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Has anyone experienced a loved one having breast cancer that metasized to the lung and refused treatment? If so, what is the life expectancy? Mom my has had breast cancer 5x. First three in breast. 4th metastasis in brain. And 5 years later it is now in lung. This time round she is refusing treatment.

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My mother had breast cancer at 68, mastectomy, horrible chemo and radiation, and lived another ten years. It came back, metastasized through her abdomen. The oncologist operated (probably shouldn’t have), she was in hospital for two months, then the oncologist wanted to do more chemo. Her physician advised against it, and the two specialists had a noisy disagreement just outside her hospital room. Pressing the question, the chemo would last for three months, and she might have another four months of life after that. She immediately turned it down. She came home, I nursed her at home 24/7, and she died four weeks later. She had a ‘sweet spot’ for a couple of weeks where she was feeling quite good. She had no regrets.
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Contact Hospice now.
They will help your Mom as well as you and the rest of the family.
The main goal will be management of symptoms, control of pain. You will get all the supplies you need, all the equipment you will need as well as support from a Nurse that will come in 1 time a week, a CNA that will come in a few times a week, a Social Worker, a Chaplain if you wish and an assortment of therapies music, massage, as well as volunteers that will help when needed.

Hang in there. I am sure your Mom is making the right choice for her, quality of life over quantity is important.
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Oh the poor woman.
You both have my sympathy.
I would think she has just had enough. Being poked and prodded is no fun, especially if you have pain too.
You did not give us your mum's age?

Someone with experience of this will come along and offer some advice, I am sure.

I send you both loads of love
Buzzy
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Kannie Aug 2018
She will be 77 in October. Yes, with each treatment she has lost quality of life. She is totally dependent and wheelchair bound so I completely understand her choice. Even agree with it but just wondering what to expect.
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No advice but you have my sympathies and prayers to deal with this v v tough situation.
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I am so sorry for your families situation.

My sister died of breast cancer that had metastasized to her bones, brain, and every other organ in her body. She did not seek any treatment, no one even knew until her back broke from the cancer eating her bones away.

Get hospice on board right now, they will help you get through this by keeping your mom comfortable. No one can say how long this journey will last, my sister was 7 weeks on hospice, should have been started sooner but she chose to keep her condition to herself. They provided everything that she needed, a lovely girl to bath her, nurses on call and regular visits, all of the supplies from wound care to chap stick and everything in between. We had support for the family and for her from individuals that knew what we were dealing with, none of the, I just don't know what to say kinda thing. They kept her as comfortable as possible with pain management and anxiety management. They were a Godsend.

I pray that she has an easy passing and that you all are given grieving mercies.

Hugs!
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Why are people so hesitant to call Hospice?  I do not know what I would have done without them to help me through his last 4 months of life,  I thought I would have had longer than 4 months and was unsure about calling them but all they can say is no.  They said yes as I needed help as he came home from the hospital after another COPD attack and could not longer walk.  Wish this generation would believe what they are saying about cigarettes.  What a way to go down in life.
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Kannie Aug 2018
Hospice is getting called in, although to a nursing home as mom now requires 24hr care. She has dementia from the whole brain radiation. Anyway, my main question was life expectancy. Obviously, I will miss her but I also don't want to see her suffer for several years. I was told lung cancer untreated can go anywhere from a couple months to several years.
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My brother had lung cancer that metastasized to brain and spine. He was already showing symptoms before he found out so by then it was very far gone. He lived 5 months after he received the diagnosis. He did not receive any treatment. He had no pain throughout the time. His appetite was good and he seemed in good spirits til the end; however, he slowly lost his ability to stand/walk and see. He was a Marijuana smoker since 13 years old. We are from Jamaica so he was into the Rastafarian lifestyle from a young age. No matter what we told him, he felt that Marijuana was okay because it is natural. He regretted it when he got sick. Lots of things are natural but doesn't mean people should smoke it. Like my brother said "the human body is not a chimney".
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Kannie, you are right in your later post about the time for lung cancer varying. An old friend died in June after over 10 years, my daughter’s MIL died in April only 4 months after the diagnosis. However both of these were original lung cancers. Once cancers start metastasising they can re-occur in many places and these don’t react necessarily like an original cancer in the same place. From your description, several years is unlikely.
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Good for her! She’ll probably live a longer happier life without treatment. What she can do is look into clean eating and staying away from processed foods, start drinking filtered water without fluoride and look into natural healing with foods, herbs and CBD oil.
Chemo and radiation do not cure anything but make the cancer stem cells stronger and more deadly.
Had my own Mom listened to me I’m sure she’d be with me today, but she was pressured into today’s devastating cancer protocol which killed her.
Leave your Mom be and make her own decisions, it’s her life.
The Truth about Cancer site is a wonderful place to get alternate treatment ideas that heal and not harm.
Take the time to enjoy her company while you can, do things she likes to do make new memories, laugh often and take a break from all the doctors. Most importantly simply love her!
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