Can anyone tell me about lung cancer?

[borntohula]

Found out recently that dm has it. I know very little about it and don't want to bombard her with questions. She became unwell last year and deteriorated rapidly and can now hardly walk. Diagnosis is very recent. She starts chemo next week. Everything I've read sounds bad. Does anyone have any experience?

@borntohula
Just spend as much time with her as you can and if she is well enough get her out and about and do anything nice you can together. Make the most of any 'well' days. She should also have been referred to the local Macmillan or equivalent team and they were great for my MIL and very helpful for us.

Hi @borntohula sorry to hear that your mum is poorly.

My best friend had lung cancer secondary to lower leg osteosarcoma aged 14.

She had the leg osteosarcoma aged 10 & the lung tumour was found quickly as she was being monitored for it (lung tumours are common metastases in osteosarcomas.)
She had a Lobectomy (surgical removal of part of the lung), radiotherapy to the chest & chemo.
Now she's 44 & has had no recurrence so far but has a checkup every year at a cancer hospital as firstly osteosarcoma is aggressive & can recur at any age; secondly side effects from the radiotherapy & chemo could occur as she gets older such as osteoporosis & heart disease.
For example due to the chemo she went through the Menopause in her 30s, she also has low immunity & catches illnesses easily.
She has scarring to her chest from the Lobectomy that she's self conscious about eg she wouldn't wear a bikini; but basically she's very lucky to be alive as the lung tumour was caught so early.

Small cell is pretty rough. You need to spend the time with her that you would want to, don't put anything off. Hopefully she will respond well to chemo but small cell can move fast so take that into account.

@pandafunfactory thank you, I need to be realistic.

I don't want to really talk to anyone irl because I feel like I'm making it all about me but my head is in such a weird place.

My DH currently has terminal lung cancer that unfortunately for us is winning. If you can't go to the appointments ask if they can add you to a conference call - I've had a couple of calls where I've done this.

@notapizzaeater I'm so sorry about your DH. It's just so shit.