Lung Cancer

Are you asking how long a person has cancer until it reaches beyond the lung and into the lymph nodes? It depends on the person and the type of lung cancer. My mom didn't get a diagnosis until it spread to the lymph, she had a mutation and her doctor believed it was very fast growing, she had no symptoms then dropped 20 lbs in only a couple months with a cough they mistook for a sinus infection.

The best thing your friend can do is get tested for mutations. If she was a smoker, she more likely has small-cell which is tougher to treat.

I’m just curious how long ago her cancer started. I think it may be small cell. I’m remember back to her having a number of colds and other incidents a number of years ago. Of course she had a chest X-ray which showed nothing a year ago. She hasn’t lost weight yet.

Tammy Faye Bakker said her doctor told her she'd probably been walking around with lung cancer for decades, but is that even possible?

I wouldn’t think so... unless it wasn’t from smoking and something like radon poisoning.

R3, maybe her doctor meant that the cells were there and kept trying to proliferate and for years, her immune system kept killing them fast enough. Eventually, the cancers won?

OP If your friend was a smoker, then she began accumulating DNA mutations in lung cells since she began smoking.

The process of accumulated DNA mutations leading to cancer is dependent on how many cigarettes she was smoking/day and her genetics, as well as other risk factors. Some lung cancer patients become more symptomatic early on in the disease process, while others are asymptomatic until they start coughing up blood.

Lung cancer does not always show up on Xray. In fact, by the time lung cancers are detectable on X ray, they are usually Stage 3 +

My father went from diagnosis to coffin in six months, almost to the day. That's all I can tell you OP. Don't smoke everyone. Awful ending.

One of my dear friends went from diagnosis to death in 3 months. Yes,she was a smoker. She had no idea anything was wrong till she got a cough she couldnt get rid of.

Good lord.

I know she’s going to get radiation and chemo. Sadly that’ll probably wipe her out.

I think it’s important to point out that while smoking can be a contributing factor, many people diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked.

Unfortunately, I’ve had to hang around enough chemo wards to witness this first hand.

I used to work for a doctor who would say that if you were a smoker and were lucky - you'd get lung cancer. Because it spreads very fast, compared to dying a slow death from emphysema.

It was less than a year for your friend.

"many people diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked" - Sorry that is rubbish.

90 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer are smokers.

OP, asking respectfully, why do you want/need to know how long it took to arrive at stage 3? Why does it matter? TIA.

I'm sympathetic, OP. My sister was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer this spring. I think everyone second guesses things. What if she had discovered it a year earlier, would the diagnosis and prognosis been different? I don't think there's an answer for that. Among other things, some cancers are slow-growing and others quick. Some people are in tune with their bodies and know something is wrong. Others don't notice anything until they feel a big lump or something on their skin doesn't heal. Many people who don't understand why they are feeling poorly go to the doctor and find out that they are moments from death. A family friend died earlier this month. She went to the doctor feeling weak and dehydrated. A few tests later, they found she was absolutely riddled with cancer, and she was dead 4 weeks later. Another family friend went into the hospital in late December and was told she had pneumonia. But after a round of antibiotics, etc, her cough was still bad and she felt breathless. She went back to the doctor in late February and she was diagnosed with lung cancer. (So, in relation to your question, why didn't they notice that 2 months prior when she was hospitalized for pneumonia?) She was dead a month later, but I saw her less than a week before she died, and I would NEVER have assumed she only one week to live.

You’ll get a lot of conjecture in the responses, but I’ve known more than one person who had a whole lung or part of a lung removed and they’re still alive and kicking many years later. The lymphatic involvement spells great trouble, and a poor prognosis even after chemo or rad tx. When I say I have known, tbh I have known two who had lobectomy ( partial lung removal) and one who had whole lung removed. That was in fact the only way I got to know ‘em!

R16, what about this new screening they have for lung cancer? (I ask because it seems you are a health care professional) Should smokers and ex-smokers be screened regularly? Would it be covered by most insurance plans? TIA.

Thanks, r13, I was going to post a similar response. Lung cancer is caused by cigarette smoke by far. And I’ll bet there’s a fair number of those non smokers who actually were exposed to second hand smoke,

For those of you more familiar with the stats than am I, what's the likelihood of getting lung cancer having smoked for years (25 or so) but having quit 20 years ago? I've read that after a certain period of time, one's risk of developing lung cancer is reduced to roughly the same level as a non-smoker.

Even assuming that benefit from quitting smoking, there's still plenty of evidence that smoking is implicated as contributory to a number of other diseases, particularly COPD, heart disease, stroke, aortic aneurysm, cataracts, etc. and that for every person who dies due to smoking, 30 others live with smoking-related illnesses.

My grandmother died of lung cancer in 2013. She didn't smoke but my grandfather did, though I think he quit in the 70s (he died in 2014 of Alzheimer's). When my grandmother first got diagnosed the doctor gave her 6 months. She went to another doctor who told her the first doctor was wrong. She lived for three years. She seemed fine right for a long time then went downhill very fast, I've been told that's fairly common for some types of cancer.

My mother had it for at least a few months before diagnosis, it was misdiagnosed as pneumonia with nodules on the lungs one July, then a second round of xrays in October showed she had esophageal cancer. It was so small it was hard to see but inoperable because of location. Turned out to be quite fast moving though because she finished chemo and radiation in early March and got the all clear, but just one month later it had spread to her brain. I doubt she was walking around with it for years, but on the other hand, I remember two bouts of pneumonia she had in the years prior and how quickly they came on almost out of nowhere.

Thanks for all the responses!

quote "many people diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked" - Sorry that is rubbish. 90 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer are smokers.

So that leaves 10% diagnosed who have never smoked. Still seems like "many" to me.

I found out that she has two tumors 7 cm in size. She’s starting 6 weeks of radiation this week.

Roundup weed killer. Google it.

I think any answers to this are just guesses. Cancer is like having a baby. Everyone is different. Some people get healed, some don't. Some live years, others die within weeks.

My mother had colon cancer. We don't know if she had any symptoms but I don't think she did because when she finally had some tests done she asked if she had Parkinson's disease because that is what her father had. She only had the tests done because I called on day and she sounded like a different person. I asked her what was wrong with her and she said she didn't know but she was sleeping 16 hours a day and couldn't stay awake. That was all she said. The Dr.'s said she must have had it for about 12 years. They gave her 4 weeks to live. She died exactly 4 weeks later.

She seems to be really depressed and bored now. She’s sitting around the house with nothing to do. Her doctor doesn’t want her exposed to too much after the second week. I told her to visit me or call me whenever she wants to. She was always very active. Thank god I never smoked... but now I’m reading about radon...

You told her to visit you or call you whenever she want to? Sweetheart, she has lung cancer, you may want to think about going to visit her, and doing necessary errands for her.

Dad was diagnosed around Thanksgiving with stage 3 Lung Cancer. Had quit smoking at least 15 years prior. We buried him during a warm spring rain shower 5 months later. Best of luck to your friend, she’s going to need your strength and help.

Ive known at least 3 people that quit smoking decades ago and died of lung cancer anyway. So I figure why quit ?

My dad was a three pack a day smoker (as was my mom--both smoked unfiltered Chesterfields until I was in high school, then shifted to Kents). My dad was a banker and had a check up for work insurance every year--high blood pressure, so took meds. Retired at 57--so no yearly check ups. The fall he turned 59 he was very fatigued, no appetite, lost weight. Diagnosed the day after Christmas, died exactly two months later.

My mom insisted the doctor said my dad's lung cancer ma not have been linked to smoking, do she continued the habit (she'd been a nurse!) and started drinking scotch each day by 5 p.m. Developed emphysema, then a variation of leukemia, finally had a stroke and lingered for nine days in a coma. She was 78--outlived dad by 13 years--13 miserable years for her and for her children.

R30, just go ahead and quit. You might still get lung cancer in the future, either way, but quitting might make a difference between getting it at 50 and getting it at 75.

[quote]You told her to visit you or call you whenever she want to? Sweetheart, she has lung cancer, you may want to think about going to visit her, and doing necessary errands for her.

I told her that but she wants to get out of the house not stay in and she lives close by.

R32 I will be 59 in november. Also,I have NO desire to be 75 !