Hospice or treatment?

Well I hope you are feeling good today? My name is Leticia Herrera I am in California I have stage 4 lung cancer. So one thing I felt that you needed to hear is this God is the one who is in control and he loves you so when you are sad, mad , and he will give you all you need from here on out cause he loves you. In the past 5 years I have had 5 different cancer surgeries and I'm still a live so cheer up cause you still have a long life to live

Hello @artistrose, welcome to Mayo Connect. I'm not sure how long you've known about the cancer, but I'm sure your head and heart are spinning. It's a tough diagnosis to receive.
My first instinct is usually to say, 'no, no, no'. Then I listen to the treatment options and gather information on the potential for success/failure and the side effects. When I'm more informed, I can make better decisions and usually change my mind. It takes a while for the reality to settle in my head, and my heart. I would advise you to keep the oncology appointment. Hear them out, and then you can make whatever decisions fit for you.
One clarification, the mets on your liver are likely from the lung cancer spread. Those cancer cells will perform like lung cancer, not liver cancer. They may be responsive to a chemotherapy, but that's a great question for the oncologist. When I was diagnosed, five years ago, I had lung cancer spread to my liver too. With a targeted therapy treatment those are now undetectable. I still have some spots in my lungs that show on CT scans, but I'm convinced that may be scarring. They aren't growing, so that's good enough for me.
Has an oncology appointment been set up already? Do you have the support of family or friends, someone to go to the appointment with you?

Thanks for the response. Just today I got an oncology appt scheduled which is 3 weeks from now. I realized this morning that I was scared as I had some unexpected pain yesterday. But I messaged my doctor about it today. I don’t want to be in unnecessary pain. I’m happy to hear that you have done so well even with mets to liver. Yes, I do understand its lung cancer in my liver. I also have a cyst in pancreas and IPMN in pancreas. But I’m willing to listen to oncologist. I’ve read that chemo basically is no help for the liver. Did you find that to be true? What therapies did you try?

@leticiah70 thank you

hi @artistrose - cancer is such a frightening diagnosis. you've found a place where everyone understands that. I also have lung adenocarcinoma and at first, I didn't think I would have treatment options, either. but I was wrong! see the best oncologist you can (or 2 - second opinions are helpful!) that specializes in your kind of adenocarcinoma. has anyone done testing for your cancer's genetic mutations? that's very important to know so your doctor can see what medications could work the best. for example, I'm taking a targeted therapy called Tagrisso that works for EGFR mutations. I think the hardest time is when you know you have cancer, but don't have a plan yet. keep us posted - you aren't alone 🤍

I don’t know if they’re doing genetic testing or not. At least no one has told me. I had liver biopsy 2weeks ago, had a rough immediate recovery and was hospitalized 2 1/2 days. I was told last week the biopsy showed cancer. I’m hoping they’re doing the additional testing. Thanks for your support.

Hi,
I'm so sorry to hear of your cancer! That's awful! My husband had lung cancer and had chemotherapy which did not help him at all. He also had Immunotherapy which gave him pancreatitis like you have. My husband almost died from the pancreatitis! Luckily our prayers and a good primary care physician got him to the correct doctor to get medication for the pancreatitis. Finally my husband said no to all treatments. The cancer doctor didn't like that decision because of the loss of funds for treatment. (Immunotherapy infusions were $25,000 each back in 2018. ) My husband lived for 14 years with lung cancer. He died in 2024. Prayer and eating healthy is what sustained us through this whole lung cancer ordeal. By eating healthy one of the things that really helped my husband was good quality red meat. It gave him a lot of energy and helped his body fight the cancer for years! Prayer will help you also. Just ask God for help and guidance. He made you and he can fix you! Also keep in mind that everyone is different. Just because my husband reacted badly to treatments doesn't mean that you will too. God can help you in that area also.
I will say a prayer for you. I wish you the best.
PML

Thanks for your input. I’m sorry to hear about your husband's death. Sounds like he fought the good fight. After 2 pancreatitis attacks, I went on a strict low fat diet - no red meat, just veggies, chicken, fish, and fruit. I have not had any more pancreatitis attacks. I believe I read earlier posts you wrote about immunotherapy causing pancreatitis; and that isn't something I’m willing to risk. My attacks last 4 hours with 8-10 pain.
I’m really reluctant to do treatments but I’ll see what oncologist recommends. I’ve worked as a hospice social worker, so I’m not afraid to go the hospice route if that’s right for me. I have lung cancer mets in 4 areas of my liver, so I’m facing the seriousness of my situation - in either case, treatment or hospice.

@artistrose I'm sorry to hear of anyone going through the decisions and pain associated with a cancer diagnosis. My understanding is that pancreatitis occurs very rarely, 1-2% of patients on immuno-therapy. Of course, that's of little comfort to those who do have the issue. I encourage everyone, including to remind myself with my lung cancer diagnosis, to never give up the fight, and to stay optimistic for yourself and those who love you. I also hope we all become unshakable in the determination to fight the disease, and to be unstoppable in moving forward to face and overcome any condition the illness may bring our way.

Thanks for your response.