Hey everyone, I’m really hoping someone can help me out here...
My mom was diagnosed back in August with cancer in her right bronchus, which has already spread to both lung fields and her pelvis. Her latest results show this:
Chest X-ray: Compared to previous imaging of the thoracic organs, the tumor mass near the lower part of the right hilum shows no significant change. However, there is a newly developed pleural effusion on the right side. The rest of the status remains unchanged.
Pelvic X-ray: On the follow-up imaging of the pelvis and hips, there is progression of extensive osteolytic secondary lesions in the right iliac bone wing, resulting in a pathological fracture of the bone. Discrete zones of bone thinning in the intertrochanteric region of the right femur are also suspicious for secondary Zarist...
She’s just finished her third cycle of pemetrexed and cisplatin, and she’s been given Zometa. I know deep down the prognosis is a total disaster, and honestly, the worst part is seeing how she can't move normally anymore... it just makes everything so incredibly difficult. We have a pretty terrible oncologist, and if I could, I’d switch doctors in a heartbeat, but at the hospital we’re at, there’s only one specialist available. I feel like we need to change the chemo because this stuff isn't doing anything, though I can't help but wonder if they're just giving it to her now just to say they did something...
Is there anyone here who could explain this pelvic worsening to me in plain English? There are so many medical terms I just don't understand... We were told that bone metastases can sometimes be kept under control, but they went ahead and performed palliative radiation on her pelvis in September, and then this sudden decline happened. They mentioned that if we could target the primary cancer with effective therapy, we might be able to keep things steady—and if we could succeed with more radiation—but for now, radiating the lungs isn't an option. When I read these prognoses, it feels like there's not even a 1% chance of survival over the next five years... I just can't wrap my head around it. We spent all this time hoping, just constantly hoping, and now that they're telling us the chemo hasn't had any reaction, it feels like a slap in the face. I don't know... I guess I'm just writing this all out to try and make myself feel a little better, but I don't know... I just don't know...
My mom was diagnosed back in August with cancer in her right bronchus, which has already spread to both lung fields and her pelvis. Her latest results show this:
Chest X-ray: Compared to previous imaging of the thoracic organs, the tumor mass near the lower part of the right hilum shows no significant change. However, there is a newly developed pleural effusion on the right side. The rest of the status remains unchanged.
Pelvic X-ray: On the follow-up imaging of the pelvis and hips, there is progression of extensive osteolytic secondary lesions in the right iliac bone wing, resulting in a pathological fracture of the bone. Discrete zones of bone thinning in the intertrochanteric region of the right femur are also suspicious for secondary Zarist...
She’s just finished her third cycle of pemetrexed and cisplatin, and she’s been given Zometa. I know deep down the prognosis is a total disaster, and honestly, the worst part is seeing how she can't move normally anymore... it just makes everything so incredibly difficult. We have a pretty terrible oncologist, and if I could, I’d switch doctors in a heartbeat, but at the hospital we’re at, there’s only one specialist available. I feel like we need to change the chemo because this stuff isn't doing anything, though I can't help but wonder if they're just giving it to her now just to say they did something...
Is there anyone here who could explain this pelvic worsening to me in plain English? There are so many medical terms I just don't understand... We were told that bone metastases can sometimes be kept under control, but they went ahead and performed palliative radiation on her pelvis in September, and then this sudden decline happened. They mentioned that if we could target the primary cancer with effective therapy, we might be able to keep things steady—and if we could succeed with more radiation—but for now, radiating the lungs isn't an option. When I read these prognoses, it feels like there's not even a 1% chance of survival over the next five years... I just can't wrap my head around it. We spent all this time hoping, just constantly hoping, and now that they're telling us the chemo hasn't had any reaction, it feels like a slap in the face. I don't know... I guess I'm just writing this all out to try and make myself feel a little better, but I don't know... I just don't know...