Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Anyone give me insight into stage 4 lung cancer? My FIL just got diagnosed

My mom died of lung cancer back in 1988 at 44yrs old never smoked a day in her life....she was gone in less than 2 months after being diagnosed....I feel she had symptoms for longer but ignored them and didn't see a Dr. til too late ....

I'm not going to offer an opinion on this particular case. There just isn't enough information. However, everyone needs to examine the recommendations of the medical industry very carefully in this kind of situation. It is very hard to get the straight story from the doctors. The doctors and the families don't like to give up and when you combine this with the perverse financial incentives of the medical industry to try everything (if it gets paid for), you can end up with some pretty horrible results from the perspective of the patient. Too many terminal patients get robbed of a dignified and pain controlled death because of emotion, bad judgment and greed. Some of these last ditch medical efforts are nothing less than torture for the patient. We don't treat out dogs like that and we should not do it to our loved ones. In the end, we are all going to die. Quality of living and dying should trump delaying the inevitable.

This may explain it better than i can . I have dealt with patients many times with different stages of Lung CA. Stage 4 isn't the best to be diagnosed with .

Stage 0 carcinoma in situ.
Stage I cancers are localized to one part of the body.
Stage II cancers are locally advanced.
Stage III cancers are also locally advanced. Whether a cancer is designated as Stage II or Stage III can depend on the specific type of cancer; for example, in Hodgkin's Disease, Stage II indicates affected lymph nodes on only one side of the diaphragm, whereas Stage III indicates affected lymph nodes above and below the diaphragm. The specific criteria for Stages II and III therefore differ according to diagnosis.

(Stage IV cancers have often metastasized, or spread to other organs or throughout the body. )

We lost my Mother and Mother-in-law to it within 6 months of each other 2 years ago. Most difficult time in our lives. With hindsight, we should have looked for second or third views from different Dr.'s. My Father-in-law now has lymphoma and has changed doctors twice and we are very pleased with the new Dr.'s approach. I wish you and yours well.

Thanks so much guys for the info and words of encouragement! I really appreciate it! My wife is call ing the doctor today to get more info (my FIL has told the medical staff that all his kids can inquire about his health at any time) so she can get the full scoop. Anyways, thanks again for all the well wishing we are just starting down this road with him.