Article from the Journal of Oncology on long term survival with Small Cell. It's dated 1995 but still show's long term survivors. http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/13/5/1215

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My Mom
5/1/46-6/20/08

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight

Jake

Very interesting article...It amazes me however that an article such as that can start out stating the good news, but has to end on a bad note. (Notice the very last sentence). To me, this shows the bias out there with many in the medical community over this disease. It was true then & is definately still true today. Very few of the medical professionals seem to want to admit or commit to the fact that a cure is possible & definately happens!
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that when many folks are first diagnosed with this disease, they go onto the web to learn, read the stats & then, because of those, just simply give up! (I stop slight of calling that involuntary manslaugther by the medical community). Their stats should take that into consideration! I know that could have happened to me had I not found this site which has given me encouragement.
Sorry to rant, but I just pray that soon in the near future our medical professionals attitudes will change and biases will be removed.

Ken

But, did you read the entire article, or just the abstract? I paid the $22 and downloaded the full article some time ago. It gives the same statistic as every other study for sclc extensive long term survival (ten years+), around 1.2% or so.

Of course, these studies are very old, but, if you think about it, they HAVE to be old in order to be able to track survivors who live that long.

Still, this article and others like it (you can find several by searching through pubmed.gov) are very encouraging because they at least indicate that the number isn't ZERO. And, it's very, very encouraging to see that there are people with mets to liver, brain, bones, etc., who do go on to live many more years, and often with a quality of life similar to what they had before diagnosis.

As to the perceived negativity of the medical community, I thought that way too, as recently as a month ago. But the more I talked to various oncologists, and examined their direct patient experiences, etc. the more I realized that they can really only view the world through their personal lens: what have they actually seen and observed in their practice experience, and what has happened with their patients. If you think about it, with a long term survival rate of around 1-point-something percent, most oncologists are not going to have a lot of long terms survivors of sclc extensive in their practices, and, I would even venture to speculate that very possibly the BETTER, more prestigious doctors, and the highly ranked national cancer centers are going to be the most pessimistic of all, because it seems logical that perhaps they would see the most desperate and hopeless of cases. The long term survivors that I have spoken personally with were treated by local, unknown, unpublished oncologists in smaller or even remote U.S. cities. To a person they have no clue why they survived and others don't, except that perhaps they were very involved in their own care, and they also had a high degree of confidence in their medical teams. So I no longer fault the doctors for being so negative, because they are viewing it all through the lens of their direct experience.

It does seem from what I can tell - the long term survivors of this that I have spoken to personally - every single one of them was treated by a very aggressive doctor who pushed the envelope. These are sclc extensive with mets to brain, liver, etc. Only one of them that I have spoken to personally had just simply conventional standard of care treatment, and, she was sclc limited, not extensive.

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09/14/2007 - 48 years old, female, former smoker, sclc ext., mets to liver, svc syndrome

10/20/2007, five days of radiation, two rounds of chemo (carbp/v16), scans, 85% of cancer gone, liver mets gone.

11/24/2007 fourth chemo completed.

12/10/2007 full scans scheduled, will get radiation decision then. Also supposed to have chemo #5 this same week...

12/11/2007 chemo #5 completed; radiation decision will happen after chemo #6. Scans show continued improvement but still not in complete remission - still residual treated stuff (???).

Yes! This is what we need to hear!

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[size=75]Loving Daughter, with three siblings, praying for a Dad with SCLC, superior vena cava syndrome.

3/16/06 DX Mass and/or adenopathy within the right hilum..consistent with bronchogenic carcinoma. May also be subcarinal adenopathy. Small right pleural effusion.
3/17/06 MRI head with/out contrast. Biopsi-lung, right middle lobe bronchus. Small Cell Carcinoma of the right lung with SVC syndrome
3/21/06 Bone scan. No evidence for skeletal metastases
3/21/06 Etoposide and Carboplatin chemotherapy (3 days)
4/12/06 Chest XRay - Obvious shrinking of tumor
4/12/06 Etoposide and Carboplatin (3 days)
5/2/06 CScan - again, obvious shrinking of tumor
5/5/06 Meet with Radiologist to determine radiology plan
5/9/06 Day one of Radiation
5/10/06 Chemo (?) (3 days)
6/4/06 In the middle of radiation, going EXTREMELY well, aside from sore eating, and tired, tired, tired. Dad is hopeful, sure that he is coughing up tumor every day, and spirited. Thank you God!
6/18/06 Went into local hospital for infusion. Chest X for possible pneumonia.
6/20/-6 Went to local hospital for infustion. DX with pneumonia in both lungs. O2 levels low, and irregular heart beat. He does not feel heart beating 140 and above. Meds for regulation not working. Made it to Mayo 6/25...back in the hands of the amazing!
6/29 Radiation Graduation! Dad is now home, and regaining strength every day. He is tired, tired, tired, but again, getting stronger every day. Will return to Mayo on 7/30 for all new tests.
7/30 "There is nothing in your noggin but a brain, Keith!" Amazing words to hear! "I would give your chest a clean bill."
8/1 "Keith, you are in remission." We don't consider a cure until you are clear for five years.
8/7 Began 15 rounds PCI brain radiation treatments. This was a difficult decision to make as we were given the side affects, and quite honestly it does sound scary. However, most all SCLC survivors appear to have some form of brain radiation at some time throughout their treatments. Dad figures that mom does the money books, organizes the meds, and keeps the house going already, so what the heck. "I don't want to die from cancer," he says!

August 25, 2006 Mom and Dad return after PCI. Dad feels great, has a tan, bald head, and got out onto the boat on day 1 of his return! Thank you God!

11/29/06 3 month Check Up...Still in remission. Lung scarring from radiation occuring. Dad feels great. Depression and low activity are going away!

2/25/07 Another check up shows no progression...however a slight pleural effusion that has grown since November. Could be one of three things...1. Infection 2. Scar Tissue 3. Cancer. Must go back to Mayo next week to have it drained and checked.

3/1/07 Drained pleural effusion yesterday. However, when they got in there, there wasn't enough fluid to drain and check...this means it probably wasn't cancer, and more than likely was the tail end of some kind of infection. She decides she wants him back in two months instead of three, just to be safe. Heart doc gives dad the clean bill of health. Go home, enjoy life!

5/11/07 Dad had a standard chest CT, which showed nothing new. He feels great and again was given a clean bill! Yeah! Doc will do a "big" check-up in August...complete with chest CT, bone scan, and brain scan...all because at that point he will be one year in remission! Yeah...I pray every day for these years to be granted!
8/21/07 Dad had a full body scan yesterday and results today were very "boring!" We LOVE boring. There was one nodule, in the lung area, that she could see, but it is smaller than small, and leaves no reason to be concerned. Dad will return for a check-up after Christmas. When mom said, "So, do we not need to be worried anymore" she answered with, "Your new normal will be that you are always worried." Yuck...but oh so true. Thank you God for the gift of healing, and may you continue with that wonderful gift. I pray in thanksgiving.

1/21/08 "I am going to call you my miracle man! Keith, I still don't see any evidence of cancer in your body." Wow! Blessed again!

5/19/08 "Keith there is no change. I see no evidence of any cancer." Wow! We are so blessed to be given another clean report. "Every day is a gift," my dad said. Isn't that the truth!

Sept. 08 Still Cancer Free

4/8/09 All evidence of the small cell is still gone. She believes Dad is cured. However, a dot on the CT almost a year ago has turned into an eraser sizes spot. This could just be a product of his recent bronchitis or could be when he breathed during the scan. She DOES NOT think we have anything to worry about. Scans will be in 3 months now, instead of 6 months...I am happy for that!

7/20/09 CT shows growth in spot on opposite lung than original cancer. They do not want to leave it alone. Will have PET and surgical consult next week with the hopes for simple removal.

8/2009 Removed spot. Biopsy showed trace of NSCLC. No SCLC found.

11/2009 All clear
3/2010 All clear
7/2010 All clear
11/2010 All clear. We really are so very blessed to continue to be cancer free. Thank you God.
8/23/11 - Still clear. Thank God!



Picture at left is my husband and I, October 2007. Below is Dad crossing the line during the survivor lap at the Relay. The other pic is just one of my faves!

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