I know this is likely a 'cart before the horse' type question but...and again I promise I attempted at least four different searches on two different laptops and I am getting no search results)... there has to be a problem between my browser or browser settings and this site being attacked. Again...I'm fairly certain I read different topics on this question but today is really one of the last days left before we must decide what treatments options to select and 'go with it'..
If I remember correctly chemo and or radiation treatment(s) have a diminishing return scenario that is.. with more treatment after the initial set of seven weeks of radiation and chemo treatment running concurrently that addtional chemo and or radiation has a less likelihood to be effective and increases the likelihood of complications.
I'm sure this depends on type of cancer, staging and of course the individual but do certain types of cancer which my Mother is Stage 3A aden respond better than cetain others... this kind of boils down to what the 2nd oncologist stated to us that "it is more important to get the treatment correct the first time around" So this is why I'm asking this now and have been asking the questions in my other two recent posts which relate to getting the treatment correct the first time...
What type of details/results of 2nd/3rd line treatments are available on this type of information when compared with survival statistics? It is very concerning obviously. My Mother means everything to me. Once again thank you very much.
cart before the horse.. - 1247252
dkm5859
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Reply # - August 23, 2012, 08:44 AM
Reply To: cart before the horse..
As much as I know you want an answer about what is best there just isn't one. However Dr. West makes clear that a multidisciplanary fashion from many members of a treatment team is best to make a personalized plan. It sounds like your mom has that advantage.
From conclusions of http://cancergrace.org/lung/2010/04/23/stage-iiia-n2-nsclc-summary-ref-… "Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether induction therapy should consist of chemotherapy alone or chemoradiotherapy, which agents are the best for this setting, whether and how to administer post-operative therapy for patients with viable N2 disease at surgery.
It is probably most appropriate to say that there is no “optimal” treatment approach for stage III NSCLC because it encompasses a very wide range of patients in terms of overall health, tumor burden, and other important factors, so it is very appropriate to tailor treatment recommendations based on a range of prognostic factors in the locally advanced NSCLC setting. In this setting perhaps more than any other, it is also critical to develop treatment strategies in a multidisciplinary fashion from many members of the treatment team."
I hope you are feeling better once everything is in motion. Most of us do.
I hope too your mom just needs one plan and the first is the last.
Janine
Reply # - August 23, 2012, 06:53 PM
Reply To: cart before the horse..
I think the question you're asking is "if it comes back, what is the treatment?". Essentially, the treatment if it's been less than a year since the initial therapy is the same approach we'd use for second line treatment of advanced NSCLC (typically, single agent treatment with a chemo agent or an EGFR inhibitor like Tarceva), and I'd say the typical survival is comparable, though typically a little longer after recurrence of earlier stage NSCLC than second line treatment of what started out as metastatic disease.
If there is a recurrence more than a year out from initial treatment, we generally treat this the same way as newly diagnosed metastatic NSCLC and commonly start with a combination regimen. Again, survival is in the same ballpark as for first line NSCLC, though also likely to be correlated with the interval before which recurrence was detected (i.e., if it takes two years for new cancer to appear, survival is likely to be better than if it took 2 months for new cancer to appear).
-Dr. West