Is it possible to survive Stage 4 lung cancer or is the chemo just to prolong life?
Question by Lollypop: Is it possible to survive Stage 4 lung cancer or is the chemo just to prolong life?
Best answer:
Answer by estenbarrachos That is called prolonging life at any cost. If I had stage 4 cancer of any kind… I would END it… and plan to when my stomach cancer reaches the point where the pain is too much.
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anything is possible but at that point once you found out you have it is quality of life better than quantity? the folks i have known to go thru chemo dont have much in the way of quality…hope that helps thats just my opinion i have seen folks die both ways from cancer with and without treatment and from what i have seen i myself ever put in that boat will go for quality
Stage 4 is the most advanced stage, where the cancer has spread. Understandably, the survival statistics are lowest for this stage. Unfortunately, lung cancer is often diagnosed late. Almost half of all those diagnosed with non small cell lung cancer already have stage 4 disease.
People diagnosed at this stage are mostly treated with chemotherapy to relieve symptoms. Between 15 and 35 out of every 100 people (15 – 35%) treated for stage 4 lung cancer will be alive a year later. For those not fit enough to have chemotherapy treatment, this figure drops to about 10 out of every 100 people (10%).
On average, only about 2 out of every 100 people (2%) diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer would be alive 5 years later.
my best friends mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer & given 4-6 months to live. This was 3 years ago.
She tried chemo, but it left her feeling so ill her doctor & her agreed that after one treatment, it wasn’t worth it.
They’ve now tried radiation. She went for 15 treatments on the one “spot” and 11 on the other.
From what she’s told me this wont get rid of the tumors, just shrinks them, extending things for her.And she can only get radiation treatments once on each “spot” if new “spots appear, she can have them treated, but the “spots” that have already been treated cant be treated again.
She has good days & bad days, but is still holding her own. In the end, the cancer will kill her, she knows that, so all she can do is live life to the fullest for what she has left
Stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another lobe of the lung from where it started or to another part of your body, for example the liver or bones.
The scans and tests you have done should give your doctor some idea of the stage of your cancer. But it may not be possible to be completely sure until you have had an operation. In most cases however the tests described in Diagnosing Lung Cancer are enough for your doctor to tell the stage.
The stages of small cell lung cancer
The TNM staging of small cell lung cancer is the same as for non-small cell lung cancer. But in practice, small cell lung cancers are often divided into just two groups. This is because small cell lung cancer often spreads quite early on. Even if the doctor cannot see any spread on your scans, it is likely that some cancer cells will have broken away and travelled through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. To be safe, doctors often prefer to treat small cell lung cancers as if they have spread, whether they can see any secondary cancer or not.
[ Lung Cancer Staging ]
Lung Cancer
This section of our website is devoted to educational material on lung cancer.
Below is some cursory information on the traditional treatments of lung cancer. For an extensive review of all currently available modalities in the U.S. and abroad, including non-traditional therapies, please visit my section on the Moss Reports.
Lung Cancer Overview
This article is designed as a primer for those seeking to get a quick grasp on the global issues surrounding this very serious illness.
Generally speaking, lung cancer is broken down into two broad categories: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Non-small cell lung cancer is further broken down into 3 other large categories. The following outline lays out the categories
I. Small Cell, sometimes called oat cell (20% of cases)
II. Non-small Cell
a. Adenocarcinoma (35% of cases)
b. Squamous Cell (30% of cases)
c. Large cell and others (15% of cases)
Incidence: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. In 1998 there were 171,500 new cases of lung cancer. Over 160,000 people died of lung cancer in the same year. Lung cancer represents 14% of all newly diagnosed cancers, and 28% of all cancer deaths. Rates in women are increasing (hint: “You’ve come a long way baby”). Rates in men are decreasing because smoking is decreasing in men. Persons cured of lung cancer are at greater risk of developing another incidence of lung cancer, or digestive related cancers.
Causes: Smoking tobacco products is responsible for 85 to 87% of all cases (146,000/year). Radon exposure accounts for 3% of all cases (5,000/year). Second hand smokers (passive smokers) have a greater incidence of cancer (3000/year) than those exposed to toxic levels of asbestos (2,000/year). . Lung cancer risk remains elevated even after smoking cessation and takes 15 years to approach that of someone who has never smoked
Treatment Overview: Lung cancer can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of these modalities, depending on the type and stage of the disease. For non-small-cell lung cancers that have not spread beyond the lung, surgery is most often used. Over the past several years, surgical techniques for treating lung cancer have improved greatly. When the disease has spread, treatment will often include radiation therapy and chemotherapy. For small-cell lung cancer, chemotherapy, often combined with radiation therapy, is now the most common treatment. Radiation therapy is also sometimes used in both forms of lung cancer to relieve pain and bleeding and alleviate problems with swallowing.
Prognosis: Survivability depends on a number of factors, but especially the stage of the cancer. Staging is discussed in another article. With that in mind, the following defines the prognosis for small-cell and non-small cell lung cancers.
Non-small cell lung cancer
Stage 5-year survival
IA, B 60-80%
IIA, B 30-50%
IIIA 10-20%
IIIB < 5%
IV < 1%
Small cell lung cancer
Stage 2-year survival 5-year survival
Limited 20-30% 10%
Extensive <10% None
unfortunately, the mortality for Stage 4 lung cancer is unacceptably high. Chemo will prolong life for a few months…but at what cost? You always have to consider the quality of life they will get during chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy treatments have a lot of complications.
Here’s my question to you.
Sometimes the treatment is worse than the disease.
If so…….what you pick?
For me….I know exactly what to do.
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anything is possible but at that point once you found out you have it is quality of life better than quantity? the folks i have known to go thru chemo dont have much in the way of quality…hope that helps thats just my opinion i have seen folks die both ways from cancer with and without treatment and from what i have seen i myself ever put in that boat will go for quality
Hi dear,
Stage 4 is the most advanced stage, where the cancer has spread. Understandably, the survival statistics are lowest for this stage. Unfortunately, lung cancer is often diagnosed late. Almost half of all those diagnosed with non small cell lung cancer already have stage 4 disease.
People diagnosed at this stage are mostly treated with chemotherapy to relieve symptoms. Between 15 and 35 out of every 100 people (15 – 35%) treated for stage 4 lung cancer will be alive a year later. For those not fit enough to have chemotherapy treatment, this figure drops to about 10 out of every 100 people (10%).
On average, only about 2 out of every 100 people (2%) diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer would be alive 5 years later.
………….feel freee to ask………..
my best friends mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer & given 4-6 months to live. This was 3 years ago.
She tried chemo, but it left her feeling so ill her doctor & her agreed that after one treatment, it wasn’t worth it.
They’ve now tried radiation. She went for 15 treatments on the one “spot” and 11 on the other.
From what she’s told me this wont get rid of the tumors, just shrinks them, extending things for her.And she can only get radiation treatments once on each “spot” if new “spots appear, she can have them treated, but the “spots” that have already been treated cant be treated again.
She has good days & bad days, but is still holding her own. In the end, the cancer will kill her, she knows that, so all she can do is live life to the fullest for what she has left
Stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another lobe of the lung from where it started or to another part of your body, for example the liver or bones.
The scans and tests you have done should give your doctor some idea of the stage of your cancer. But it may not be possible to be completely sure until you have had an operation. In most cases however the tests described in Diagnosing Lung Cancer are enough for your doctor to tell the stage.
The stages of small cell lung cancer
The TNM staging of small cell lung cancer is the same as for non-small cell lung cancer. But in practice, small cell lung cancers are often divided into just two groups. This is because small cell lung cancer often spreads quite early on. Even if the doctor cannot see any spread on your scans, it is likely that some cancer cells will have broken away and travelled through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. To be safe, doctors often prefer to treat small cell lung cancers as if they have spread, whether they can see any secondary cancer or not.
[ Lung Cancer Staging ]
Lung Cancer
This section of our website is devoted to educational material on lung cancer.
Below is some cursory information on the traditional treatments of lung cancer. For an extensive review of all currently available modalities in the U.S. and abroad, including non-traditional therapies, please visit my section on the Moss Reports.
Lung Cancer Overview
This article is designed as a primer for those seeking to get a quick grasp on the global issues surrounding this very serious illness.
Generally speaking, lung cancer is broken down into two broad categories: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Non-small cell lung cancer is further broken down into 3 other large categories. The following outline lays out the categories
I. Small Cell, sometimes called oat cell (20% of cases)
II. Non-small Cell
a. Adenocarcinoma (35% of cases)
b. Squamous Cell (30% of cases)
c. Large cell and others (15% of cases)
Incidence: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. In 1998 there were 171,500 new cases of lung cancer. Over 160,000 people died of lung cancer in the same year. Lung cancer represents 14% of all newly diagnosed cancers, and 28% of all cancer deaths. Rates in women are increasing (hint: “You’ve come a long way baby”). Rates in men are decreasing because smoking is decreasing in men. Persons cured of lung cancer are at greater risk of developing another incidence of lung cancer, or digestive related cancers.
Causes: Smoking tobacco products is responsible for 85 to 87% of all cases (146,000/year). Radon exposure accounts for 3% of all cases (5,000/year). Second hand smokers (passive smokers) have a greater incidence of cancer (3000/year) than those exposed to toxic levels of asbestos (2,000/year). . Lung cancer risk remains elevated even after smoking cessation and takes 15 years to approach that of someone who has never smoked
Treatment Overview: Lung cancer can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of these modalities, depending on the type and stage of the disease. For non-small-cell lung cancers that have not spread beyond the lung, surgery is most often used. Over the past several years, surgical techniques for treating lung cancer have improved greatly. When the disease has spread, treatment will often include radiation therapy and chemotherapy. For small-cell lung cancer, chemotherapy, often combined with radiation therapy, is now the most common treatment. Radiation therapy is also sometimes used in both forms of lung cancer to relieve pain and bleeding and alleviate problems with swallowing.
Prognosis: Survivability depends on a number of factors, but especially the stage of the cancer. Staging is discussed in another article. With that in mind, the following defines the prognosis for small-cell and non-small cell lung cancers.
Non-small cell lung cancer
Stage 5-year survival
IA, B 60-80%
IIA, B 30-50%
IIIA 10-20%
IIIB < 5%
IV < 1%
Small cell lung cancer
Stage 2-year survival 5-year survival
Limited 20-30% 10%
Extensive <10% None
Article by Michael Guthrie, R.Ph.
It is to prolong life, perhaps make someone more comfortable. When it is Stage IV it isn’t going to be cured.
unfortunately, the mortality for Stage 4 lung cancer is unacceptably high. Chemo will prolong life for a few months…but at what cost? You always have to consider the quality of life they will get during chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy treatments have a lot of complications.
Here’s my question to you.
Sometimes the treatment is worse than the disease.
If so…….what you pick?
For me….I know exactly what to do.