Lung cancer that has metastasis to the pancreas

Posted by mave1979 @mave1979, 1 day ago

Hi, I’m new here, my 75 year old Mum has been diagnosed with stage 4 NSCLC poorly differentiated PD-L1 low or neg with no mutations she also has a mass on her pancreas which they have not biopsy and don’t seem interested to do as they think it’s a met from the lung cancer, but they said to her they also can not rule out that is not a second cancer. They are going to start her on (carboplatin + pemetrexed) and keytruda I would just like to know if anyone else has had experience of lung cancer that has spread to the pancreas or if they have had both cancers at the same time? I can’t seem to find a lot of info on lung cancer that has spread to the pancreas.

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frouke | @frouke | 1 day ago

Hi @mave1979, I’m very sorry for your mom’s illness, it’s such a lot for her to deal with, I think that the best option would be to talk with various doctors who will be helping her. Although many of us here are fighting this disease, each case is different and requires treatments that work best for her. She is fortunate to have a loving daughter to help her through this difficult time, I hope that everything goes smoothly with good results.

Matthew K | @flusshund | 17 hours ago

Hi @mave1979—I’m truly sorry your mum is facing this. Everyone here is happy to share personal experiences, but the best medical guidance will always come from her oncology team.

In my own case, my non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed high PD-L1, yet that didn’t influence treatment because I carry an EGFR Exon 19 mutation; targeted therapy took priority. When doctors move straight to immunotherapy, it often means no targetable mutation was found. Immunotherapy tends to work best in tumours linked to a smoking history, though researchers are still uncovering exactly why.

A quick point of terminology: if scans show a lung-cancer deposit in the pancreas, it’s still lung cancer—it’s just “metastatic” (a spread) rather than a new pancreatic cancer. The same word “met” can also refer to MET-gene mutations, so the jargon can get confusing.

For context, my own lung cancer spread to the brain. That didn’t turn it into brain cancer; it remained lung cancer and followed its own treatment rules. That distinction matters, because prognosis and treatment options differ considerably across cancer types—and metastatic lung cancer now has far more options than primary pancreatic or most primary brain cancers.

Keep asking the oncologist about next steps, mutation testing, and why a particular therapy was chosen. And remember, many of us continue to work, enjoy family life, and achieve milestones during treatment—you and your mum can, too. We’re all here cheering you on.