My dad has lung cancer

[lebkuchen]

I found out tonight....he's almost 80, smoker since he was at least 17, 2 inch by 3 inch "spot" on right lung. That's about all he was able to tell me other than that he's losing weight and will undergo surgery in a week, he hopes. He doesn't have a lot of energy.

Has technology advanced in the past few years inre: to lung cancer?

I'm stunned.

[Uben]

1. I think technology is in a constant state of advancement

If the cancer is confined to the lung and has not gone systemic (spread to nodes), they be able to just remove the damaged lung, or a piece of it. I have a friend two houses down that had that done when he was in his early fifties. He's about 70 now.

There's always hope. I lost my dad to cancer 18 yrs ago, and my wife is now a 6 yr survivor of breast cancer. On top of that, I am going in tomorrow to be tested for testicular cancer. There's a pretty good chance I have it, but it is one of the more curable cancers if caught early.

[LeighAnn]

2. "Palliative Radiation Actually A Cure For Some Lung Cancer Patients"

From Science Daily:

~*snip*~

"NSCLC is by far the most common type of lung cancer. With an overall five year survival of only 40 percent, it is also one of the deadliest. If caught early, five year survival can reach 60 percent. Five year survival in farther advanced disease is approximately 15 percent.

"Patients who are diagnosed with disease that is too advanced for curative treatment remain eligible for palliative therapies intended to provide symptom relief, including comparatively low doses of localized RT. Physicians have long made clinical observations that some patients receiving palliative RT long outlive their estimated survival and a few report even cures. Given that therapeutic doses of RT are much higher, it is not surprising that these reports require evidence-based confirmation. "

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060123075617.htm

And if the cancer is a mestasases of another cancer,

"Talc May Stop Lung Cancer Tumors"

From KOAT ABC-7 in Albequerque:

Talcum powder may be able to stop the growth of metastatic lung tumors, according to researchers at the University of Florida.

They said in a news release that it has the ability to cut off blood flow to tumors, not just soothe diaper rash.

The soft powder stimulates healthy cells to produce endostatin, a hormone called a magic bullet for treating lung cancer.

Talc slowed tumor growth and made them smaller, Dr. Veena Antony said, by preventing the formation of blood vessels.

Talc is already used in lung cancer patients to alleviate fluid around the lungs, which can cause breathing problems. When most people reach that stage, called malignant pleural effusion, most die within six months. So talc is blown into the lining of the lungs to cause scar tissue and give no room for the fluid to build up.

Patients who have that procedure live up to 18 months longer, leading the researchers to see if the talc was having another effect.

More:

http://www.koat.com/health/13459431/detail.html?rss=alb&psp=health

Don't forget to check out the book "Fighting Cancer" by the Bloch Foundation listed in another thread here in this group!

Peace, and God bless your dad and your family.

[Lucy Goosey]

3. My Mom has lung cancer...

:hug:

Mom is doing really well. She was diagnosed more than a year ago, with a 3 inch mass, stage 3a. She did an intensive round of chemo and radiation, and now there doesn't seem to be any cancer left. The scans are inconclusive, which is apparently not unusual. Basically, the radiation oncologist says that, in his professional opinion, there is no more cancer on the scans/x-rays - it's all radiation damage, but the chemo oncologist isn't quiet as sure, she can't find cancer either but thinks it might still be there.

I'm hoping for good new for you and your Dad.

Oh, FYI, her chemo agents were pemetrexed (brand name Alimta) & cisplatin. Relatively few side effects - no hair loss, for example, and very little weight loss.

[Seldona]

4. I just lost my father to stage 4 lung cancer.

Stick with him every second. Allow him to yell and scream and belittle you all he wants, that was my primary job. Above all respect his wishes.

I am not a praying man, but I will pray that they caught your father's cancer early. Funny, been here for years and missed this forum, run across it, and now I am crying like it happened yesterday. I wish I had known this was here.

One GREAT resource to talk to your Dad about is Care Pages. Great way to keep busy and keep people informed about your Dad's condition without fielding 40 phone calls a day. Really helped keep people in the loop at the end.



I sincerly wish you and your father the best.