My husband was diagnosed purely by chance through a routine chest x ray. No symptoms. Next thing hrs told stage 4 lung cancer spread to lower spine 2 bone mets & a 6mm brain met. My husbands on the STRIKE trial due to type of cancer & tiny brain met.

Hes had 2 keytruda immunotherapies, one cyberknife radiotherapy to brain, one radiotherapy to bone mets & started Zometa bone treatment 2 weeks ago to help bone pain & strengthen bones & went through hell with painful side effects & ended up on oramorph.

He seemed ok with the first immunothetapy keytruda no side effects, but after the 2nd & the radiotherapy & the zometa, hrs changed. Nauseas fatigued no interest in life or food. Doesnt want to go out. His weights dropped from 15st 2lbs to 13st 12lbs.

I dont know if all the side affects are treatment related or mentally/anxiety related. He takes anti nausea meds which he says dont work. My husband seems to have given up with life. He started off ok with treatment, but something as changed in him & I dont know what that is, as he gets annoyed with me if I question him. 

We've never asked the question of how long as we dont want to know. But if hevkeeps going the way he is now, he'll just wither away. 

Theres loads of people I've spoken to on various sites that have had immunotherapy for years & seem to be living normal lives. Sadly my husband will never come to terms with cancer

Also my husbands under a hospital in London & they have physio. So maybe speak to ur hubbys nurse or oncologist. Our hospital have been great & offer everything from physio to mental health help. Sadly my husband isnt interested. He tried physio it hurt, but sitting around 23 hrsca day it will hurt. He told the psychologist he was fine, when he clearly isnt. Some people are fighters with cancer, sadly my hubby is terrified & just thinks hes dying. Its very hard.

But I would ask your hubbys lung nurse & oncologist for any advice/help.

I wish you well x

Hi my husband was diagnosed with metastic lung cancer in 2023, he had half his left lung removed and had chemotherapy. We were advised that all the treatment had worked and in January 2025 he was given the all clear.  He had a AAA rupture in 2019 and has regular annual scans and checkups. In March 2025 he was called for his normal annual scan.  A few days later he was asked to go for a PET scan.  He has now been told the cancer is now in the other lung, prostate, shoulders, liver, and spine.  We have been told he has 6months without (18 month with) palliative treatment.  He has had his first chemo and immunotherapy 2 weeks ago and he has had some difficult symptoms and has made him question if the treatment is worth continuing. We have found it very difficult to get some straight answers and mixed information from the consultant and the oncology staff.  He has been very sick, can’t keep food down on the odd occasion that he eats. He has lost all interest in living and is grumpy with me when I try to talk to him.  I have been through 14 years of cancer myself with chemo and radiotherapy so I do have a good understanding of how it can effect you.  He stuck by me the whole way through mine and it’s my time to stick by him but he just pushes me away.

we have not been informed of any clinical trials and would be interested if there were any.

Hi Minnie 

I fully understand how you feel and this is just how my husband is.  His comment was “well we all have to die sometime”  but has just given up on everything and the family. He just sits in front of the telly and stagnates!  He won’t go out and not sociable when friends come round.
we have booked a 36 day cruise in September and he’s not even fighting to go on this. 

I wish you both courage to stay strong and prayers for health and happiness. Best wishes to you and your families. 

Hi Minnie

Oh I am so sorry to hear you are not well. Life is so cruel. But thankfully your GP has had the sense to refer you so quickly. Finger crossed you get the right treatment fast.  Please don’t put off your health, you are as important. 
My husband is on Keytruda and couple of others. We went to see the oncologist today. Having had a long talk with him, he has said that it is more likely to be the treatment that is making him feel so ***, no interest in any thing or no appetite.  He is going to keep a closer eye on him but he has said that hopefully after the 3 rd cycle of chemo and immuno he should start to feel better.  This is the only hope of giving him some life back at the end.  His cancer can’t be cured but hopefully can be controlled.  He will also need to start a course of hormone therapy injections for the prostate cancer so may react when that starts.

He answered all our questions and showed us all the scans so my husband could understand what was happening in layman’s words so he understood.  My husband did leave the office today, with a slight smile and “we can do this”!.

I do feel that you need to speak to the right person when dealing with all this and the last “one of his team” was very doom and gloom and couldn’t answer the questions he was asking, which had left him stewing in his head for the last few weeks. I couldn’t  go to his last appointment so our son who is a mental health nurse went. He got the impression she was only just out of med school and didn’t have any bedside manner in the way she was answering his questions. Having been through 14 years of cancer myself I don’t take “brush offs”. You are entitled to have someone who is competent to answer your questions and if not get someone who can!  
I believe my husband and possibly yours, is frightened of the thought of cancer and the possibility of dying and the fear that he is letting me and the family down by putting all this stress on us. It is out of his control.  Men like to be in control or think they are! He has always been a big solid part of our family. He coped with me because he was able to be there for my every sicky, *** moment, being useful, he had a purpose. But men are not good patients.

best wishes to you both and hope all goes well. X

1. I am so glad u got some answers & a "we got this moment" when my hubby was diagnosed, he was alone & thought he was going into to discuss the chest x ray possible infection. We honestly didnt think he was ill as he wasnt ill!! The conversation went " we have ur results, u have lung cancer, its soread so stage 4 vant cure you but yreat you & referring you to a hospital in London. It was him & a doctor called Charlie in the respitory dept of our local hospital. He still talks about that moment of the sheer hell fear shock & cries & says he'll never forget those words. I'm crying typing this, as it still lives in my mind how my husband must have felt.  The hospital in London on the other hand have been angels. My hubby's oncologist is ringing Tuesday on the guise of checking up on his treatment reactions. Shes aware of his mental state etc & will go thru everything step by step all treatments & side effects & as suggested we have phone on speaker so I can listen in & speak if needed. Today he as eaten slightly more but just says " all I want is to stop feeling sick every day & to have some small improvement". I've made a chart of small goals just small walks along corridor, to eat a biccy,  reminders of anti sickness. Like a diary he can look at & see any kind of improvement. I'm just trying anything. My husband doesnt speak to docs well, he goes blank he doesnt take in whats said. So he is very hard to work with. Maybe if his initial diagnosis had been better handled who knows mentally he may be different. But cancer is everyones fear. I dont fear it for myself as its been in my life with my family for over 40 years. I fear & worry for him. He is terrified of death where as I dont. And I've said if I could take what your going through I'd swap in a heartbeat. I really wish you & hubby well. Keep in touch even for a chat! Take care x