my mom...NSCLC with brain mets

caligirl · Regular Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 37

Hi all! I have been reading this board since my mom was diagnosed Oct. 19 2007. She had no symtoms just what she thought was a sinus infection that need an antibiotic - then they found it - 7cm mass in her right lung. Then came all the tests to see what kind and where it was and the results weren't good. 6 brain mets (one already starting to bleed and in a very bad area) an local , centerline lymphs and also adrenal gland...

It has been devastating, as you all know. She got on steroids immediately and did 10 WBR treatments before 3 rounds of chemo. Stopped after 3 to give her body a rest and then was going to do 3 more in a few months. They told us on Jan. 23 that she was one of the lucky ones and thatthe chemo had shrunk everything 40-50%. Had her last chemo on Feb. 17.....
Never got better and the 1st week of march she all the sudden had terrible pain and was a bit disoriented....
Took her to ER March 10. Results: Brain mets still under control but cancer had already grown all the way back and then some and had metastised to her bone and 2 new spots in other lung......We were shocked at the speed. I think the doctor was a bit surprised too.....
Anyway, they wanted to radiate for palliative reasons her lung and bone but she decided that enough was enough and we called hospice.
The doctors gave her 2-3 months WITH the radiation that she refused but I have to tell you. The hospice people have been great and they put her back on steroids and long acting morphine...She is happy and in no pain whatsoever. She is eating again and says she feels better than she had since the very beginning.....In fact, she is staying at a girlfriends beach house right to and having a great time......
I just wonder, how long can she go like this?
When the end is coming will I know?
Is it generally gradual or happens fast with this kind of cancer?
Sometimes its frustrating that no one seems to have any answers.
I can hanlde whatever it is but this limbo is awful because I feel like I dont know what each day is going to bring....
If she is tired one day, I think "is she starting to fal or is she just tires"
If she is a bit out of it, I think "Is it the drugs or is it the brain mets", etc, etc
Well thanks for listening and I'm so sorry for all of us that are touched by this horrible disease!!

Tera · Senior User Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 176

Isn't Hospice awesome? Sounds like your mom brought Hospice on board before her quality of life got too bad. My mom resisted bringing Hospice on board until late in the game. It was her choice and I respected it. She didn't have much pain before Hospice but she was very nervous and restless. Once Hospice started, her restlessness ceased. But her disease progress was so fast that her quality had already diminished before Hospice.

I can tell you from Mom's perspective that as she progressed, she began sleeping more and eating less, which soon progressed to taking in less fluids. Ensure even became difficult for her to swallow so we went to Boost, which is thinner. She even quit that the last few days and would only take sips of water which progressed to just a couple of dropperfuls of water. She would no longer watch TV either, just slept.

Kudos to your mom for going to her friend's beach house. I know it is hard, Caligirl, and you are so fearful of what each day will bring. Hospice can be a great source of comfort for you too, so reach out and let them help you too. Remember, everyone is different and she may go a while feeling good.

passcon93 · Regular Joined: 25 Oct 2007 Posts: 11 Location: CT

my mom diagonosed with NSCLC with Mets to brain and adrenals on Sept 17th, had 15 wbt and 6 cycles of chemo. THe doctor will not give her anymore treatments b/c she is so weak. The waiting is horrible and the not knowing what is going to happen is even worse. I wish I had some great information for you but I have come to learn that everyone responds different to lung cancer. I am very sorry that you are going through this believe me I know how hard it is.

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 1138

Caligirl,

This is the frustration of cancer. You don't know when or how it will manifest itself in the end. It's an emotional roller coaster that some demon created to mess with our minds in horrible ways. I wish I could offer you something, but you simply have to go with the flow and handle each day as a blessing. That is the best we can do.

Palliative radiation would only have helped with any pain she was experiencing, but it wouldn't slow down the cancer as there are micro-metastatic cancer cells traveling via her blood system. They look for a new place to settle and create new tumors. I know how shocked you are at the growth rate, the same thing happened to my husband. He also had an aggressive cancer.

I know how difficult it is to not see everything as a sign of the cancer moving. One thing I can tell you is that the human body is an amazing work of art and often can continue to thrive even with a heavy cancer burden. I hope you mom has many pleasant days ahead of her. God bless her for going on a little trip - that will do wonders for her spirits.

Take care and sorry that no one can give you a time frame. It's just not possible. Take each day at a time.

Hugs,
PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

RLW1 · Regular Joined: 03 Nov 2007 Posts: 31

Caligirl,
My wife had multiple brain mets. She passed on WBRT and went straight to hospice. Her doctors made it clear that no one could say "how long" with any certainty but that it wouldn't be long. It wasn't. Six weeks to the day from the date she was diagnosed. Your mom had WBRT so that will likely extend the time. Watch for a decline in your Mom's eating and drinking and longer and longer periods of sleep. The hospice nurse told me thet I could tell when my wife entered a "final" stage of the disease. I didn't see it at the time, but now in retrospect, I can remember when that occurred.

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> Lung Cancer Forum	All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others