How long can stage 4 lung cancer patients live without treatment?

Posted by denise96 @denise96, Feb 2 10:20am

My husband was officially diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in Sept 2024. He went for one treatment in December and the last one on Jan 2 of this year. He decided then that he would not take any more treatments because they made him very sick. Shortly afterwards, I got Hospice involved. So since he no longer sees any doctors, I have no idea whether or not his cancer has spread or anything else that may be going on in his body. Guess that is how hospice works. They are the only ones he sees and those are nurses. No blood work or anything. This is all new to me and I am not sure how a person with this type of cancer should be. He only sits in his recliner and watches TV. He can walk to the kitchen and make his own coffee or microwave a meal. I would gladly make him food, but he just wants to do it himself. But other than that, he does nothing else except count his pills. He is obsessed with his pain pills. Oh, and he clears his throat constantly. He said he can't swallow the phlegm that collects in his throat. He has been taking more than he should and today the hospice nurse brought a lockbox but she also said that he did not need to use it. twice they have noticed that the pain pills have been short way before they should have been which is no surprise to me as he is and always a pain pill addict. I worry that he is going to keep taking more and then hospice will not help him anymore. The nurse told me that this morning. They keep a very close on his meds as they should. But back to my original question. How long can a cancer patient live without treatment? He only weighs 90 pounds and can only eat a little at a time. He does get confused as to dates, etc. I have heard of people who lived a long time with lung cancer but I don't know if they had done all the treatments or not, And how was their lifestyle? My husband does nothing pretty much. He can't go in the car or visit anyone. And I pray that he does not abuse his pills because I could not stand to see him suffer for months without pain meds. I realize that only God knows the days of our death, but I want to know what to watch for, how will i know if his kidneys start to shut down, etc., and how many months he has. A general idea would be great. It scares me and the day to day is hard. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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denzie | @denzie | Feb 3 4:40am

Due to comorbidities, my mom couldn't have treatment for her lung cancer. She survived 4 months and 3 weeks.

Lisa, Volunteer Mentor | @lls8000 | Feb 3 3:49pm

Hi Denise @denise96 , That's a hard question to answer, as each patient is different, and there are many types of lung cancer too, some more aggressive than others. With his weight being so low and his history of not taking the best care of himself, he likely doesn't have much in his reserves. You are certainly keeping a close eye on him, and you'll notice changes.
He's sleeping a lot, but that's not too usual. The lack of balance that you've mentioned is of interest but may be from the medications, not from any type of tumor. You'll likely see more traditional lung cancer symptoms at first, such as a non-traditional cough, hoarseness, or wheezing. It may be hard to assess new pain; usually abdominal, back or bone.
From my personal experience, I believe my lung cancer was growing for (at least) months, if not years before I felt it. There's no way to know. I was not eligible for lung screening, so mine was stage IV before I knew about it. I started with a cough that came with a chest spasm that made it hard to talk. Once it started to spread and my immune system just couldn't keep up, it took over very quickly. Within two months I went from having a slight cough to being in pretty rough shape. At that time, I didn't think I would make it another 2 months. Then the doctors found a magic pill for me, and I'm still here 4+ years later.
There's just no way to know what the rest of his life (or any of our lives) will look like. As I mentioned, I think you'll see changes that will be notable. We have no idea how long it will be before you start noticing those changes. Remind me, was his cancer metastatic when it was diagnosed? Was he experiencing any symptoms at that time?

My PSA, if you qualify for lung screening take advantage of that benefit. If you don't qualify, but are ever offered a simple chest x-ray do it!