Anyone have proton beam radiation & chemo Stage 3 lung cancer?

@lar69, thinking of you and your husband as he starts treatment today. How many sessions of proton beam therapy will he have? What chemo regimen and schedule is he on? How are YOU doing?

Hello! He started radiation treatment yesterday. He has his first chemo infusion this morning. I can't remember the name of it right now. I'm doing okay. He doesn't want to tell anyone other than our daughter that he has stage 3 lung cancer. But, it's nice to have support here.

Keep in mind, that I too am Stage IIIa, have fibrosis and emphysema and am 80 years old. I went through the same six weekly chemo infusions and 30 radiation treatments as well.
I am 2 months post treatment and am feeling the best I’ve felt since before treatment.

Remain positive…that’s essential!

Yes i was originally treated stage 1 in 2021 mayo rochester did SBRT 5 session gobe until 2024 spread to different area of lung and nodes stage 3 now dos chemo 8 weeks 35 f rounds of radition and 5 rounds SBRT in 2026 return on my other lung treat at Phoenix Mayo did 4 sessions of SBRT like a game of wack o mole but i am still here

@jeepguy, it is helpful and encouraging to hear from people 2+years out from treatment. Your experience with both non-small cell cancer as well as small cell lung cancer and multiple treatment modalities is quite the testament. What tips would you offer for managing any of the side effects your experienced?

@colleenyoung Everyone’s experience will be unique and what works for one may be different for another. With that qualifier, these were helpful for me:
1. Be patient. There’s no way I thought it could take a year to recover. Well, it did and then some.
2. You have a care team, talk to them frequently. They were so helpful to make adjustments and offer different suggestions.
3. Manage post-op pain. The nerve block is deceiving. When it wears off, it will be uncomfortable if you haven't been following pain med guidance.
4. Hug the pillow. My lobectomy included two broken ribs. Hugging a pillow tight really helps when you need to cough.
5. Culver’s custard. When swallowing is difficult due to radiation therapy, Culver’s custard has more protein than ice cream.
6. Sleep. Find a place and position that will let you sleep as best as you can. Mine was a recliner. Sleep a lot.
7. Accept that things will forever be different. That doesn’t need to be worse, just different. You get to decide.
8. Let your caregivers help you. Your full time job, awake or asleep, is fighting cancer.
9. Have something you’re looking forward to. It may be a thing or a place. It doesn’t have to be big.
10. A pill minder app. The number and timing of meds can get complicated. I use Medisafe. It’s been very helpful.
11. A pill backup case. I have a small pill case that holds one pill and fits on a keying. It has saved me multiple times when I left home and forgot to take a pill.
12. Have faith. My Christian faith sustains me on a daily basis.

I hope you find some of this helpful. I wish you the best in your fight. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Hello, Wow. Lots of helpful tips. Thank you. It is a full-time job.....fighting cancer. I see that more clearly now. So far, so good for us. Yesterday was a down day for both of us, but today is better. Thank you, everyone who have responded to me here in Mayo Connect. Your support makes me feel we are not alone in this fight....as my husband has not wanted to share his lung cancer diagnosis with anyone other his daughter.

@andycapp