“i have stage four lung cancer i was diagnosed twelve months ago how long do I have to live?”
I am receiving chemo every three weeks as of eleven months ago.
Male | 68 years old
Conditions: blood clots on lungs
2 Answers
Have you had testing for EGFR, ALK, etc, and have you received CPI?
Hello,
A diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer is serious. There are basically two types of lung cancer. I am presuming non-small cell lung cancer which is the most common type. The other type is small cell lung cancer (a neuroendocrine type). The second type is very aggressive but responds better to chemotherapy. The first type, non-small cell, is most common. The staging is 4A or 4B. 4A implies that it is only in the lungs, but 4B implies that it has already spread to other areas of the body.
The treatments include radiation, chemotherapy, targeted agents, or immunotherapy. There have been many newer agents approved in the last five years. The efficacy often depends on analysis of the cancer cells to determine the likelihood of response to an agent.
You, though, indicate that you have been receiving chemotherapy for the past 11 months. I am presuming that your doctor is doing the appropriate tests to determine if your cancer is responding to treatment. I am presuming that your cancer is among those that are responding to the chemotherapy. The best advice is to continue receiving this treatment that appears to be effective.
There is no cure for this lung cancer. It must be considered a chronic disease for which you will require treatment for the rest of your life. One place to obtain better information is online at www.healthline.com. They cover prognosis and refer to five year survivals of the various stages. However, these survival rates are dependent on whether the cancer is responding to treatment, what systemic effects a patient is experiencing due to the cancer or treatment, and what other health conditions you might have. Five-year survivals in all groups is less than 10%, but every patient is different.
If you have concerns about your treatment a second opinion should be considered. Sometimes enrollment in a clinical trial can be considered. Second opinions can be obtained from clinics in regional health care centers and universities. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN is an excellent institution where many patients obtain second opinions. However, in your situation, assuming that your cancer is responding to treatment and that the side effects are mild, my advice would be to continue your current course of treatment. Another place to obtain current information is the guidelines panels of the National Comprehensive. Cancer Network, www.nccn.org and look for the guidelines for non-small cell lung cancer.
Good luck with your treatment.
A diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer is serious. There are basically two types of lung cancer. I am presuming non-small cell lung cancer which is the most common type. The other type is small cell lung cancer (a neuroendocrine type). The second type is very aggressive but responds better to chemotherapy. The first type, non-small cell, is most common. The staging is 4A or 4B. 4A implies that it is only in the lungs, but 4B implies that it has already spread to other areas of the body.
The treatments include radiation, chemotherapy, targeted agents, or immunotherapy. There have been many newer agents approved in the last five years. The efficacy often depends on analysis of the cancer cells to determine the likelihood of response to an agent.
You, though, indicate that you have been receiving chemotherapy for the past 11 months. I am presuming that your doctor is doing the appropriate tests to determine if your cancer is responding to treatment. I am presuming that your cancer is among those that are responding to the chemotherapy. The best advice is to continue receiving this treatment that appears to be effective.
There is no cure for this lung cancer. It must be considered a chronic disease for which you will require treatment for the rest of your life. One place to obtain better information is online at www.healthline.com. They cover prognosis and refer to five year survivals of the various stages. However, these survival rates are dependent on whether the cancer is responding to treatment, what systemic effects a patient is experiencing due to the cancer or treatment, and what other health conditions you might have. Five-year survivals in all groups is less than 10%, but every patient is different.
If you have concerns about your treatment a second opinion should be considered. Sometimes enrollment in a clinical trial can be considered. Second opinions can be obtained from clinics in regional health care centers and universities. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN is an excellent institution where many patients obtain second opinions. However, in your situation, assuming that your cancer is responding to treatment and that the side effects are mild, my advice would be to continue your current course of treatment. Another place to obtain current information is the guidelines panels of the National Comprehensive. Cancer Network, www.nccn.org and look for the guidelines for non-small cell lung cancer.
Good luck with your treatment.
