Is there any data on the speed of how targeted therapies work versus the speed of cancer mutations?

What I mean is, if a targeted therapy shrinks a tumor by, say 90% within 90 days, which in theory is great, does this cause evolutionary pressure of the cancer to mutate, and thus rendering the targeted therapy no longer workable? Versus say in the same period, the cancer tumor shrinks by 10%, but there is much less evolutionary pressure for the cancer to mutate?

Is radical shrinkage in a tumor better than slow stability and shrinkage of said tumor, or does one or either increase the probability of mutation?

I hope I'm not going beyond the scope of here, but thanks for listening.

Hi everyone,

My father is 78 with stage 3B adenocarcinoma (non-small cell lung cancer). He was able to complete 5 out of 6 rounds of chemo and all 30 radiation sessions. It’s been almost 3 months since treatment, and he has been declining. His oncologist advised against immunotherapy or additional treatment because of how his body responded.

The good news is the cancer on his right lung is shrinking, but there is still a very small amount left. He is now on palliative care. He requires oxygen, and his levels sometimes dip to 85–90. He can only walk (with a walker and connected to his oxygen) about 30 steps before needing a wheelchair.

The biggest issue we’re struggling with is his cough. He already has inhalers, breathing treatments, and oxygen, and we have home health support. Does anyone have experience with other ways to ease or manage the cough? For example, medications, positioning, humidifiers, or anything that helped your loved one?

Any advice to help relieve his symptoms and keep him more comfortable would mean a lot.

Thank you.

Need your answer based on your experience. My father (67yrsold) was diagnose 2months ago with stage4 lung cancer, my mga bukol sa lungs nya. May fluid sa lungs. Ang bilis ng lahat, after a month ng diagnosis, hindi na sya nakaka lakad, ang sakit lagi ng likod nya now at di rin nakaka-kain ng maayos. Ang laki ng pinayat nyaZ

1. Mag start sya mag radiation next week., kakayanin kaya nya? Worth it pa ba? 🥹

2. Any food supplement or juice drinks na recommended?

3. Any advice pooo? 🥹🥹🥹😭

I am seeing some posts about the cancer benefits of going keto and doing some fasting. Has anyone tried this and seen some positive results? Please share!

For context, 41M, stage 4b. I just got my foundation one results, i m EGFR pos (although with TP53 and brainmets). With Tagrisso I should probable have 12-18 months of progression free time looking my way and 2-3 years left (I am not going to base my plans based on exceptional response).

I was thinking of using the relative normality of Tagrisso to go through my "bucket list" which are mostly travel destinations. I am in the fortunate situation of having a decent financial cushion and a health insurance that is not tied to employment.

But was wondering how others in my situation have dealt with time given and how you have organized your remaining time..

(new thread posted every Friday)

Welcome. We're glad you found us but sorry that you need to be here. Feel free to post here if you are in the process of a lung cancer diagnosis. Do not make a separate post until diagnosis is confirmed. Thank you. 🤍

Met with my thoracic surgeon and medical team at Memorial Sloan Kettering yesterday. They are going in and removing the upper right lung lobe. Taking with it the mass (about the size of a big grape) and the lymph node next to it that showed a little uptake in pet scan. Removing that as well. Said think we caught early. Scared to death, but the surgeon is highly sought after by people all over the world. It is the VAT surgery. Said about the size of his first as far as lung size that is removed using the video assisted thoracic surgery method.

Scared to death, but best case is they will test the lymph node once removed. We know from the needle biopsy the node is non small cell cancer. If no cancer. Then it’s great news and they get it all and then just monitoring. If is cancer in the lymph node I will need some chemo and or possible radiation.

Thanks for the support and have a few weeks before the surgery. Going to try and live life every day to the fullest until then.

It’s hard as scared to death, and if anyone has had this type of surgery, would love to hear from ya.

Shawn

Need to rant - everything is so hard - the only time I leave my house is for doctors appts. I spend all my time sitting in the same place for the past six months and there’s no end in sight.

I struggle to do the simplest things.

I’m in pain - not constant, horrible pain but pain. I’ve been prescribed low dose oxy which along with the codeine in the cough medicine has wrecked havoc with my stomach and other parts.

I can’t open my eyelids at night, apparently the oxygen I use at night is drying out my eyes.

AND some evil mouse has invaded my kitchen and ate my jelly donut!

In preparation incase chemo isn’t shrinking my mass enough (I was scanned after #3 but before infusion #4) plan B would be target therapy since I gave a mutation driving things. Of course I pray that chemo is working as anticipated and we can proceed with planning surgery. Has anyone had to do target therapy after chemo? How was it? Did you get to do surgery after that or did you just stay on target therapy? Thanks for any info/feedback.

A close family member (52yo F) is starting this regimen next week. Biomarkers are pending and we are hoping to get them back before the 2nd session to see if adding immunotherapy is an option. Plan is to give 4 cycles and reevaluate for surgery.

For those that underwent the same combination of meds, what was your experience? Any advice on mitigating the common side effects? She's obviously petrified of losing her hair, which I think is a lesser known side effect for this combination of chemo but anyway to minimize the risk such as shampoos/hair products or cooling caps?

Appreciate any tips or advice. Thanks.

While I was visiting Japan this spring (I live in the US), my lung cancer was found by accident. I had upper right lung lobectomy while there. It was NSCLC adenocarcinoma in stage 1b (3.5cm - edited) and no mets were found. I was told they typically follow up with oral med (UFT - which is not approved in the US) for a couple of years. I have not discussed treatment options in depth yet. What would be the typical treatment plans in the US? I'm in my 60's and never been a smoker. I exercise and eat (mostly) healthy - so otherwise in good shape. I plan to make an appointment with a local oncologist soon so I'd like to be well informed. Thank you in advance!

Hello

What does that actually mean? My friend has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung cancer which has metastasised to one node of his brain.

This appears in his medical records:- "80%-90% success rate quoted based on high NR1 number". He's starting Atezolizumab monotherapy on Tuesday.

My mom finally got her genetic results back and she just told me doctor said EGFR mutation with insertion at exon 20.

This all has happened so fast so trying to do as much research as I can and this is confusing- we were hoping for a better mutation but at least there is one. Any advice?

So scared, but been handling everything the best I can. I meet with my thoracic surgeon and my medical team at Sloan tomorrow. Going over the biopsy and the staging and the game plan. They had me complete the PFT (pulmonary fitness test) yesterday and did really well on it the staff said. Sounds like they are going remove the top right lobe of my lung that has the mass and the lymph node. Never had a surgery up until now with this. 55 years was a good run. Just looking for support as ny wife and I tell our children enough, but not everything. I am their rock, and the money maker in the family. Really nervous and scared about how they will handle me passing away if the cancer gets me. I try to stay positive as a looks like only in my lung. But when alone, I cry and go through the woe is me phase. Then I gather myself together and face the world……

Hard as work has me making plans for meetings and things for middle of September and I’d have surgery. Not going to be able to make them. ❤️‍🩹 Thanks for the support

Recap: I'm mid 40s diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma nsclc. I started chemo on Monday. I've been struggling to breathe in and of but getting home oxygen is difficult with insurance requirements.

Today: omw to my 4th walk test. My oncologist calls me, some results are back from the genetic testing. EGFR is a targetable mutation. Swing by my office a have a sample pack of meds for you, while we get your prescription setup with the specialty pharmacy. I let him know I'm omw to my walk test and we'll be there directly after. I get to my walk test and the starts were aligned with my struggle to breathe and I now will be receiving home oxygen tomorrow.

I know it doesn't seem like a lot but im taking these wins, and 2 on the same day has made me pretty excited. The first sign of a light at the end of this journey.

My dad (65) was recently diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell lung cancer. It has spread to his spine, hip, liver, and lymph nodes in the chest. In just the past month he’s lost about 20 pounds, and eating has become such a struggle. His appetite is almost gone, and when he does try to eat he often gets hiccups and says it feels like the food is getting stuck. Imaging hasn’t shown any blockage in the esophagus, but it still makes eating uncomfortable. He’s also become very hoarse, which makes talking hard for him.

Last week he started his first cycle of Carboplatin, Taxol, and Keytruda. So far, his only side effect has been fatigue, which honestly feels like a blessing compared to what we feared. Still, I’m very worried about the weight loss and the fact that he just isn’t eating.

I’m here hoping for both hope and perspective. Has anyone else (or a loved one) gone through this same treatment at stage 4 and seen success? Did appetite or weight improve once treatment settled in? Has anyone else experienced hiccups or that sensation of food sticking?

This all came out of nowhere. He had no symptoms until he hurt his back and an MRI revealed the cancer. It’s been a whirlwind ever since, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything.

This is my daddy, and I just want to give him the best chance and quality of life possible. ❤️ If you’ve walked this road, I’d be so grateful for any tips — especially for helping with weight gain, nutrition, or just managing day-to-day. Hearing real stories from others who have been here would mean the world to us.

A close relative (50 yo F) w/ no significant medical illness just got diagnosed with Stage 3a adenocarcinoma. 4cm mass in the RUL with single 1cm node in the mediastinum. Biomarker testing has not been done yet but plan is start chemo soon and assess response after 4 cycles before deciding on surgery.

Her family is obviously devastated and trying to cope. She's worried about the side effects of chemo and progression of her illness. Best case scenario is that she responds well to chemotherapy and 3-4 months from now the surgeon feels comfortable resecting the mass and she's able to beat this.

I have been trying to support the family emotionally and with whatever beneficial information I can but there is tons of conflicting information out there. I've come across supposed foods and supplements that can essentially shrink (some say starve) the tumor - Fenbendazole, ivermectin, keto diet, GLP 1s, etc.

Not sure what to trust and what not to. They're already overwhelmed with what's going on and I don't want to overburden them with drastic changes.

Any words of encouragement or advice or any personal experiences on what noticeably worked and what didn't?

What to expect during chemo and how to minimize side effects? (Guessing platinum based therapy)

Literally anything helps.

Thanks in advance!

A family member who is recently diagnosed, recently started complaining about feeling full, pants feeling tight (needing to open buttons) etc. I assumed this was an appetite issue but could it be something else like gas or fluids? Is this something that requires an immediate visit to the oncologist?

my dad is 55 and he’s been a smoker for at least 30 years. about a month ago he started coughing blood so we went to the emergency room where they did ekg, x-ray, blood work, and a ct scan. The er doc referred us to a lung specialist since they found what estimates to be a 5cm mass. Lung specialist talked abt a biopsy through a bronscopy that was last week, we had results today and turns out its small cell lung cancer and to their knowledge is limited stage. We have a consultation with the oncologist in 2 days, following a pet scan then mri. I feel like I’m losing my mind. How can I be there for my dad during this time

My mom (74F) was diagnosed with extensive SCLC in May; chemo and immunotherapy was done and she had scans this week to check progress. She had been feeling so much better, so we were disappointed to learn today that her cancer had spread to the brain, which was not affected before. She started steroids tonight and will follow up with radiation oncology to discuss whole brain radiation, but we know the prognosis is extremely poor. I’m not sure what I’m looking for here exactly — maybe experiences if you/your loved one went through this with the brain involvement and any encouragement or advice about this next stage. They told us potentially weeks to months at this point. Thanks for listening.

Newbie, my dad was just diagnosed with SCLC in June, Stage IV, Mets to liver, lymph nodes, possibly bone, large tumor in his lung, never smoker, 3 rounds of chemo before it stopped working, round 3 of tarlatamab this Thursday. Happy with our oncology team but I want to possibly get a second opinion from MD Anderson in case the tarlatamab doesn’t work or stops working. How do you obtain the pathology needed to send to MD Anderson? Does anyone know if his VA insurance will cover any of the potential treatment if we travel from out of state?

Thank you in advance, this group has been great to gather info 🖤

My mother’s imaging shows lung cancer that has metastasized to her lymph nodes, adrenal gland, and other areas. We’re in the early stages of getting her diagnosed. She is currently with Kaiser but I’m thinking of moving her cancer portion of her care to UCSF. She has medi-cal and medicare. I am not sure how to get her into UCSF under Medi-Cal. Has anyone done this before? Thank you.

My father was given 12 months prognosis. He's getting immunotherapy along with chemotherapy. He has Non small squamous cell carcinoma lung, stage IVB. Please share your stories. Nothing makes sense right now, I'd be very happy to see cancer-survivors thriving in their lives.

Chances of reoccurrence after reports showing no sign of tumours after chemotherapy.

Can we just continue with immunotherapy for safety?

Any advice on how to respond when someone thinks/asks if I smoked. I never smoked, I detested the idea of smoking and resent the question. Of course it’s only been from two people who hardly knew me and it is probably because they’re puzzled too about this. I don’t feel there was any malice but the implication sets me off. Maybe not everyone reacts that way. However I would love a great way to succinctly educate that there’s a lot of lung cancer that’s not due to a smoking history and convey that it could be offensive (it is to me) to some yo imply smoking so that they’re aware of that. I know there’s lots more to be concerned about 😁