Cancer? What Are These Symptoms? Posted: 10-01-03 22:05pm
Hello. I am brand new to this forum, so
bear with me while I learn. I actually
want to describe some symptoms my husband
is experiencing & hope someone might
have heard of them & can shed some
light.
My husband found a lump in his neck a wk
ago. It is very painful and radiates up
through the back of his head and down his
right arm. The doctor told him all the
lymph nodes on the right side are enlarged
and that it could be anything from an
infection to hodgkin's disease!!! They
ran blood tests and did chest x-ray but
still no answer. They are going to do a
cat scan on friday & possibly a biopsy
of the lump too. He is extremely tired,
sleeping more than 12 hours a day. He is
sweaty, red faced and in a lot of pain in
the neck & head. He is getting
headaches and feels completely drained all
the time. His bloodwork does not
indicate an infection and he doesn't have
a temperature.
I am scared to death. I feel like he is
getting worse everyday and the thought of
him having a strange illness or even
cancer is devastating. He is miserable
and I am just not confident that the
doctors are being aggressive enough.
Does anyone know about hodgkin's disease,
mono, west nile, lymph infections, etc.
Etc.??!! These are the things running
through my head. I just don't know what
it could be and how the doctors are going
to figure it out & help to "fix" him!
To add injury to insult, I myself am only
4 weeks post-op from an emergency
c-section (which obviously means we have a
newborn at home). I don't think I have
the patience to let the doctors take weeks
while they try to figure this out. They
really don't seem to have a clue & we
are both starting to wear thin
emotionally. Any help or thoughts to
this would be greatly appreciated!!!
|
Suzy
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Sep 2003 Posts: 530
Posted: 10-01-03 22:19pm
Dear vivian,
i am very sorry to hear that your husband
is unwell and suffering physically and
emotionally. I truly don't feel it is
right that the doctors are making you wait
until friday, have you explained your
situation to them ?The fact that you are
going through a difficult pregnancy aswell
as the fact that he is in an enormous
amount of pain should be enough to alert
the doctors to an urgency here. I
really feel you need to contact your
doctor and explain this. You are right,
having a new born baby at home while you
and your husband are going through such a
rough time is not going to make things any
easier. Have you thought about talking
to your doctors to see if there is some
extra help from organisations you could
possibly get at home with bubby while you
are trying to help your husband ? An
extra pair of hands and a bit of care and
understanding could make all the
difference. Maybe you could ask a
family member to care for bubby sometimes
during the day or night to give you some
relief until you are both back on your
feet again. I wish you both luck, and
if you are not happy with what your doctor
has already offered, demand some extra
action.
