Done Radiation For Stage 4 NSCLC And Cardiomyopathy. Can You Give An Estimate Of How Long He May Have To Live?

Posted on Sun, 9 Sep 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 9 Sep 2012 Answered on

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : My brother has stage 4 NSCLC and cardiomyopathy, he has had 3 sessions of radiation and no chemotherapy as yet his doctors have not told him how long he may have. Can you give an estimate please. He lives in Canada and I in UK I want to be there for him and his family at final stage.

Answered by Dr. Ioan Dorian OANA (3 hours later)

Hi XXXXXXX

Statistically, the overall 5-year survival rate for those diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer is less than 10%, while the median stage four non-small cell lung cancer life expectancy is only around eight months.

But I remind you that these are only statistics, because it is impossible to estimate precisely how long any patient may have. So, I have given you these numbers just to have a clue regarding the situation.

If you have any more queries, feel free to ask.

Regards
Dr. Dorian Oana MD, PhD

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar