Why does my lung cancer spread to the brain within 2 years?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 52-year-old male, weighing 163.14 pounds. I was treated for lung cancer about two years ago with chemotherapy and radiation.

Recently, I started having headaches and dizziness, and an MRI of my brain showed small metastatic lesions. This has made me very scared because I thought the treatment was working earlier.

Why does lung cancer spread to the brain within two years?
Is this a common progression for lung cancer, and what treatments are usually done when brain metastasis occurs?

Kindly help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

I want to wish you good health. I also want to take a moment to reassure you not to worry. Tumor spread to the brain is natural and expected with certain types of cancer cells.

This is a well-known pattern that doctors are very familiar with, and more importantly, it is something we are fully prepared to manage.

In some cases, we proactively give what is called initial prophylactic therapy to the brain and spine in order to prevent any spread from occurring in the first place.

However, since you did not receive that prophylaxis earlier, what we will do now is move forward with radiotherapy directed to the brain and spine. This is a straightforward and well-established treatment path.

This course of treatment consists of five sessions of radiation, and I want you to know that these sessions come with no significant side effects and no major problems.

The treatment works quickly and effectively to control the spread, and the reason for this is that these particular cancer cells respond very well to radiotherapy.

Following the treatment, the cells return to normal, and we then move into a monitoring phase where we carry out follow-up assessments every six months.

As we continue along this path together, there may come a point later on where we need to consider adding targeted therapy or immunotherapy to your overall plan, and that decision will be made based on your general condition at that time.

Every step will be discussed with you openly and thoroughly. But please, rest assured. Brain spread happens in many cases, and once radiation therapy is given, it does not cause any lasting side effects; the matter is effectively resolved. You are not alone in this, and we will be with you every step of the way.

I hope you are satisfied with my answer. For further queries, you can consult me at iCliniq.

Thank you.