Are there any survivors of stage IV metastic cancer?

Question

What worked for you? Where were you treated?

Answer 1

Yes. There are surivors of stage IV metastatic cancer. However you need to understand that cancer is a broad term that encompasses over 200 separate types of disease.



My son has an aggressive type of abdominal sarcoma that in the majority of cases presents as multiple tumors in the abdomen. Despite the often dismal prognosis we hear we are in contact with at least ten long term survivors of the disease. In his type of disease a multi-modality approach is commonly used which has resulted in the long survival of many of these patients. Treatment is still at the trial and error stage since everyone is an individual but there is hope that if it works for one it will work for another.



Complete surgical resection of all visible tumor seems to be the best approach to eliminating the disease. However, because the disease is almost always advanced complete resection is nearly impossible. In these cases high dose chemotherapy is used with surgery to shrink large tumors and try to stop further growth. Sometimes cytoreductive surgery and heated chemoperfusion placed directly into the tumor bed can kill off microscopic disease. If minimal residual disease can be obtained than the patient becomes a candidate for autologous peripherial stem cell transplant. The transplant has a 50/50 chance of stopping the spread of disease. After the transplant it is common to use a whole body radiation as the period on the end of treatment. Children seem to be able to tolerate this type of treatment better than adults. But again there are long term survivors of both adults and children most of whom had stage IV disease.



St Judes Hospital: DSRCT

http://www.stjude.org/disease-summaries/0,2557,449_2167_7502,00.html



The survivors that I know who were stage IV were primarily treated by pediatric teams under a sarcoma program or by sarcoma specialists. Complete surgical resection appears to be the best modality, but because of widespread disease the multi-modality approach is used.

Answer 2

One good example is Lance Armstrong although technically I think testicular cancer only has three stages. He had brain and lung mets besides other tumors. If I remember his book correctly he did three different types of chemo after having his brain and lung tumors removed surgically. Yes you can not say Lance is your typical physical specimen, but whatever - you have to give him credit for winning all those Tour de France races after he recovered. Drugs did not win him the bicycle races - sheer guts and ability did.



btw- I know several people that have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants after many years of fighting stage four lymphoma that are now in permanent remission and considered cured. Ten years ago their cancer was considered incurable and now they are walking around symptom free.

Answer 3

I am one of them. I got lung cancer two and half years ago, I later went through surgery, chemo and radiation. The doctor said there had never been anyone in the similar condition that survived over 2 years. One year later it was found metastasis in my lower back, this time the doctor said I had only 6 months, unless there was a miracle.



At this point I decided to seek combined treatment of western medicine and Chinese medicine. So far I have beat the doctor's prediction, and I feel I am healthier than I was sick before.



Please visit my blog which documents my personal experience of treating lung cancer:

http://360.yahoo.com/taichang48