How Does Breast Cancer Spread?

stage 4 lung cancer weight loss :: Article Creator

Battling Stage 4 Cancer, Country Singer Shares Shocking News On Social Media About Recent Biopsy

Country singer Joshua Ray Walker, who is fighting for his life against cancer, made a shocking announcement on social media recently: After being told that he likely had Stage IV lung cancer, a recent lung biopsy surgery revealed that the organ is cancer free.

The country star's Instagram post was captioned: "I've been anxious to update you, but I wanted to wait until I was off pain meds and all the most recent scans, tests and lab results come back. I'm so excited to share with you that my pre-surgery diagnosis was incorrect, I've beat the odds and to everyone's complete surprise, my lungs are cancer free!"

Walker recently underwent surgery on his lungs, enduring five holes drilled through his rib cage and the removal of portions of his lung as part of a biopsy.

For now, Walker happily announced his medical team indicated there was "no discernible amount of cancer anywhere in my body at the moment!"

The post went on to say: "The recovery from this surgery has really kicked my butt. All of the medical news, good and bad, has been an emotional rollercoaster. Thank y'all so, so much for your kindness and all of your donations.

"This has been a life-altering couple of months, but for the first time all year, it's for the better! Your generosity is going to allow me to continue focusing on my health while I monitor my body for cancer and begin building my strength so that I can tour again."

Walker said he must undergo frequent tests and scans across the next five years.

ROAD TO HEALING

Walker remains focused on starting his road to being "the healthiest version" of himself, thankful for the support he has received to overcome his "insurmountable financial situation."

"Your donations have and will continue to help me pay my personal and medical debt," Walker has said. "They will supplement lost wages and out-of-pocket expenses I've accrued since my diagnosis, as well as future expenses as I continue to heal.

"I'm so excited to be alive, I'm excited to share this incredible news with you, and I'm excited to make the most of this opportunity. I love y'all so much; thank you for loving me back."

Fans were delighted with his news that there was no detectable cancer in the latest series of tests, with comments like, "Yesss, amen, the best news ever. God bless ❤️🇨🇦🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️" and "Great news!!!! Looking forward to seeing you on stage again!!!!"

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Stage III Lung Cancer

Doctors use stages to describe how much cancer you have and where it is in your body. People with stage III lung cancer can be a very mixed group. Their tumors can differ in size, location, and how distant they are from where the cancer started.

But almost always, stage III cancer is in just one lung. It's also limited to the lymph nodes, organs, and other tissue near that organ. The cancer has not spread, or metastasized, beyond that. That's why this stage is also called locally advanced or locoregional disease.

The next stage, stage IV, is the last and most serious stage of lung cancer.

Nearly 9 out of 10 people with lung cancer have non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A rarer and more aggressive type is called small-cell lung cancer. But the numbered stages are used mainly for the more common NSCLC.

Staging uses three key criteria called TNM:

Tumor (T): How big and where is the tumor?

Nodes (N): Is the cancer in nearby lymph nodes?

Metastasis (M): How far has the cancer spread from its original spot?

Doctors split stage III non-small-cell lung cancer into three main subtypes. It helps them get a more detailed picture of your cancer and decide on the best treatments.

Stage IIIA. You have one or more tumors in one lung. The cancer is in nearby lymph nodes. The cancer may be in certain nearby tissues, but it hasn't reached distant organs.

Stage IIIB. You have one or more tumors in the same lung. Your cancer may have spread to lymph nodes above your collarbone and may be in lymph nodes on the opposite side of your chest. The cancer may be in certain nearby tissues but not in distant organs.

Stage IIIC. This is the most advanced stage within stage III. You have one or more tumors in the same lung. Your cancer has spread to lymph nodes above your collarbone or to lymph nodes on the opposite side of your chest. The cancer may be in the chest wall, heart, breastbone, and other nearby tissues but hasn't spread to distant organs.

Most non-small-cell lung cancer is found after it's become advanced. That's partly because the disease worsens quickly and often doesn't have signs in the early stages. But symptoms may include:

If your stage III lung cancer has spread beyond your lungs, it can cause other symptoms. For example, you may have bone pain if it has spread to your bones.

Your doctor probably found your lung cancer after checking your symptoms. Most people aren't routinely checked for the disease unless they smoke or otherwise face a higher risk.

If you have symptoms of lung cancer, your doctor will likely order a chest X-ray to learn more. (Photo Credit: Stockbyte/Getty Images)

A chest X-ray is often the first image test. If it suggests you have cancer, you'll have follow-up tests, such as:

CT scan. Your doctor may order a "contrast-enhanced" version of this scan, which can take more detailed images.

Your doctor may run other tests to check the extent of your cancer. They might include:

Biopsy. A doctor will examine a sample of your tissue under a microscope to confirm that it's cancer.

Your doctors have several ways to treat you based on the size, location, and other characteristics of your cancer, including:

Chemotherapy. This drug therapy uses chemicals to kill and limit the growth of new cancer cells. You may get this after surgery to help suppress any future cancers.

Radiation. Your doctor will use powerful radiation to destroy cancer cells. If surgery fails to take out all of the cancer, you may get radiation therapy, or you may have chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy.

Chemoradiation. If surgery isn't an option, you may get chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both at the same time.

Immunotherapy. This therapy uses drugs to rally your body's immune system to fight the cancer. Your doctor may use immunotherapy as a first treatment if surgery isn't a good choice, or use it after chemoradiation.

Stage III lung cancer surgery

If possible, your doctor may opt for an operation to remove all the tumors from your lungs. If your lung cancer has spread into your lymph nodes, they may not be able to remove all of it. Some surgical options include:

Lobectomy. Your lungs are made of lobes, or sections. Your right lung is slightly larger, with three lobes, while the left has only two. During this surgery, the entire lobe containing the tumor will be removed.

Wedge resection. This is when only part of a lobe is removed. Your doctor may refer to this surgery as a "segmentectomy."

Adjuvant therapy

After you have a primary treatment for your lung cancer, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation, your health care team may recommend adjuvant therapy, or treatments that try to keep your cancer from coming back. Adjuvant therapy may include additional chemotherapy, targeted drug therapy, or immunotherapy. You may receive adjuvant therapy for a few weeks or up to 10 years, depending on your overall health and how likely it is for your cancer to come back.

Talk with your doctor to understand your treatment plan.

More people in the U.S. Die of lung cancer than of breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined. About 1 in 3 people diagnosed with stage IIIA lung cancer live for at least 5 years after their diagnosis. For stage IIIB, the average 5-year survival rate is 26%. For stage IIIC, it's 13%.

Your long-term outlook may be better if you:

Have lost less than 5% of your weight before starting treatment

Are a woman or were assigned female at birth

Do not have a lung infection, collapsed lung, or fluid buildup around the lung

Have a type of cancer cell that responds well to certain treatments

Any serious illness can bring worry, uncertainty, and other challenges to you and your loved ones. Try to:

Manage your pain. You may feel pain not only from your cancer but also from treatments as well. Work with your doctors to control your pain as well as you can. That also may help lower your chances of depression.

Ease other symptoms. Weight loss is common when you have cancer. Eat well to help keep up your strength and to prevent infections. For constant coughs, you might find relief with:

Pulmonary rehab may also improve your symptoms and quality of life. It may help you breathe easier and stay more active.

Quit smoking. It's never too late to stop. People who give up smoking before their cancer treatments tend to respond better. If it's hard for you to quit, a smoking cessation program may help.

Connect with others. There is no such thing as too much support. It may help to talk to a medical social worker, mental health counselor, or other professionals. Join a cancer support group, either in person or online. Find out if any local groups offer free rides to appointments and other help. The American Cancer Society has a searchable directory of programs.

If you've smoked heavily in the past, your doctor may recommend you get screened for lung cancer each year. Using a low-dose CT scan (LDCT), a type of noninvasive X-ray, your doctor can check for early signs of lung cancer before you even have symptoms.

You may be a candidate for yearly lung cancer screening if you:

Are between 50 and 80 years old

Smoke currently or quit in the last 15 years

Have at least a "20-pack year" smoking history. You can determine your pack years by multiplying how many years you've smoked by how many packs of cigarettes you smoke(d) each day.

LDCT scans expose you to a small amount of radiation, which can increase your risk of cancer, but this test uses less radiation than a standard CT scan. The benefits of the scan typically outweigh its risks, as earlier stages of lung cancer are easier to treat if your doctor sees any early signs of cancer.

Stage III lung cancer is when you have cancer in one or more lobes, or sections, of one lung. Depending on how progressed it is, cancer at this stage may have also spread to nearby lymph nodes and tissue. The diagnosis is serious, but treatments for stage III lung cancer, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, may be able to improve your outlook. If you smoke now or have smoked heavily in the last 15 years, talk with your doctor to see if you're a good candidate for yearly lung cancer screening.

Is stage III lung cancer terminal?

No. Everyone's cancer and response to treatment are different. However, therapies for stage III lung cancer are improving, and survival rates have gotten better in recent years.

How long can you live with stage III lung cancer?

Everyone's outlook is different, but on average, 15 in 100 people with stage III cancer will live 5 years after they've been diagnosed.

What is the most aggressive form of lung cancer?

Small cell lung cancer is the most aggressive form of the illness. It usually begins in the airways and can quickly spread to other parts of the body.

Long-lasting Immunotherapy Response In Stage IV Lung Cancer With Brain Metastasis

image:

Figure 1. Brain MRI at diagnosis and last Brain MRI performed. The image shows a temporal metastatic lesion at diagnosis (A) and last Brain MRI with maintained complete response (B), in postcontrast 3D T1-weighted.

Credit: 2024 Costa and Magalhães

"In the last decade, immunotherapy agents changed the treatment landscape for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)."

BUFFALO, NY - October 18, 2024 – A new case report was published in Oncoscience (Volume 11) on October 8, 2024, entitled, "Complete and long-lasting response to immunotherapy in a stage IV non-small cell lung cancer with brain metastasis."

As highlighted in the abstract of this report, approximately 20% of lung cancer patients have brain metastases at diagnosis, which is associated with a worse prognosis and negatively impacts quality of life. The emergence of new systemic treatment options, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and targeted therapies, has changed the prognosis for stage IV lung cancer patients. However, the impact of treatment sequencing—both local and systemic—in patients with stage IV lung cancer and brain metastases remains unclear.

Researchers Mafalda Costa and Helena Magalhães from the Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Pedro Hispano in Matosinhos, Portugal present the case of a 51-year-old man diagnosed with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and brain metastasis. After undergoing whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), the patient achieved both intracranial and extracranial complete response following second-line treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Currently, he has an overall survival of 87 months and a progression-free survival of 73 months, maintaining an optimal quality of life.

"We hypothesized that treatment sequencing of WBRT and immunotherapy could explain this unexpected outcome."

Continue reading: DOI: https://doi.Org/10.18632/oncoscience.609

Corresponding author: Mafalda Costa - mafalda.Teixeiracosta@ulsm.Min-saude.Pt

Keywords: cancer, lung cancer, complete response, immune checkpoint inhibitors, brain metastasis, whole-brain radiotherapy

About Oncoscience:

Oncoscience is a peer-reviewed, open-access, traditional journal covering the rapidly growing field of cancer research, especially emergent topics not currently covered by other journals. This journal has a special mission: Freeing oncology from publication cost. It is free for the readers and the authors.

Oncoscience is indexed and archived by PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, META (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) (2018-2022), and Dimensions (Digital Science).

To learn more about Oncoscience, visit Oncoscience.Us and connect with us on social media:

For media inquiries, please contact media@impactjournals.Com.

Oncoscience Journal Office

6666 East Quaker St., Suite 1Orchard Park, NY 14127Phone: 1-800-922-0957, option 4

Method of Research

Case study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Complete and long-lasting response to immunotherapy in a stage IV non-small cell lung cancer with brain metastasis

Article Publication Date

8-Oct-2024

COI Statement

Authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! Are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! By contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

Search This Blog

Lung Cancer