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How long can stage 4 lung cancer patients live without treatment?
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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@susies215, Wishing you well as you add the chemo to your treatment regimen. Hugs.
Thank you
Prayers for your family. My brother newly treated for nsclc stage 4,
Doctors did not suggest but approved him taking mucinex over the counter for the phlegm and it is helping. Sometimes a simple treatment for a symptom
Is overlooked by dr which can relieve pain or discomfort.
Also on hospice a patient can see drs and get any treatment which helps with pain and or discomfort. Even if treatment also could be considered life extending. Anything “palliative” can be prescribed. My mom on hospice continued chemo for anemia, because the anemia made her cold and fatigued and weak. It was an extremely expensive treatment but she was entitled to it. Please try not to be afraid to advocate for treatment that will ease any pain or suffering.
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1 Reaction@lls8000 what was the "magic pill" they gave you?
Hi @unknown0506, welcome to Mayo Connect. I have a specific type of non-small cell lung cancer that is caused by a mutation in the ALK gene of my cells. There is a targeted therapy (pills) that can combat the cancer. It will work or a limited time, but I've been able to surpass the expectation, and I'm still on that as a first-line treatment six years later. This type of gene mutation is found through biomarker testing of a biopsy sample.
Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with lung cancer? What treatments are being recommended?
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2 ReactionsI have stage 4 NSC lung cancer that has metastasized to my bones. I was on Tagrisso for 13 months but couldn’t tolerate it. My cancer was in remission for a year and then my cancer came back in my hip. I am currently back on Tagrisso but it makes me so sick. I spend most of my days in bed. The headaches, dizziness and brain fog are terrible. I have no appetite. If I do eat small meals when I’m nauseous I vomit. I tested positive for a protein that causes my cancer to grow faster. My oncologist wants to start regular chemo with Rybevant. I’m nervous that I will lose my hair and be even sicker on regular chemo. Has anyone been on this medication? I also wonder if anyone has help with nausea besides Zofran and Reglan.
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2 Reactions@bionicbeckyrocks can you copy and paste this into a new discussion where it will be seen better?
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1 ReactionDear Becky,
I am sorry about all that you’re going through. I know it is so tough! They say (I’ll never claim it!) what I am dealing with is LSSCLC, so I cannot speak to the specific treatments they are giving you. So far I’ve had radiation and chemo, and now I am scheduled to start two years of monthly immunotherapy infusions. Because the chemo targets fast growing cells, I did lose my hair. (I tell a funny story about how that all happened!) My hope is to encourage you to not consider losing your hair when considering what kind of treatments to do. If you lose it, it will grow back!!!!!! But no one needs to see it! NO ONE has seen my bare head! You can either wear wigs (a group here in Atlanta gave me 4), a friend gave me scarfs, and I purchased about 5 caps on Temu that I get a lot of compliments on that match my outfits! (I like these caps the best and I sleep in them!)
I did contact The American Cancer Society who gave me a list of organizations to reach out to for advice or aid.
I hope this helps in some small way!
Cristal
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3 Reactions@bionicbeckyrocks welcome to Mayo Connect! sorry to hear you're having recurrence and that Tagrisso has been tough on you. is your care team helping you manage the side effects? I would hope they could help you not be bedridden and nauseated. my mom had lymphoma, but acupuncture and cannabis helped her nausea while she was undergoing chemo.
Welcome @bionicbeckyrocks, I love your screen name, and it instills a sense that you want to continue fighting this disease. These targeted therapies can be hard for your body to process. Hopefully they will find one that works for you without all of these side effects. I can't image having to live in a constant state of not feeling well. To be clear, I'm a patient like you (ALK positive), not a clinician. Some oncologists will recommend a dose-reduction when side effects are impacting you to this extent. During your break from Tagrisso, did your issues resolve?
The Rybrevant has been approved for EGFR non-small cell lung cancer just in the past two years, and it was developed to cover the exon 20 insertion mutations. After searching the group posts, I'm not finding other mentions of it, but that doesn't mean that someone won't chime in. Is the rare part of your EGFR exon 20 insertion?
(https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/fda-approves-amivantamab-vmjw-egfr-exon-20-insertion-mutated-non-small-cell-lung-cancer-indications)
Some of the chemo regimens that are given in conjunction with a targeted therapy may be tolerated better than some stronger chemos. Have you had appointments that outlined what to expect with the new treatments? Are you being treated at a cancer center that you trust? Do they have experience in treating other EGFR patients?
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