Should I be worried about my mother, diagnosed with Stage IIIB Lung Cancer?
I dont want to upset you, but yes you need to be worried. Stage 3b is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to remove. When the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the center of the chest, on the same side as where the cancer started, it is known as stage three-A (IIIA). When the cancer spreads to lymph nodes on the opposite side of the chest, it is known as stage three-B (IIIB). In general, surgery is not successful for any stage IIIB or IV lung cancer. Other situations that make a lung cancer impossible to remove are if it has spread to lymph nodes above the collarbone or into fluid surrounding the lung, or if the cancer grows into vital structures within the chest, such as the heart, large blood vessels or the main breathing tubes leading to the lungs; all of these conditions are considered stage IIIB. Stage III NSCLC has spread to the point that surgery or radiation therapy alone is not enough to cure the disease for most people. Patients with stage III disease have a high risk of t
