Thanks for your response. To clarify: his treatment was adjunctive. At the time they saw no sign of cancer outside the lung. Now, however, after 4 rounds of chemotherapy the disease seems to have spread during treatment with taxotere and cisplatin: it's now in the liver, bones and adrenal glands. His original tumor was EGFR positive that is why Tarceva came up as a viable second step.
In general, this would represent the recommended treatment options for lung cancer. There are no clear guides as what drug is best after 3 lines of therapy, hence the reluctance to recommend any treatment.
I am also guessing that the adrenal involvement cannot be removed with surgery, hence, this is not given as an option. You are right, that there are some people who even have brain involvement and undergo surgery, but these cases are really the exceptions more than the rule.
I was then diagnoised with NSCC of the other lung, they found a tumor on the Junction of the upper and lower lobe of the left lung. At the time of the procedure it messured 1.3 cm at the time of being placed on Tarceva the measurment 1.9 cm with in three wks after surgery in April.
Placed on Tarceva the first of May and No incress in growth...Doctors say Stable Remission...Now I have been told that I have a Mass on the back side of my thyroid gland on the left side.
Asians, women, non-smokers, and those with adenocarcinoma histology. This drug still has been found to benefit males, smokers, and those with squamous cell histology, but to a lesser extent.
Edema (fluid accumulation in any body part, resulting in swelling) has been reported as an adverse event in 37% of pancreatic cancer patients taking Tarceva, although this side effect has not been reported in lung cancer cases.
However, the type of edema associated with Tarceva use is either generalized or involves a swelling of both legs. Swelling in only one leg may not be due to this drug. Unilateral leg swelling may be due to a local infection (cellulitis) in that area.
Hello I am a caretaker. My client was diagnose with lung cancer stage IV. It has already spread to the spine, both lungs and the lymph system. Doctors triede Tarceva for 3 weeks but her body had a very bad reaction. For the spine they did radiotherapy. But since she was diagnose 3 months ago she has lost aalmost her voice. she is using oxygen for the major part of the day but doctors don't wan't to talk about time. no more medes will be given and she was reffer to hospice....
In lung cancer, there are assays for quantitative testing of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR), which confers sensitivity to some drugs used in lung cancer like Iressa or Tarceva. The cost of testing can range from a few hundred dollars (e.g. ER/ PR assays) to around 3800 dollars for the Oncotype DX test.
Hi There...
I have had a upper right lobectomy on Sept 14 2001.Stage 1A BAC lung cancer...no chemo or no radiation..clear margins and no lymph node involvement.. ..it's been a little over five years now. cancer free. PRAISE GOD...and thou I realize that 5 yrs is maybe the magic number for most lung cancer survivor's...is it also meant for BAC Lung Cancer...I have heard not so....
Thank you for any information you can give me....
Hi,
Your concerns are valid. Lung cancer is afterall, the biggest cause of cancer mortality. For this post, I can only work with the stage information, your doctor likely has better estimates.
Much of the answer here depends on how much the disease is affecting her daily living. If she stays in bed most of her waking hours, then treatment may only make an impact on symptom improvement. If she is able to maintain a fairly active lifestyle – then treatment may help extend survival .
He started Tarceva this January but it seems it did not work as the cancer spread to brain…. 9 mets were identified in the initial MRI 2 weeks ago but the subsequent MRI right before yesterday’s gamma knife procedure (which removed 7 mets) evidenced numerous other tiny/small tumors spread all over the brain….He has been in relatively good condition (eating well, no weight loss) until these new mets emerged (which affected his walking and reading ability)….
She is not a candidate for treatment and is refusing even palliative tx such as Tarceva. PET Scan showed no evidence of cancer in brain, liver or bone. Because she is experiencing no symptoms she is hesistant to participate in a home hospice program. What symptoms are generally experienced and if possible a general timeline for disease progression.
WOW, this is the first time I've ever been on a site and started writing to total strangers. Its kinda cool! I SO appreciate all of the advice! Well, I should come clean with something...last Sept I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Inoperable, i was given 6 months to a year to live... with treatment. I've THANKFULLY made it past a year. i guess the LAST thing i should be worried about is my weight, right? The pain i get daily is from my chemo medicine, Tarceva.
Hi,
Small cell lung cancer(SCLC)is a more aggressive form of lung cancer although it constitutes for only 20-25%of the lung cancers.It tends to grow and spread quickly. Because of this, surgery is considered less often in patients with SCLC.
It is of two types:
• Limited disease
• Extensive disease.
In people with limited disease, the cancer is present within the lung on only one side of the chest and/or in the central lymph nodes.
This can be differentiated by a pathologist from a lung cancer that grew outwards towards the lining of the lung. The pattern of growth is also somewhat different. If we are strictly talking about lung cancer, the differentiation is based on whether the cancer has small cell features. The origin is not really important in determining treatment options, and hence, there is no routine testing done to perform this function of differentiation. Stay positive.
t even know if it is oral or genital. Can HSV-1 affect lungs considering the history of TB? Is it lung cancer? I am getting scared when I read about the link between TB and lung cancer and to make that worse I have HSV-1 on top of that.
I read somewhere that HSV-1 affects lungs for immunocompromised people like who have HIV. Do the people who were treated for TB come under immunocompromised categoty? If my immune system is so weak then why didn't HSV-1 show any symptoms to me?
Hello my mother has been diagnosed with lung cancer that they feel has metatasized to the brain. She had two small lesion behind each ear located on the somewhat outer region. The doctor recommends surgery although risky it is not so bad due to the outer location. He also says that brain tumors dont respond well to medication and radiation may shrink or remove tumor they most likely will come back. Please anyone with knowledge on this topic will be helpful.
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