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Husband just diagnosed

My husband of 32 yrs was just diagnosed w/ SCLC about 10 days ago. I am still in shock..it has metastasized to the liver (about 30-40% involvement) but not to the brain, kidney or bladder or anywhere else. His lymph nodes in the lung are also diseased, they said it was extensive. He does have some plueral involvement on the left side but the right lung is clear. His oncologist wants to do a "global" attack w/ carboplatin and another  chemo drug that escapes me at this moment. They say he is not a candidate for surgery and radiation is not indicated at this time. I feel like we are stepping into a great abyss, not sure if the 50-60% chance of responding to the treatment is death sentence or what I am supposed to think. If he responds well to the chemo, is it typical that radiation could follow later?

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Permalink Reply by AmyLCA on March 14, 2011 at 4:56pm

Hi lilterrisue,

 

Sorry no one has responded to your email. Extensive stage SCLC is a real challenge for treatment, but there are certainly cases where a person has responded to chemotherapy and it does not become a death sentence. It is a tough cancer though. 

 

When cancer has spread beyond the lung (in his case to the liver), the assumption is that there are probably other cancer cells circulating in the body. Chemotherapy is the only systemic treatment for lung cancer, which means it's the only treatment that will reach everywhere in his body (except for brain, but dealing with that will come next). Right now it sounds like they just want to see how things go with chemotherapy to get at everything. If the chemo shrinks everything for the most part but not completely, his doctors may try radiation, but at this point chemo is going to be the best bet. If he responds completely to chemo - meaning it gets rid of everything - they may talk to you about brain radiation to prevent spread of the cancer from happening. 

 

How are things going so far? 

 

Amy

Permalink Reply by lilterrisue on March 15, 2011 at 2:15pm

Thanks for your reply, Amy..Things are going fairly well. He just finished his second round of chemo and is tolerating it very well, only side effects so far have been losing his hair (he didn't have much anyway) and a bit of intermittent fatigue. His CBC before the second round showed something his oncologist was very happy about..his tumor marker (which was at 1300 three weeks ago) was now registering at 295, doc says a normal level is 200. He was  happy so, although I'm not quite sure what all it means, it makes us happy as well. I am hoping it means that the chemo is doing it's job. Doc was amazed that he was tolerating it as well as he is since he said he gave him an initial "big blast". We have had a lot of family and friends who are diligently praying for us, so we soldier on...

As you said, he explained that they wanted to take a global approach to getting the cancer all over and possibly radiation would be down the road..we'll take one step at a time..

Permalink Reply by AmyLCA on March 17, 2011 at 10:58am

Glad to hear things are going well so far. It sounds like there are indications (tumor marker counts) that the chemo is doing what it's supposed to be doing, so that's great to hear. They will know for sure when they do the next round of scans. We'll keep our fingers crossed that he keeps tolerating it well! 

 

Best wishes, 

 

Amy

Permalink Reply by bronie2MOD on March 24, 2011 at 6:07pm

lilterrisue (hope I got the spelling right), 

Sounds as if your husband is right where he's supposed to be.  Amy fleshed out the protocol for small cell very well and indeed it is a step by step process.  Am a small cell lung ca survivor for awhile. Mine was at the so called limited stage.I am also very close to his age when I was diagnosed at 38.  I am now 57.  He's young so that I would assume his health is good overall so he should be able to tolerate the chemo as he goes along.  His tumor markers seem to indicate a wonderful initial response and this is good.  What I did learn about small cell is that while it is an aggressive cancer it is also a weak and vulnerable cancer that is very much responsive to the chemotherapy.

For me, the chest radiation started after I finished the chemotherapy and then after that I had the brain radiation to prevent any spread to the brain.  I don't think much has changed in that regard.  Sounds like you're a wonderful source of support for him and make sure you have your own support as you go through this.  This website is a great source for that support so please make use of it..my heart to yours and your husband's...best, tonie

Permalink Reply by lilterrisue on March 31, 2011 at 2:28pm
Wow, Tonie..you are a long time survivor..that gives all of us hope and encouragement. He is not what I would call particularly young though..he's about to turn 60 in Sept, we've been married 32 yrs. I am also encouraged by your comment about the cancer being weak and vulnerable..thanks for the thoughts and prayers are always welcome..
Permalink Reply by littlelady4220 on March 31, 2011 at 1:20pm
Our stories are very similar - my husband was diagnosed last month, we have been married for 32 years and he has SCLC that has gone to his liver and both hipbones. The MRI of his brain was clear. The oncologist told us that he has a 75-80% chance of the tumors shrinking. He just completed his second round of chemo and is still working full time, although he gets tired easily and has lost all of the hair on his head - but his moustache and beard are still intact. My husband also will not be getting surgery and if radiation is in the picture it will be down the road. I have read every website and statistic out there and have just decided to face this one day at a time. He had a scan the other day and we get the results next Monday. It's not a death sentence.
Permalink Reply by lilterrisue on March 31, 2011 at 2:32pm
There are amazing parallels to your story and mine..how has yours tolerated the chemo so far? Sounds like he's doing ok since he's still working full time. David went on short term disability right away and will continue there until he goes to long term and then he will be able to draw his retirement and SS from there. David's mustache is still mostly there too, a little thinner, but he hasn't seemed to have lost much hair anywhere else but on his head. He just finished his third round and has developed an indigestion problem w/ this round, so severe he's had to get a scrip for an acid reducer. He's doing amazing well though w/ little or no other side effects but fatigue. I hope you get good results from your scan..he does one in two weeks..
Permalink Reply by littlelady4220 on March 31, 2011 at 3:22pm
My husband has had few of the side effects that had heard about. As I said, hair loss, but not completely. After the first round of chemo, he had to go in for injections to boost his white cell count (he goes for a blood test every week), but that was considered normal. He did have to stay away from crowds and fresh fruits and vegetables for a few days, but he still felt fine. He is tired to a degree, but not enough to stop him from working full time or doing his normal chores around the house. It really is amazing to me how well he is doing. My husband will be 59 in May. I will keep good thoughts for your husband and hope that his scan in two weeks comes out well. The only problem that we have is the health care is not great where we live - Las Vegas. One of the worst in the country, but we like the doctor and can't start moving to another city!
Permalink Reply by lilterrisue on March 31, 2011 at 3:35pm
Wow, almost the same age too! My hubby has had to do the shots for five days starting on day 7 too. His white count really didn't drop all that much, doc was much more worried about his platelets dropping. In fact if they are still on the lowish end after this treatment he is switching one of his chemo drugs, which could mean more severe side effects..not looking forward to that prospect. My dh probably could have gone back to work if it had been lighter duty, he was a sales rep for Frito and it's fairly rigorous. He wanted to retire from them anyway. I would not have guessed that Las Vegas wouldn't have great health care. We are thankful for our cancer center here, it's really very good and we searched out the most highly respected lung cancer specialist who is very aggressive in his approach, so for that we are thankful. We are coming your way in August...celebrating a son's master's degree and my hubby's good health..
Permalink Reply by littlelady4220 on March 31, 2011 at 4:11pm

You have some good things to celebrate and I wish you and your husband well, and that everything comes out okay. It is terribly frightening at first, but people do beat this. Let's hope that our husbands are two of them!

Permalink Reply by lilterrisue on April 1, 2011 at 7:30am
II have to believe they will be! Let us know the results of your hubby's scan...
Permalink Reply by littlelady4220 on April 4, 2011 at 1:52pm
Just got back from the doctor's office. My husband's tumors have shrunk by 66% after two rounds of chemo. No radiation at all in sight. He is going to continue on the same course of chemo, and another scan after the next two rounds. The doctor says he is doing really well, only major side effect is low white cell count, but they give him injections for that and it goes right back up!

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