace.org/lung/2010/10/04/lung-cancer-faq-2nd-line-nsclc-o…
http://cancergrace.org/lung/2010/10/10/overview-of-molecular-markers-in…
http://cancergrace.org/cancer-treatments/2014/12/30/what-is-immunothera…
There are helpful links at the end of each of these posts.
Please let us know if you have further questions.
JimC
Forum moderator