Hi Wool and thank you for your post,

I am sorry to learn that both your husband and yourself have cancer. This must be a difficult time for you both.

You mentioned that your husband is waiting to have a biopsy of the prostate before treatment can be planned. I was unsure of your husband's situation whether or not the doctors were concerned that your husband's cancer started in the prostate or if this is a separate issue.

Before treatment can be planned the doctors need to ensure they have all the right information necessary. What type of cancer it is, how far it has spread, and it can take time to get scans, biopsies, and results. This is because everybody's cancer is treated differently, and they will have specific treatments for their specific situation.

I do appreciate it can feel like a long time and it is frustrating when you feel you should be getting on with treatment. Unfortunately, there isn't anything that can be done to speed up treatment. I wondered if you have a specialist nurse you could contact about any concerns you may be having, as they will know his situation they may be able to give you more reassurance.

I hope you can get some answers soon and that your husband starts treatment soon. Please get back to us if you need any more information or support.  You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

Take care Wool, all the best.

Jemma

Thankyou  , Jemma.

We were told at respiratory clinic it was stage 4 for Gary.  And today we got a letter off diagnosis even though we are waiting on the prostate test.

Could you explain what this means ...

Metastatic adenocarcinoma of lung staging 

T2aN2M1b ( spine) 

We're confused as there's no 4.

Many thanks 

Wool

Hello Wool and thanks for getting back to us.

We have some more information about the stages and types of lung cancer on our website so do take a look.

The TNM system stands for the size of the Tumour (T), how many lymph Nodes(N) are affected with cancer and the M stands for whether the cancer has spread to anywhere else in the body (known as metastases).

Therefore it sounds like Gary has as you say stage 4 lung cancer that has spread to spread to 2 lymph nodes and the spine.

Of course the doctors involved in his care need to explain this to you both in greater detail and what this means in terms of treatment options and the way forward. I hope this happens for you both soon.

Please get back to us if you need any more information or support.  You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

Best wishes

Naomi