Pneumonic BAC & Fishing - 1263156

nigel
Posts:4

Hi

My partner has pneumonic BAC, stage IV and I realise there is not a lot of information regarding such a situation. She's far too young to be going through this hell (33). She's on pemetrexed

However I did read this article which made me want to write in this forum (before now its been read only!)

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25063-fishing-rod-reels-brain-tum…

And of course it got me thinking - I wonder if anyone has tried this with any form of BAC? No, I don't know how you'd get the "fishing line" into the lungs without damage, but I don't know a lot about surgery, its all amazing to me.

Is this even remotely possible?

Thanks!

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Reply # - April 9, 2014, 11:30 AM

catdander
Posts:

My all most useless knowledge of brain cancer and metastatic cancer to the brain is that one grows on but separate to the brain tissue and the other grows within the tissue. Being so they are treated quite differently so the article is speaking to brain cancer not cancer metastatic (cells from somewhere else forming a tumor) to the brain.

We have such a great library so I hope you're using it for your friend. All the best to you both and please don't hesitate to ask questions when you or she has them.

Janine

Reply # - April 9, 2014, 03:08 PM

nigel
Posts: 4

Hi Janine,

Thanks, the library and Dr West are both amazing resources, very helpful indeed.

I don't think I asked my question properly :) I know the New Scientist article talks about brain cancer, what I am hoping is that a similar procedure might be used for pneumonic BAC in the lungs. The BAC is renowned for not being metastatic, it seems to remain within the lung. So if there was a way to attract it out of the body altogether, ie down this fishing line, then I get the feeling it would be an incredible advance.

But I also fear I am hoping against hope. I don't want to lose my partner, so I keep reading articles hoping somewhere there is an answer.

Nigel

Reply # - April 9, 2014, 09:10 PM

Dr West
Posts: 4735

I am very sorry about your partner's diagnosis, and I certainly appreciate the temptation to use every promising angle you might read about. However, I'd have to confess that I think this is light years from being a viable treatment for BAC. At this point, the article is really a happy sounding puff piece about a fanciful idea that hasn't been shown to have a meaningful impact on primary brain tumors, and BAC is a different animal. Unfortunately, even if you physically remove the BAC by doing a big surgery (usually when it's not yet multifocal), which is a MUCH more direct and efficient way to remove the cancer, it is renowned for coming back within a short time (typically months) after the surgery.

Good luck.

-Dr. West

Reply # - April 10, 2014, 02:26 AM

nigel
Posts: 4

Dr West,

Thank you for your kind words, they are much appreciated.

We also appreciate your honest assessment of the situation - it is much better than being kept in the dark. It is sometimes easy to fall for these "happy sounding puff piece" articles isn't it? Ah well, we keep on fighting.

Thanks

Reply # - April 10, 2014, 08:31 PM

Dr West
Posts: 4735

Please know that I don't mean to be callous and overly dismissive as much as truly honest. As someone who deals with cancer every day and BAC a lot, I very much appreciate the temptation to be lulled by every promising idea, which is why there are so many puff pieces out there -- they gain viewership/readership by making vague promises that people fearful of cancer are very eager to accept.

Right now, I think that untill we find the driver mutation(s) causing more cancers, standard chemotherapy remains the most promising option, with Alimta (pemetrexed) or the taxanes as the most promising partners for a platinum agent in BAC.

Good luck.

-Dr. West

Reply # - April 11, 2014, 07:14 AM

nigel
Posts: 4

Dr West, we truly appreciate your candour. You don't appear to us to be callous nor dismissive. Never even entered our thoughts!

The honesty is why we are here asking questions. We'd rather know the truth about what we're fighting, and how to fight rather than pie in the sky ideas!

We have weeks of gloom and doom, and then days like today and yesterday, where the sun seems to be shining on us. The pemetrexed appears to be working a little bit more than we had dared hope. Obviously we'd like more days like these two, but we also understand they are rare and should be grabbed with both hands.

All the best

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