Stage IV Lung Cancer Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Sex
- Male
- Spread to
- Bone: left sacroiliac/iliac region
- Treatment
- targeted therapy, a clinical trial, imaging diagnostics and pain management
- Outcome
- Setback / Progression
Treatment course, step by step
- CT on 22 August reviewed in oncology on 26 August: paratracheal lymph node stable, small right supraclavicular nodes stable, right upper-lobe mass reduced to 5.6 cm x 7.3 cm with less pleural contact
- AZD9291 considered to have stopped growth and slightly reduced the tumor
- new approximately 3 cm lytic lesion in the left sacroiliac/iliac component, suspicious for metastasis
- MRI studies ordered for sacroiliac region and spine to define the lesion and look for other sites
- radiotherapy and biopsy discussed as possible next steps if localized disease was confirmed; nivolumab or pembrolizumab mentioned only as future last-resort options if generalized metastasis appeared.
What happened, in summary
This Noxte entry captured the mixed emotions of a scan that brought both relief and fear. The patient had a CT on 22 August and reviewed the result with oncology on 26 August. Some findings were encouraging: a paratracheal lymph node was stable, small right supraclavicular nodes were stable, and the right upper-lobe lung mass had decreased in size to about 5.6 cm by 7.3 cm with less contact with the pleura. He understood this as AZD9291 stopping growth and even shrinking the main tumor somewhat. The difficult part was a new lytic lesion, about 3 cm, in the left sacroiliac/iliac region. The CT report suggested it could be metastasis. He had some upper-gluteal or lower-back pain but had partly masked it with ibuprofen and codeine. His team ordered MRI studies of the sacroiliac area and cervical, dorsal, and lumbar spine to define the lesion and look for other possible sites. If disease appeared localized to 1 or 2 points, he was open to considering radiotherapy. If it were more generalized, he was thinking about immunotherapy only as a later option. As of 28 August 2016, he was still waiting for clearer answers.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Noxte (Blog Cáncer de Pulmón). Read the original in full
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team.