I have stage 4 lung cancer: Anyone considered no treatment?

Hi Paul, @paulseyferth, It's great to hear that you are doing so well after five years! Me too.
What type of lung cancer do you have? What treatments did you have, or are you currently taking?

I have stage 4 non small cell lung cancer that metastasized into my right femur and left frontal lobe. 14 months ago I was put on Osimertinib which basically got rid of the tumour in my frontal lobe and reduced the tumours in my right lung. Had radiation on my femur and lung. As with many people with lung cancer I have fluid buildup around my lung. Regular thoracentesis relieves the fluid, it may dry up eventually. I personally wouldn’t avoid treatment and still look for a longer life span beyond 67 years. Not totally back to the life I had before cancer but age I’m sure influences how I live. Just my two cents worth. Hope the best for you as medicine continues to improve for cancer patients.

I have stage 4 too. My back was in terrible pain. I was put on trabeca pills. The pain was gone in 2 days. Trabect is killing some of the cancer yhe only down side is edema in my legs.

Sorry, the cancer med is spelled tabrecta.

Has anyone stopped Keytruda treatments?
Husband has had 15 infusions for NSCLC, Recently developed debilitating afibs, got ablations. EP says 20% possibility caused by Keytruda. No cancer found last few scans nor by dna blood tests. Thinking of stopping Keytruda to prevent possible future afibs/ablations.

Hi,
My husband had 3 infusions of Keytruda and it almost killed him. He got pancreatitis which is a known side effect of Keytruda. He lost weight and refused to have anymore Keytruda infusions. This made the cancer doctor angry since our insurance had just approved 6 more months of Keytruda infusions and they cost $25,000 per infusion. The cancer doctor would not see my husband and treat his pancreatitis. Our primary care doctor got my husband to the right specialist and he recovered. He never got any other cancer treatment and he lived with stage 4 lung cancer for 14 years. We also prayed a lot and that helped.

It sounds like your husband is getting overwhelmed by Keytruda. Perhaps he needs a break. I'll say a prayer for both of you.
I wish you the best.
PML

Thanks for your response and your prayers.

Electrophysiologist said 20% possibility that afib is side effect of Keytruda.
Since he has had 1 yr Keytruda and no recurrences of cancer, we will discuss stopping Keytruda with Oncologist and just do monitoring. Doesn’t help to be cancer free/remission if heart can’t function.

My mom had 3 Keytruda treatments. Her health got worse. She was hospitalized for pneumonia. She is so weak and can’t barely walk. The antibodies they gave her to take a home had a severe side effect she lost her hearing. Tonight is her last night taking them. She can’t breathe because she said it hurts her heart. My mom is losing hope and I think she would rather die than go through all the pain, from shortness of breath, can barely walk, now she lost her hearing, her body is so worn down. Keytruda is horrible, she already had a weak immune system before starting Keytruda, how do they think that immunotherapy is the right treatment for her, her immune system was weak before starting. Also what I don’t understand, when the doctor noticed the mass in her lung, when it was small, why didn’t they take action then. When she started Keytruda her mass as grown, she was being prepped for radiation therapy, then the same month she was told she could not get radiation because the cancer was to close to the heart. She was offered Keytruda. Unfortunately, Keytruda is so glamorized. This is not the right treatment for my mom. My mom is 81, just because she is older doesn’t mean she is not to be taking seriously. My mom has so much life, and she is mentally sharp. She deserves doctors that see her as a person, not an elderly woman, and feel like her life is not as valuable as someone else. Please Mayo Clinic, help my mom, I am begging you, please help,

Hi @tcellthewinner1, I can see you are very worried about your mom. I'm glad that she has you to support her.

Please note that Mayo Clinic Connect is a public forum. For this reason I removed the personal identifying information about your mom, her name and location.

Your mom deserves care that you and she can trust. If you would like her to be seen by Mayo Clinic experts, you or her doctor can submit a request for a second opinion here: http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63

Hello @tcellthewinner1, A second opinion is never a bad idea and most doctors are very open to that idea too, when your mother is feeling up to it. She is fortunate to have you fighting for her at this time when she is struggling.
The immunotherapies have saved many lives across a variety of cancers, but they are certainly not for everyone. Lung cancer is a tricky disease and still takes more lives than any other cancer. That's scary, but true. The doctors try to use all of the tools available because the disease is so serious. I truly hope your mother recovers from the pneumonia soon, so she can feel that she's making progress. How is she doing today?