My Mother-in-law was diagnosed with Stage IV NSCLC in January 2014. She is 87 years old. She recently stopped chemotherapy (Carboplatin and Docetaxel) as it was too much for her body to handle. Her oncologist based her chemo treatment on CEA blood test only. After her final chemo treatment her CEA level went from 313 to 664.6. She seems fine right now other than not being able to walk a small distance without being out of breath. I am her sole caregiver and I don’t know what my next step should be since she is stopping treatment. Without treatment will the cancer start to spread quickly? Will she be in pain? She doesn’t seem ready for Hospice but would that be the next step? Unfortunately, her oncologist is not helpful in answering our questions.
Sincerely,
JoAnn
Reply # - October 29, 2015, 07:50 AM
Hi JoAnn,
Hi JoAnn,
As we discussed in your previous thread, monitoring CEA is usually not a good way to determine progression in lung cancer. Has she had a follow-up scan since starting this chemo, and does it show progression? If not, it would be perfectly reasonable to give your mother-in-law a treatment break and have her oncologist follow her closely with scans and physical exams. You can help by reporting any new or worsening symptoms to her doctor when they occur. As Dr. West said, after treatment cancer may begin to progress in a few months or it may take longer, but with close follow-up it should be treatable. Of course at her age, her oncologist will need to assess her ability to tolerate any chosen therapy.
Good luck to her and you.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - October 29, 2015, 09:59 AM
Thank you for your response.
Thank you for your response. Much appreciated.