Hello,
I never thought that I would find myself on this type of forum. Long story short, my mom is 54 years old. She was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in May of this year (2017). In February it was originaly only stage 2 in her mouth. After she underwent surgery to remove her tongue (where the cancer was) and teeth, she was put through radiation and 33 sessions of chemotherapy.
My family and I thought that she was okay after that, only to come to find that her cancer is now in her lungs and is stage 4. Is it common that cancer spreads so quickly and how is it that it can be stage 4 already?
Our oncologist said that she has no cure for my mom. She was put on Nivolumab, but the Oncologist decided to stop because on top of my mom having cancer, she has had these terrible headaches which at first the doctors couldn't seem to find out the primary cause. Once they ran more tests, i.e., cat scans, MRI's and so forth.
They soon discovered a tumor that is on my mom's neck that may be causing the headaches.
Now, going back to what the my mom's doctor has said, she doesn't want my mom to continue chemo because of how much pain my mom's body is already in. My mom is on a lot of steriods right now. The doctor said in order to start back on the chemo, my mom would have to 'ween' off of the meds. I've never heard of this before. Can't my mom still take the medication and chemo?
I just don't understand why the doctor doesn't want to give my mom the chemo...what could save her life. I asked if she thought my mom had a certain amount of time to live. The doctor's eyes surprisingly watered up and she said "Probably 6 months or less in my opinion." That's just her opinion right?
Can my mom surivie this stage 4 lung cancer without treatment? :(
I can't fathom not having my mom around.
If anyone else has gone through this please, give your input. I want to get a second opinion from another doctor. Does anyone think that would help? Would they have to run my mom through a lot more tests?
Whoever you are, thank you for reading.
