Could my mom get chemo or radiation therapy for small cell lung cancer with other Health conditions?

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My mom has small cell lung cancer recently diagnosed this past monday.She has osteporisis,heart stint,biopolar dissorder,arthritis,thryroid disease and a respitory disease.I am concerned that the oncologist will even beable to offer chemo or radiation on top of all her conditions she has.I need opinions from people that are familier with this..I need support through this hard time..Thank you..
I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I am going through much of the same. My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about 2 1/2 months ago. By the time of the diagnosis, she had already lost quite abit of weight. She's also 83 yrs old, and has had 2 heart surgeries. The Dr's told us right away that chemo was not an option. They believed she was too frail to survive the treatments.

She was given a diagnosis of 2-3 months. Right now she is in a hospice house, and doing o.k. Good days & bad days.

This is a very tough thing to go through. For both your mom and you. The Dr's will look at her overall health, her age, and stage of the cancer, and decide what (if any) treatments are needed.

My mom is 83, and has lived a full life. She says she's ready to go. In her case chemo might have prolonged her life by afew months, but is it worth it? These are questions only your mother can answer.

Take care  (+ info)

My Mom has small cell lung cancer both lungs and throat lymph nodes how long does she have?

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Is it even worth her going through the chemo and radiationn she is doing well with the chemo butdoesn'tt want theradiationndon'tt know what to do I am letting her make thechoicess but would just like some answers from people who have been through it... Thanks
gc - I know from personal experience that this is a very difficult and uncertain decision time. Your Mom has little chance of survival. Her wishes should be respected because only she knows what she feels and so she must decide, sometimes from day-to-day. Her treatment now is to try and possibly shrink any tumor and to make her a bit more comfortable even though her remaining life will likely not be extended. Hopefully, chemotherapy is now doing that even though it produces some immediate awful effects in many for a short time. Radiation therapy often damages the normal lining of the esophagus (food tube) so that the patient won't want to swallow anything because of the pain, sometimes requiring a feeding tube. Only your mom knows what she feels. Please support and respect her decisions and continue to let her know how much you love her. Then accept the outcome as you hold on to many memories of happier days past.  (+ info)

What are different types of conventional treatment for small cell lung cancer?

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The patient in particular is around 80 years old, so cannot undergo chemotherapy treatment. So scratch chemo off your lists.
Radiation. That's about it...

There are lots of experimental treatments. But in his case, he probably couldn't go thru them...  (+ info)

How long did your loved one survive with non-small cell lung cancer?

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My mother was recently diagnosed and for a time, they thought it could possibly be operable, but we found out that it was not. She is not on air or anything and only found out because she had an x-ray at the dermotologist. She hasn't been told her stage yet, but as far as I know so far, it is still considered "early." How long did your love one live and what was their stage?
My father was diagnosed similarly to your mother, while being investigated for another problem. Unlike your mom, though, it was already at stage IV, in the bones, lungs, and widespread.

My father lived for a full two years after diagnosis. He was treated thru the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis and underwent clinical trials after standard methods failed. He passed away in 2005. The experimental medicines he received are now proven effective, and that was five years ago. Imagine how much better treatment is now!

I know you're frightened, but information is your best friend right now, if you know how to look for it and not let yourself be overwhelmed and frightened by the multitude of information. Remember, your mom's oncologist will have experience and have faith. Second opinions do not offend physicians at all; they encourage them. Everyone wants the best for your mom, so take heart in that.

My best to you!  (+ info)

How common is small cell lung cancer to return?

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how common is small cell cancer to return after shrinking it and keeping it controled
It would depend on the location of disease, stage, and the grade of the tumor (low, medium, high) . . a low grade type cancer would not be as aggressive as a high grade type . . so that may factor in to the rate of relapse. However, you should note that cancer is unpredictable and that any type of cancer can relapse at any undetermined amount of time. Cancer (which has no cure) has the ability to 'mutate' even when a patient is on treatment and than the disease is no longer 'under control' and the disease will progress. When this happens a doctor will change the protocol in hopes of finding a new treatment to control the disease.

I notice that you have changed your question to indicate that this is lung cancer and it appears to be advanced since you do not mention it is being 'controlled' . . . there are no guarantees that the disease will not progress. There is no cure for cancer and the cancer can return or become resistant to current treatment at any time.  (+ info)

Anyone have experience with small cell lung cancer?

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Our cousin was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer and it had already spread to the brain. She went through radiation but refused chemo. I think she did take some sort of pill for chemo... its hard to say because everyone is so secretive. After the radiation they found no trace of cancer in the brain and the lung cancer was shrinking (3 months ago). Now- the cancer is back in three parts of the brain and she has lumps on her neck and back. She is now going to go with the chemo and she is in a lot of pain. Can someone tell me what is most likely going to happen?
Small cell lung cancer is the most aggressive type of lung cancer and carries the worst prognosis. The good news is that it responds to both radiotherapy or chemo for periods of time. It sounds like your friend is already taking the new oral chemo available for sclc.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/small-cell-lung/HealthProfessional

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1336.htm

Your friend will have several periods of response to therapy and then the treatments will become less effective as time goes on. Patients who are able are encouraged to enter clinical trials of new drug regimens so that in the future new patients will have more and better treatment options available to them.

http://www.cancer.gov/search/ResultsClinicalTrialsAdvanced.aspx?protocolsearchid=3829924

all the best to you and your cousin  (+ info)

Want some information on stage 4 non small cell cancer of the lungs ( carcinoma) that my mother inlaw has.?

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She was diagnosed with this a week ago after going to the doctor with a sever pain in her back. Her back had been bothering her for awhile , but just bacame unbearable.

She had aslo lost about 40 pounds over a four month period. When the pain in her back got to severe , she went to the hospital and come to find out that she has lungs cancer ( no pain in her lungs)...and it has spread to her spine..(lots of pain there) and they are not sure as of yet if it is anywhere else.

they said stage 4 , surgery wasnt as option cause the mass in lungs was too close to her heart , possible radiation on her spine to shrink the cancer there to relieve some of the pain.

She was told possible a year with treatments , but more like 6 months or less given her condition and general health at present.

Is there nothing that can be done ? clinical trials? Natural medicine? Does anyone know someone that lived longer than this on a certain treatment or have some suggestion.
A second opinion is always a good idea.
I would suggest contacting MD Anderson cancer center in Houston Texas.
Also Sloan Kettering in NYC.
These are the top two cancer hospitals in the USA. and are consistently ranked 1 and two in the surveys

It might seem crazy to travel to another city for a second opinion, but these are the places doing the trials that the other hospitals will be using in the future. They also know which other places nationwide might be doing trials for this type of tumor, and stage of tumor.

In the end, there is probably not much that can be done in terms of a cure, so the questions you need to ask relate as much to quality of life vs quantity of life.
If a certain treatment might prolong survival by 3 months, but she spends is feeling sick then this might something she might not choose.
Ask tough questions. Don't be afraid to be blunt. Some physicians are afraid to tell a person bad news. You must ask what is on your mind. Write questions down in advance. Take notes during consultations. Do not be afraid to ask doctors to repeat answers or to explain in further details if you do not understand.
I don't want to sound morbid at this stage, but don't wait too long to involve hospice.
My father died of ( non-small cell lung CA with brain metasteses ) cancer last year and I am very familiar with which hospitals are the best.
We went to MD anderson, after I did all of my research. I am very very grateful we did because I believe it got him an extra year, but more importantly he got an extra year of Quality of life. Most people don't know that insurance usually pays for these visits. All people need to do is pay to get there, but this is life and death and I cannot stress enough how much better these two hospitals are than whatever is in your hometown ( I think Anderson is the better of the two )
My one regret is that we involved hospice a bit too late. They are a very very valuble resource.

Good luck

PS: Beware of "natural cures" These are 99% frauds. If they worked, then researchers at legitimate cancer centers would be using them. After all, a natural miracle cure would probably get you the Nobel prize.
As it is, all these get are $$ for the snake oil salesmen that peddle them on poor desperate people. Just stick to conventional medicine, and of course complimentary therapy ( holistic ) can't hurt, just avoid anybody in Mexico or other small dirty clinics with fantastic claims!! They will steal your money and break your spirit and offer you nothing but lies. I met enough people during my Dad's treatment who had bad experiences and I have done my research. These people are all fakes  (+ info)

Recently had thoracic surgery, for non small cell lung cancer what are my chances of the lung cancer returning

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The surgery was very painful, but i made it , now I worry about it comming back, I had 2/3 of one lung removed, What are the chances that the cancer might return to the rest of that lung?
Are you going to go through chemo now ? Or radiation? Non small cell is the worst kind, but if they caught it early and got the tumor and do chemo you could have more than 5 years left.  (+ info)

Squamous cell carcinoma is a form of lung cancer that begins in?

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A the epithelium of the bronchi.
B the pulmonary lymph nodes.
C the squamous type I cells of the alveoli.
D the mucous glands of the bronchi.
E the respiratory bronchioles.

Need help on this question anyone.
as i have looked in the wikipedia article below, scc is not specific to the lungs, but may occur in any part of the body, as long as the squamous epithelial cells are affected...any also, its effects on the lungs are on the bronchi...

since i know fairly about squamous cells, before reading the article i presume that my choices are A and C...but it is also stated in the artcile that the bronchi are affected...so my answer is

A  (+ info)

What is the best way to treat small cell carncinoma Lung cancer?

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My Mom was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. She's 63, breast cancer survivor of 6 yrs, 1 pack a day, 2 heart attacks, and high blood pressure... please help... i love my MOM....
My Mom was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. Her "cyst" is only 1 1/2 centimeters along. Today we begin the first doctor appt... Please help.. i love her Thanks
Without treatment, small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has the most aggressive clinical course of any type of pulmonary tumor, with median survival from diagnosis of only 2 to 4 months. Compared with other cell types of lung cancer, SCLC has a greater tendency to be widely disseminated by the time of diagnosis but is much more responsive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Because patients with small cell lung cancer tend to develop distant metastases, localized forms of treatment, such as surgical resection or radiation therapy, rarely produce long-term survival. With incorporation of current chemotherapy regimens into the treatment program, however, survival is unequivocally prolonged, with at least a 4- to 5-fold improvement in median survival compared with patients who are given no therapy. Furthermore, about 10% of the total population of patients remains free of disease during 2 years from the start of therapy, the time period during which most relapses occur. Even these patients, however, are at risk of dying from lung cancer (both small- and non-small cell types). The overall survival at 5 years is 5% to 10%.  (+ info)

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