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Small cell lung cancer

lisa-H
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Hello all, 

My dad has been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. T4n1m0 with 6-12months life expectancy. 
Apart from a cough he hasn't been poorly. 
He has had 3 chemo session to try shrink the tumour from his heart before starting radiation. We are week 2 of his 3 weeks of radiation twice a day treatment. Then one more chemo after radiation. I know sclc is aggressive and the treatment is aggressive but is there hope past the 12 months ️

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    Hello lisa-H and a warm welcome to our forum! 

    I am sorry to hear about your dad's diagnosis with small cell lung cancer. Try to take predictions about life expectancy with a massive pinch of salt as these are just averages and it is very hard to be precise about this so there is always hope that the treatment will work well and give him more time. There is information on our website too on treatment for small cell lung cancer which I hope you will find helpful. 

    I hope the treatment is effective and that your dad is feeling ok at the moment. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

     

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    Hi,

    Sorry to hear of your Dad's diagnosis, my Dad was also diagnosed with Small Cell Lung Cancer with shadows on his spine and liver. 
     

    His Oncologist never gave him a time expectancy, he refused and said "that is irrelevant, this is on you and you need to keep yourself healthy to fight this" I was so relieved when he said that. As the response says below, take it with a pinch of salt.

    My Dad is on a 3 weekly cycle of chemotherapy and immunotherapy and as long as the cancer stays stable, he can remain on the immunotherapy for 2 years. His Oncologist said he may need more chemo but will start with 4. Small Cell does have a good response to chemo.

    Try and keep positive, I know it's hard and I know myself I never want to give myself false hope. There are so many people living with incurable cancer now who have a good quality of life and his Oncology team will do as much as they can to give him a good quality of life, and the first step of that is that he was able to be offered treatment, that is a good start. Take it day by day.

    All the best and look after yourself also.

    Regards

    Lucie. 

     

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    Hi Lisa how is your dad? My dad was diagnosed with extensive sclc in December 2020. He didn't get his life expectancy because he didn't want to know but as I've seen on Google it's about 6-12 months. We are now 9 months into our journey, dad had 3 rounds of chemo and has been on immunotherapy every 3 weeks since. He has lost a lot of weight and is very sleepy but he is ok. Still walking around the house, caring for himself but has moved in with me so I'm doing all the cooking and cleaning etc and today he was told his cancer has shrunk to a tiny size. They have found a spot somewhere else but are going to review that in 10 weeks. I hope my dads story gives you a little hope. 

  • Offline in reply to Mummy_of_three

    I'm so sorry to read about your dad. How is he coping? 
    My grandad was also diagnosed with the same, and we are 10 month into our journey. 
    He had 3 rounds of chemo, a small break and is now receiving immunotherapy - he has a scan in two weeks to see what's going on. 
    The chemo was more effective that they initially thought, however once they stopped it did unfortunately start to grow again. 
    We were not given a strict 'time' on life expectancy - however he was told 3-6 month without treatment and with successful treatment anything from 1 year and beyond. My grandads is incredible. He goes about his day and takes everything in his stride. He's a fighter, and we are not ready to give up yet!!!

     

    sending love to you all x

  • Offline in reply to T16d4wn

    My dad is doing ok thank you. He had his immunotherapy today so is feeling a little meh but will be back to normal in a few days. He is a fighter too. He is just getting on with it fighting it all of the way. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for his scan as last time he had to have one there was a huge waiting list so we had to wait an extra month. Dad feels fine just sleepy and is rough for a few days after treatment. It's such a *** life but it's the cards that have been thrown at us so we are making the best of a bad situation. I hope your grandad stays strong and his immunotherapy works for him!!

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