May
My mom was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer on mon might 19 and she has bipolar disorder,a heart stint,she’s weak and fragile, she is 56 years old, short of breath.she is swelling badly in ankles and feet,and turning yellow already from head to neck.I am concerned she wont beable to tolerate chemo nor radation therapy to prolong her life.I need to know if chemo would be a good option for her or she should just live out what life she has left with the cancer.I want her quality of life to be what it is now and not lesser. She cant tolerate pain well and she has a negative attitude.
Answer:
Stacey this sounds very, very serious. Small cell lung cancer progresses very rapidly. If she is having these signs and symptoms from her lung cancer rather than additional medical problems, the expected survival without treatment would likely be measured in weeks. I have seen dramatic temporary responses with advanced small cell lung cancer with chemo plus radiation. If we do very well with advanced small cell, we may buy extra months or even a year of relatively good quality time. It will be up to your mother to decide whether she wants to try treatment. She has the ability to always stop it if she doesn't tolerate it well. With small cell lung cancer - if correctly diagnosed - there’s no real chance without treatment. This is one type of cancer that may respond well to chemo and RT.
Added note - Oncologists do not treat this or any cancer just to make money. I often treated people like this at my own expense IF they wanted to try. We try to help people if they want to fight. Perhaps your mother won’t wish to fight, and that is her choice. Chemotherapy should not be painful, and most people don’t have nausea and vomiting these days.
This sounds like a situation where the outcome will not be what we would like no matter what we do. Advanced cancer is often like that. When people present with far advanced disease and are near death, it is very difficult to pull them back from the brink. The outcome is in the hands of a power greater than any physician.
Answer:
Chemo is extremely hard on the body, if your mom is as frail as you state she’s Chemo might not be the ideal course of action. To answer something like this you should consult the surgeon and or doctor to answer something like this. After that, it's your mom that has to make the choice, she’s the only one that has the power to save herself.
Answer:
it might. it depends on what stage of cancer