“I want to stay hopeful. I was recently diagnosed with Stage IVa at 32 years old. I have so many plans for the future and have always looked forward to living my life, but after the diagnosis, I’m not even sure if I should keep planning ahead. Everything feels so bleak right now. I’m still waiting for my biomarker results and treatment plan from my oncologist. For context: I’m female, a non-smoker, and otherwise healthy overall.”

Hi guys, my mom (57, never smoked) has been diagnosed with stage IV lungcancer this week. Doctors will do a test on her to see if it’s the genetic mutation or not. If so, she will get pills to try and treat it. If not, she will have chemotherapy and immune therapy. If those don’t work, she has 1-2 years to live. She is quite active and eats healthy most of the time.

I’ve been a mess ever since we found out. I’m sad, mad, stressed, empty all at the same time. Does anyone recognize this story and feelings? I want to know what her chances are. I’ve lost my sister in 2011 due to a chronic illness and not sure if I’ll be able to handle another loss like that.

Mom was hospitalized last Friday because her lungs have water and they needed to drain it. She hasn’t left and it’s unlikely she will now. She got pemetrexed Tuesday, but today the doctors say her cancer is likely so advanced that continual treatment will be dangerous (for context, she can’t even lie down because of the pain despite being on morphine). She can’t even get an MRI because of the pain, doctor thinks it’s likely her cancer has advanced far enough in the brain.

She also isn’t really eating right now and is either delirious or super sleepy. I got in a fight with my dad because I know my mom wants to be at home but dad wants her in a facility because he is afraid mom will eventually develop resistance to the oxy dosage and we won’t have morphine injection at the ready (he’s anxious - I can’t; he’s afraid she’ll develop resistance in the middle of the night and we won’t have anything. I mean fair but mom wants to be home for her last days???)

It’s so frustrating. Fuck cancer man. I think I’m literally going to die from a broken heart. I’m the youngest in my work / friends group but is the first one going thru death of a parent. So unfair. I saw how this disease ate my mom from the inside out and left her a skeleton with only skin and bones. Fuck this man.

My father is 73yo. He got his first treatment of immunotherapy and chemo on the 10th of march.
He got diagnosed with stage 4b squamous cell lung cancer NSCLC. He was 110 pounds at 5'3 when he started the session. As of yesterday his weight is down to 89 pounds 😔. He pretty much looks like a holocaust victim. I'm pretty much his full time caretaker at this point.

A few days after chemo he started with the weakness and uneasiness and etc. Had the bad shakes and no appetite. Constantly puking and nausea despite being prescribed Zofran. He can't walk on his own . I pretty much take him from livingroom chair to wheelchair to bathroom than back to livingroom chair.

Its been hard on me cause on top of all this he has too pee every 1-3 hours. Averaging 12x per day. I'm just exhausted, and wondering when this will get better?

The doctor said on the 4th of April that due to his weight loss and health they aren't doing a 2nd chemo dose until his weight goes up. Everything has been paused. Only thing they said was that we'll go to the oncology clinic 3 days a week to get fluids since he's dehydrated to see if he'll "perk up".

My whole point of this thread is how long does it take after the first chemo dose to feel okay again? It's almost been nearly 28 days with no change. 🙁

I am trying to prepare for losing my mom and my best friend. I guess I already have lost her.

Diagnosed February 2019. Achieved remission with chemo+radiation and immunotherapy. Cancer returned in summer 2023. Back on immunotherapy until she has to be taken off of it due to recurring pneumonitis in March 2024. Went treatment free until nearly dying of a pleural effusion in July 2024. She was moved to a palliative bed and we were given weeks-2 months to go. My mom fought like hell and lived another year. She tried 3 different chemos this year including a targeted therapy but nothing worked.

She has been slowing down the last few months. More fatigue, more weakness, weight loss, hair loss, (which really bothered her), more nausea, needing oxygen more and more. The last two weeks she’s gotten sort of quiet and sleeping a lot. But still trying to run errands, still visiting with friends and family, still chatting. Still making coffee for visitors.

She did not want people to see her as sick and she put on a good front. She never complained about pain but now I am wondering how much she’s been suffering.

We’ve had a lot of talks this past year. She was pissed. She did not want to die, didn’t feel ready to die, refused to accept it. Kept fighting and pushing herself every single day. Kept holding out hope she’d get more time.

Yesterday morning she couldn’t wake up. When we woke her to get her meds in, she looked different. She kept saying “what do I do/what am I gonna do?” And “oh no/ oh fuck.” I think she realized yesterday morning that she was too weak to go on. That she couldn’t fight anymore. And seeing her realize that will haunt me forever.

Today she moved to hospice after a rough night at home. She hasn’t woken up much since yesterday at 12. She’s had 3 brief moments of alertness, and there is anxiety in those moments. The hospice is managing her pain and anxiety now, and over the last few hours she’s not responsive to waking her up/talking to her. The palliative doctor told us people like my mom, who fight and push so long, tend to have a crash and go fast.

I really believed she had one more rally in her until today.

I don’t know how I’m going to live without her. She’s my best friend. We talk every day, and I see her almost every day. We’ve been insanely close since I was born. Talking to her is as natural as thinking my own thoughts. I can’t believe I’ll never speak to my mom again. I’ll never hear her voice or feel her hugs ever again. I want to die a bit thinking about it but I have two children and have to go on for them. But I’m pissed too. She was the best grandmother. She was the best mom. She always showed up, always helped, she was funny, kind, nurturing. And my kids, 2 and 8 weeks old, won’t even remember her.

Cancer is such a cruel disease. I hate this. She deserved more time. She really did. She desperately wanted it.

Thank you.

I just got off the phone with my sister who I love so much. They recently found that she has Non Small Cell Lung Cancer that has already spread to her liver and bones. She's in good shape and not a smoker. And the really weird thing is that even though it's so advanced, she has zero symptoms. She feels fine.

I'm in shock and I don't know what to do. Just by googling it sounds really bad. Is this a death sentence? She has an appointment in a couple days to come up with a treatment plan.

Please let me know what are the possibilities here. How long does she have? What quality of life?

Thank you.

Hi there. My mom has been experiencing significant respiratory distress because of this cancer. Wondering if anyone has gone through similar with having breathing complications. She’s admitted to medical oncology and last night critical care needed to get involved as she was hypoxic and is now on hi flow requiring 70% oxygen 50 L/a min. They have been able to do 2 lasix doses and still did chemo today. Please tell me if anyone else has been in a similar situation with this cancer and if your loved one was able to pull through. I’m due with her first grand daughter in 3 months I just want her to make it. I haven’t read any similar experiences with this breathing complication.

Thanks.

Hi everyone!! I just joined but my mom (54) has been battling lung cancer since this past July. Stage 4 with mets to brain bones and liver :((( As of yesterday we made the decision to stop treatments and begin the hospice process. I have a couple of questions and thoughts!!

1) O2 sats!! She has been on an off supplemental oxygen throughout this entire process. At this point it is dropping to the 70s at rest and it really only gets up to the upper 80s lower 90s when she will keep it on. I’m struggling with getting her to keep it on. She will take it off and go into a daze. As of this past week she has been not all there mentally. Any recommendations to make it more enticing to keep it on and also what will happen if she keeps taking it off and letting her sats get so low.

2) People in their 20s? I am 20 years old the primary caregiver for my mom. I would love to make some friends/have some mutuals around my age to talk about all this crap with!!!

All of you are so strong!! Both people fighting cancer and caregivers!! I’ve been scrolling for hours since I found this thread and found so many relatable and helpful things!!

Just looking to get this off my chest and hear some positive stories. I appreciate everyone who has shared in this sub, as I’m reading through and learning and processing.

I went to the ER last Tuesday the 5th because I had what my doctors thought was autoimmune induced pneumonia, and I had coughed so hard I thought I broke a rib. The scans came back and showed lesions on my liver, spine, shoulder and ribs, with non-specific nodules in my lung.

We got the biopsy results today showing that the lesions came from my lung. The spread puts me at stage IV NSCLC. I’m just devastated. I’m 34, married with a 3 year-old son. No history of smoking or drinking. So I’m just feeling lost and confused.

Everyone is telling me to be positive, that I’ll bounce back and be ok. I just feel like I need some time to be sad. To mourn my health and my life before getting this news.

I keep questioning if I missed something or didn’t ask the right questions. I knew I had some nodules, but my pulmonologist referred me to a rheumatologist because every other lab was normal. My blood and my scans were fine in August, just some small nodules. He never even mentioned cancer as a possibility. It happened so fast.

Sorry if this is all over the place. Just trying to make sense of it all and get it out of my brain so I can sleep off how I’m feeling.

My mom is 66 years old and has had multiple lung nodules noted for about 8 years. She’s had regular scans done watching the nodules throughout the years and since they haven’t really changed, they didn’t really worry much about them. However, my mom over the last few years has had a chronic cough that causes her a lot of grief, and she’s been having appointments to try to treat the cough with slight success with an inhaler. Her twin sister was diagnosed with lung cancer incidentally in maybe 2020 and had an operation to remove the affected lobe. She’s been fine since then. Due to her twin sisters lung cancer history and my mom being a smoker 20 years ago they started pressing the issue more to have a better answer for the nodules and cough. She had a PET scan which showed some activity but one having pretty high activity in particular.

Last week she had the biopsy done of the most active nodule and honestly I was expecting things to come back normal. I was shocked today seeing the results in her chart stating “Lung nodule, right upper lobe, transbronchial cryobiopsies and touch preps: -Neuroendocrine neoplasm, consistent with carcinoid tumor. -Background lung and peribronchial parenchyma.

Final Diagnosis The tumor shows primarily a spindle cell morphology. The distinction between typical and atypical carcinoid is inherently limited by the sampling nature of the biopsy. However, features suggestive of an atypical carcinoid tumor (increased mitoses, nuclear pleomorphism, and necrosis are not appreciated on the current biopsy specimen.”

We have an appointment with the pulmonologist tomorrow afternoon but I’m really worried about this because I truly was in denial that this would be the result. I’m reading through this sub and I haven’t seen many similar cases. I’m confused how this is cancer but it’s been there for 8 years? And all her other tests have been actually quite good so she’s overall healthy besides the lung nodules. I know I’ll get some answers tomorrow but I can’t stop thinking about this and wanting some sort of input from people who have gone through something similar. I really love my mom and I’m really distressed about all of this. I know people here are dealing with way worse situations but I just don’t really understand this scenario or what this journey is going to look like. Im optimistic but I have OCD making me just think about the worst case scenarios possible with the limited understanding I have and it’s really worrying me.

Mucinuous adenocarcinoma scanxiety

I'm having my second follow up scan after a year of having a successful surgery of my stage 1 lung mucinuous adenocarcinoma, no further treatment 🙏🏻, had my first follow up scan on September 18th, everything clear thank God 🙏🏻 🙏🏻, I'm having my second on the 20th and still freak out since I just saw saw the mutations results on my chart and it says, PDL-1 1%, Kras G12d and tp53 and everything I read is scary 🥺, any successful stories to share?

Mom (58) was diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC last year. She was on Tagrisso for a year before developing a resistance to it, then was on another gene therapy for two weeks before that one gave her severe side effects and she had to stop. She’s gotten so much worse in the last two months, difficulty breathing, can’t lie down because of the breathing, no appetite and barely eating, severe bloating / can’t poop so her stomach is always hurting. Doctors are advising chemo and we will give it a try. She’s honestly so tired and in so much pain, but the doctors’ encouragement gave her some hope. I don’t know, I think deep down we all know she doesn’t have long. I’m just looking for support and any kind of miracle story here.

Thanks for reading my rant.

Update 1: mom started chemo today (pemetrexed) - fingers crossed for good efficacy!

My beautiful, selfless & amazing dad passed away today. He was set to come home in hospice but didn’t make it. I’m so broken. I thought I had a little more time with him but he couldn’t take it anymore. He put up such a great fight these past few months. He was only 55. He didn’t even start treatment. Cancer took two men who I love so much from me just 2 months apart. I have never dealt with this much pain. He didn’t deserve any of this. Im sorry about the sad post but this really has been a place for me to vent. Thank you guys for all the light & amazing tips. It helped so much.

I hope if you’re dealing with cancer or have a loved one dealing with it - kick its ass!!!

M34. I had been having persistent back and neck pains since November 2024. After visiting multiple doctors, physiotherapists, orthopaedics etc in January 2025 the consensus was that there was nothing wrong with me and they all prescribed me with various painkillers and muscle relaxants.

The whole month of February was chaotic for me because of my engagement which included a lot of travelling; all the while being hopped up on painkillers. But the pain persisted. It got so worse at one point that I couldn’t even get out of the bed.

I finally got fed up with the doctor visits and got an MRI done of my own accord. The results showed there was something terribly wrong with my spine. After going through series of Pet scans/ biopsies/ pdl 1 test I was diagnosed on 10th April with stage 4 NSCLC adenocarcinoma of the lung. The cancer had spread from my lungs to liver, spinal cord , lymph nodes in the neck and I had some mets in the brain. I had no symptoms except for the back pain and was never a smoker.

My whole life fell apart soon after. I had lost my health , my engagement had to be called off and I lost my career (I used to be a merchant navy officer).

Luckily my cancer is eligible for targeted therapy and have been on Tagrisso 80 mg since 25 April. After 3 months I did my first pet scan yesterday after the start of treatment. The scans show that the various lesions and tumours have shrunk on average by 80% and the SUV value has gone down on average by about 85%. The primary tumour in my lung has become cavitary and is mostly inactive.

This is the first bit of good news I’ve had since the start of this year. My body is feeling almost normal. I have a lot of stiffness because of lack of activity/ exercise but I am planning to change that soon to avoid muscle loss.

Thank you for reading my post all the way. I know the journey is far from over and all I can hope is to wish that the worst days are behind me.

I’m 26 years old, just turned this week actually. I am his caretaker and he lives with me fulltime. I work from home so I am always with him.

He has been in the hospital with a heart attack and they did and MRI showing his cancer that was in the lungs was spread to the brain. We found the cancer last month when he was in the hospital with blood clots and showed in the lung but now spread to the brain. He is scheduled for a bronchoscopy this week which may not happen as he is still in the hospital.

I asked the oncologist what’s the timeframe looking like and he said less than a year. I know this can change depending on how his body reacts but it is so crushing knowing I don’t have a lot of time with the most important person in my life. Just not sure how to navigate this. I’m usually the type of person to not show emotion and focus on what needs to be done but this has me crushed.

Side effects of immunotherapy.

When does this get easier?

My dad has been prescribed keytruda treatment every 3 weeks indefinitely. Can we talk about side effects and specifically when they started, what helped, and when they eased? Anyone who could shed light on this fatigue would be really helpful too. Thank you all, and sending strength to you all on this same journey. Also how does it specifically work for squamous cell carcinoma?

What kind of foods help him heal the tissue and improve his health???

This is all happening so fast. A month ago my aunt went to the hospital complaining of shortness of breath. They discovered a pleural effusion, pulmonary embolism and spots in lungs. They biopsied the fluid and it came back positive for adenocarcinoma.

My mom called me a couple hours ago and let me know she has been hospitalized for pleural effusion again and they were planning to put her under to biopsy the lung and drain the fluid. The anesthesiologist doesn’t think she will wake up from anesthesia and are transferring her to a different hospital.

I’m 38 weeks pregnant and scheduled to give birth Friday. My mom was supposed to fly in from out of town and now it’s just up in the air. I’m scared for my mom and aunt. My grandma died from lung cancer at 53 as well. Except she lived a year after diagnosis. 😭

My 66 year old husband was just diagnosed with stage 3b lung cancer. He had no symptoms, just caught it with a scan.

Of course, our emotions are all over the place, and we bust out crying every so often.

We don’t know how to do this, so we are just doing our best to take it one step at a time.

I am just wondering if anyone has any advice on what works for them to keep from falling into non-functioning despair, because I feel like I could go there.

Thanks so much.

Update: I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone that replied - your stories and support really help.

24M. My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer about 6 months ago. She has been in the hospital for awhile, but it recently just got bad on Friday. She was rushed to the ER from her rehab center, and was put on a breathing tube since her oxygen was down. I visited her on Friday, of course this was after the tube. She's off of it now, but oh my god I feel helpless. I love my mom so much and to see her struggling just feels like a black cloud that has just followed me. She now can speak just very quietly, and when I heard her voice I broke down crying. I'm just so lost and while the last few days have improved, I'm just lost, on the verge of tears at any moment, just hurting. Appreciate any responses to this, I guess I'm just getting this off my chest.

Hey, I’m 5 months pregnant with my first baby and we are now dealing with a very shocking stage 4 cancer diagnosis with my mum. She’s 59 years old. They found a very large right lung mass that has spread to the other lung and lymph nodes.

Shes had the genetic tests back and likely pathogenic TP53 variant was detected. The tumour cells tested positive for PDL-1 (80% staining seen).

A pathogenic variant was detected in the NRAS gene, there are no approved therapies for these variants in lung cancer. Apparently this is very rare in lung cancer.

Her treatment plan will be Carboplatin, Pemetrexed and Pembrolizumab three weekly for a total of four cycles and then to continue Pembrolizumab six weekly for up to two years.

Has anyone had success with this and can we hope for a good outcome? I’m feeling very lost and overwhelmed

After a battle with cancer my mom peacefully passed away this afternoon.

I went to go shower since I was at my grandparents with her and didnt shower at all. The nurse and health aide were with her bathing her, so I figured I could take a couple hours to clean myself up. When I got home I got texts that her heart rate was extremely high with her oxygen low. Minute by minute they dropped. I was at home in the shower awaiting to go back to my grandparents but it didnt work out that way. I got a call that she was gone 10 minutes later.

I miss her already so deeply. I will see her in the future but I'd do anything to hold her hand one last time.💔 My heart hurts and words are at a premium.

Rest easy Mom, I love you and I will see you again. ❤️

I posted on here previously about my mom being diagnosed and being in the hospital.

Today me and my whole family had a meeting with the doctor and my mom has chosen to stop all treatment, and instead just move towards symptom-based treatment at home where she will pass away. She made this decision on her own.

A couple of days ago she grabbed my hand and basically said I am leaving here (the hospital) one way or another. Now that makes sense since I believe that's when she made that choice.

I am literally shattered. This all happened so fast, literally I have texts from February where I was concerned about her MRI showing lesions on her spine.

I am just trying to be strong for her because I just know she is hurting. The doctor told us she is at the end of her life, and she acknowledged as much. I am hurting so badly. I just can't believe how fast this happened. My next steps are just to cherish every moment as I will be visiting her at home and not in the ICU.

Prayers to anyone else going through this as well. This is so awful.

my dad was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) of the Head and Neck on 4th feb.. then he underwent 10 hr long surgery and then 5 chemo and 32 radiations now after 2.5 months after the doctors suggestion we did the PET CT SCAN and in the results it shows that there are cancerous activity in the left lung however the head and neck is all clear IM SO SCARED PLEASE HELP ANYONE I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO HE’S MY WHOLE LIFE

what are the possible treatments????? i don’t want to loose him

I see a lot of posts for Non-small cell diagnoses, but I was wondering if anyone is living with, or cared for someone who had small cell carcinoma, limited stage.

When my father was diagnosed one year ago today, he was given an estimate of 12-18 months with an aggressive treatment plan. He followed the plan and did chemo and radiation. It was very hard on him.

Since then, a new study came out that suggests life can be extended to an average of 24-33 months with immunotherapy. He started immunotherapy and will continue therapy for two years, as the cancer comes back within 2 years 95% of the time.

Even with treatment, this diagnosis feels like a death sentence. The treatment can extend the life but actual remission is unlikely. The 5 year survival rate for men is 2%.

Right now, dad seems happy, alert, he’s putting on weight and rooting for the lady gamecocks basketball team to bring home the championship.

It seems like when people do take a turn for the worse, it’s very quick and traumatic. I have a lot of anxiety even though he seems to be doing well today. Based on his original prognosis, he’s living a miracle.

I’d just like to hear from others who had this specific diagnosis or family affected by this diagnosis.

I can’t sleep and am just crying in my bed, searching for comfort and/or understanding. I want to be prepared.

I just recently got diagnose of lung cancer and is waiting for my treatment plan. Petscan shows it spreads in my pleura which puts me to stage 4 but overall i was feeling fine physically, the only symptoms i've had is chest pain when i do deep breathing etc., has anyone experience this as well? What is your prognosis?