‘Alaskan Bush People’ Star Ami Brown In ‘Grave Condition,’ How Long Can Someone Live With Stage 4 Lung Cancer?
Alaskan Bush People star Ami Brown is reportedly in “grave condition,” and fans of the long-running Discovery Channel reality TV series wonder how long someone can live with stage 4 lung cancer. Ami Brown, 54, has been living with her late stage lung cancer diagnosis since before Season 7 of Alaskan Bush People premiered back in June. Even with aggressive radiation and chemotherapy treatment, Ami Brown’s stage 3b lung cancer quickly progressed to stage 4. After Billy Brown revealed in a recent sit-down interview that Ami only had about a 3 percent chance of surviving lung cancer, loyal fans of Alaskan Bush People are now wondering whether fan-favorite Ami Brown will be a part of the next new season.
The entire Brown family has been in California with Ami Brown as she undergoes rounds of chemotherapy after she first went through weeks worth of radiation treatment. Alaskan Bush People fans have been hoping and praying that Ami is able to overcome her battle with stage 4 lung cancer, but Radar Online reported just two days ago that Alaskan Bush People matriarch Ami Brown is in “grave condition” and reportedly confined to a hospital bed. Not known is what type of lung cancer Ami Brown has — small cell lung cancer or non-small cell lung cancer. Although Billy Brown, 64, revealed in August that wife Ami has a very low chance of surviving stage 4 lung cancer, the type of lung cancer actually determines how long someone can be expected to live with such a dire diagnosis.
Two Types of Lung Cancer #LC https://t.co/zs1hZ3vL7B
— Lung Cancer (@LungSymptoms) September 11, 2017
According to an article on News-Medicine, a small cell lung cancer diagnosis is the worse case scenario, but only 15 percent of lung cancer patients are actually diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer is reportedly usually diagnosed at an advanced stage because it grows quickly. Ami Brown’s lung cancer was first diagnosed as stage 3b. Small cell lung cancer also cannot be removed surgically when diagnosed. Ami Brown’s only treatment option for stage 3b lung cancer was aggressive and lengthy treatment with radiation and chemotherapy. Small cell lung cancer is divided into two groups called limited, where cancer cells have not yet spread beyond the lungs, and extensive, where cancer cells spread beyond the lungs. Ami Brown’s lung cancer had not yet spread to other organs at the time of her stage 3b diagnosis.
However, Ami Brown now, unfortunately, has stage 4 lung cancer. A report on Heavy back in August shared that Ami Brown’s stage 3b lung cancer had quickly turned into stage 4 — in just a matter of a few months. Non-small cell lung cancer is “more slow growing” according to News-Medicine, and is often diagnosed at an early stage. Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common form of lung cancer and is usually caused by environmental or genetic factors. Small cell lung cancer is not as common and is usually caused by smoking tobacco, according to the American Cancer Society. The type of lung cancer that Ami Brown was diagnosed with has never been revealed, but Secrets to School Success suggests that Ami Brown smoked when not filming Alaskan Bush People.
Billy Brown told People in August that Ami’s lung cancer was “in both lungs, in the middle and sides of the lungs,” when it was originally diagnosed as stage 3b. An article on Health reports that non-small cell lung cancer is usually located in mid-chest and other parts of the lungs when diagnosed, while small cell lung cancer is “typically more centrally located in lungs.” The Christian Post seems to think that Ami Brown has non-small cell lung cancer. Radar Online shared last month that what Ami thought were symptoms of arthritis in her spine in the fall of 2016 were probably really symptoms of lung cancer. Ami described experiencing symptoms of persistent pain and getting winded just “walking from the house to the garden,” both of which are early symptoms of non-small cell lung cancer, according to Healthline.
Ami Brown was diagnosed with stage 3b lung cancer while filming the last new season of Alaskan Bush People, and Billy Brown recently revealed that she has a 3 percent chance or less of surviving late stage lung cancer. News-Medical says that only between 2 percent and 13 percent of patients with non-small cell lung cancer in stage 4 of the disease will survive for five years after their diagnosis, while only around 1 percent of patients with stage 4 small cell lung cancer will survive for five years. According to Verywell, the average life expectancy for stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer is about eight months with treatment, while the average life expectancy for stage 4 small cell lung cancer is six to 12 months with treatment.
An added note from Verywell says, “Despite the frightening prognosis for stage four disease, I know several people personally who are long-term survivors of advanced lung cancer” and that “survival rates are statistics — not people.”
The Hollywood Gossip shared on Tuesday that Ami Brown is reportedly finished with her first round of chemotherapy, and the Brown family is gearing up to start filming the next new season of Alaskan Bush People “in a few weeks.” Meanwhile, fans of Alaskan Bush People continue to “pray for Ami every day.”
[Featured Image by Discovery Channel]
