Cancer Discussions, Cancer Treatment Options Forum - December 2nd, 2009 - 5 Comments
3rd stage cancer any hope?
well my aunt who i am very close to been diagnosed with 3rd stage lung cancer and and 1st stage stomach cancer or something around that area and shes gonna be doing her chemo therapy after she has surgery next week to remove the tumor (dont know where its at my parents dont wanna fill me in all the details so sorry for the scarce information) so my question is both those cancers 1 in third while the other is in first how long do you guys think she has left to live oh let me mention shes 63 cause after hearing the farrah fawcett story i became really sad and extremely worried for my aunt and like i said earlier this is my only aunt that im close to all the others i can never connect with
If what you report is accurate than your aunt probably does not have two types of cancer . . she has one that has ‘metastasized’ which means she is automatically a stage IV. From your description it would seem that the stomach cancer may be the primary cancer and the cancer in the lungs may be what is called ‘mets’ (metastatic) or a secondary cancer. No matter which cancer it turns out to be there is more than one location in her body that has cancer . . so she has stage IV or metastatic cancer. It is not impossible to treat and survive a stage IV cancer but it is far more difficult. The reason is because the cancer is no longer in just one location . . the original tumor has ’seeded’ or shed microscopic cancer cells into her blood stream or lymphatic system. These microscopic cancer cells can travel all through the body and lodge in a new location to start a whole new cancer colony. If the primary tumor is in the stomach than those microscopic cancer cells are stomach cancer cells and they can travel through the blood and lodge in the lungs to create a secondary location for her cancer. This can be repeated all over the body . . making surgery difficult if not impossible. So treatment in general would be chemotherapy to try and bring the cancer under control. Radiation may be used to reduce the size of the tumors in the hope of being able to ‘debulk’ any or all visible tumors. The difficulty comes in that cancer is a progressive disease . . and it has already progressed to stage IV and shed new cancer cells . . trying to locate and kills off microscopic cancer cells is very hard . . just when you get one area under control it is possible for a whole new crop of cancer cells to begin growing in a new location . . which will happen indefinitely unless treatment can stop or control it.
Still, successful treatment will depend on several factors . . the type of cancer, location of tumors, stage of disease, grade of tumor, age of patient, the patients overall health, and the patients first response to treatment. There are survivors of stage IV disease, but it will be a long road for your aunt with no guarantees. Hopefully her doctors will be able to find a medication that will help her to live with her cancer (keep it from growing by keeping it under control) . Rather than trying to ‘cure cancer’ doctors now sometimes focus on ‘controlling the disease’. So your aunt could live comfortably with the cancer and still have good quality of life.
Remember your aunt is not a statistic . . there is always hope.
Best of luck.
I am really sorry but it doesn’t look good. Lung cancer has a very low survival rate at the best of times.
I really wish you and your family the best of luck.
For people in the 3A group 1 in 3 survive for 5 years if its group 3B less than 10% survive for 5 years.
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=6747
Sad to say there are not many treatments that will help her survive. This might help her feel better, take 1 teaspoon of baking soda and mix with 4 ounces of water, and drink first thing in the morning, along with another 4 ounces of water to wash it down.
Drink this every day for the next couple of months, until she starts to feel better. It will help her be able to get through the days ahead. Not that it tastes good or anything. Just grin and bear it.
Best of luck to her.
Hi, its a shame your parents won’t sit and speak to you about this; it would help you understand so much more of what is happening to your Aunt. Any lung cancer that has spread to another organ is still considered lung cancer, as that is where the primary tumor began. So the cancer in her stomach is still considered lung cancer. Also, once the cancer has left the lung and attached itself to another organ, its then considered stage iv lung cancer. Very unusual that they will be operating on her since its spread already, normally they won’t do that.. so that is a good thing!! If they operate and remove the primary, then she has a good chance that chemo can rid her of the cancer in her stomach.
I hope this helps you to understand a bit more of your Aunt’s condition, but of course this is second hand info since I don’t know any more than you do with her diagnosis. Is there any hope…….yes……….. there is always hope. I was diagnosed with stage iv lung cancer in May, 2006, I was told I had less than a year with chemo, I’m still fighting it and I am inoperable. All the best to your Aunt, and your family.
I was stage 3 with non small cell lung cancer, I went through chemo and radiation treatment. I couldn’t have surgery because the location of my cancer. I’ve been in remission from my cancer for a little over a year. You can go online to amercancancersociety.com and get better information. Improvements have been made in cancer care, and it’s important that she and all those around her remain positive. The sooner it’s diagnosed the better the chances of survival. I know if I can go into remission she can too. Her being first stage stomach cancer makes it a little tougher, but I believe with all my heart she can make it. My prayers are with all of you during this time.