5 years ago in Feb 2020 my mum was diagnosed with inoperable stage 3b lung cancer. Stage 3b lung cancer has always had a poor outlook. The first consultant we saw said that ten years prior they wouldn't have been able to do much for my mum and even though treatments for lung cancer had improved a lot, her cancer was incurable. 

I had no idea how my mum would fair. I was so scared she wouldn't have long. Reading the stats online for stage 3b was depressing. I did however find some hopeful stories about immunotherapy being used in later stage lung cancer and that it greatly improved survival and in some cases patients were cured.

Mum's treatment was mostly radiotherapy and immunotherapy (durvamulab) with two rounds of chemo which my mum reacted very badly to. My mum was given the most aggressive treatment including the highest dose of radiation her body would take. My mum's fantastic oncologist was hopeful and told my mum that they were aiming to cure her. Of course there were no guarantees and other doctors didn't think my mum could be cured.

Mum was NED (no evidence of disease) in August 2020 after the radiation and chemo and one round of immunotherapy. She carried on with the immunotherapy. In Jan 2021, they told us that the cancer had returned and that the immunotherapy hadn't worked and that they'd just put her on chemo. 

We were all devastated though mum's brilliant oncologist said she'd put my mum forward for clinical trials. They did another scan on my mum and they found that there wasn't any cancer. The doctors compared the CT and PET scans and found that the cancer didn't return, that the activity on the PET scan was inflammation from the immunotherapy, not cancer progression. This is called pseudo progression. It was really incredible being told that the cancer hadn't progressed and that it was inflammation. It was the most incredible news but I didn't want to dare hope that mum was out of the woods.

Now fast forward to 2025 and mum recently had her last scan and she's still clear. No sign of cancer. She's been off treatment since Jan 2021 and has been in remission since August 2020. 

She doesn't have to have any scans as the oncologist said there's a very low likelihood of the cancer returning. My mum requested a scan every year just to put her mind at ease. 

I never thought we'd get to the five year cancer mark and that mum would be cancer free let alone alive! 

Statistics about stage 3b lung cancer are still dire but my mum's story is living hope that people can beat advanced cancer and that you shouldn’t rely on Google. There's not enough in the media about advances in cancer treatment. Thanks to advances in cancer treatment, people are living longer and even beating cancer.

Never give up. If you're not happy with your oncologist, don't be afraid to change or get a second opinion. Mum had some pretty rubbish doctors who were negative and weren't up to date with the latest treatments. My mum advocated for herself and got her brilliant oncologist to be her main oncologist and be under her care. My mum's oncologist saved my mum's life and never gave up on my mum. 

Don't feel you have to stick with one oncologist especially if they're negative, dismissive and don't care about their patients. Not every doctor cares or is up to date with their knowledge. The doctor who treats you makes a huge difference. 

Also if treatment options run out, push for clinical trials or get a second opinion. Don't give up. I wasn't sure if my mum would be here five years later and here she is. Don't give up!