Joined: 04 Oct 2004 Posts: 2 Location: Long Island, NY
Mom Diagnosed With Lung Cancer Posted: 10-04-04 10:16am
Hello all,
my mother age 60 has been preliminarily
diagnosed with lung cancer, breast cancer,
and lymphoma. All of the stages,
details, etc are forthecoming and I will
share those with you to get better
insight, but my main concern right now is
the lung cancer. Her left lung was
completely full of fluid and had to be
drained yesterday at which point it
collapsed, her heart sac has fluid around
it and her liver was not functioning to
it's full capacity. The lymph nodes are
visible through the under-arm. She
smoked for over 40 years quite the day she
was diagnosed last month. Too little too
late. I also quit the day she was
diagnosed and I have smoked for 22 years.
What should I expect given that the
cancer is in multiple locations? Her
breathing is obviously labored and she has
trouble moving around without a
wheelchair. The odd part of this is that
it has been a very quick decline from a
very active 59 year old to a very limited
60 year old. Over the span of 6 months I
watched as she rapidly deteriorated to a
state where she could not even climb a set
of stairs or hold a conversation for too
long. I forced her to go to the doctor
and my worst fears were realized. She
has 3 grandchildren ages 11 months to 10
years old and I have not told them the
extent of what we are facing right now
because I am not too sure myself. How
long does she have? Will she leave the
hospital etc... Will her functions
improve? I know that I need to wait for
the staging but given what I have right
now what do you think?
Thanks
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very aggervated
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Sep 2004 Posts: 4
Mom Diagnosed With Lung Cancer Posted: 10-17-04 07:30am
Hello new user I am very sorry to hear
about your mom first of all and I am no
doctor of course but I say to wait and see
what the doctor says and go from there
dont draw any conclusions or anticipate
just wait and see tell the grandkids only
what they need to know and make the best
of whatever happens as you onlt live once.
Your mom and the grandkids are gonna need
lots of support and you'll be the one
giving it so get ready things are gonna be
hard on you and alot will rest on your
shoulders too keep your chin up and the
best of wishes to you and your whole
family too. I hope things will work out
for all of you and I sincerely wish you
all the best no matter what happens. Keep
ur chin up people care
best wishes very aggervated hope all goes
good
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yakmi01
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Oct 2004 Posts: 2 Location: Long Island, NY
Update Posted: 10-18-04 08:39am
Things have progressed very rapidly.
There are 3 primary sites breast, lung,
and lympnodes. They have also discovered
it has transitioned to the bones. It is
of the small cell type. They were able
to do 2 days of chemo when her other lung
started to fail. They have her on a
respirator now and she is in and out of
consciousness. She now has an infection
and is running a low grade fever. They
are sustaining her bloodpressure with
medicine. The doctors feel it is only a
matter of days now. Thanks for your
concern.
Mike
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BADSAL
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 257 Location: PA
Posted: 10-18-04 09:00am
I'm so sorry. My mother- in-law died a
couple years ago from lung cancer. She
too was a lifetime smoker. By the time
she went to the doctor and was diagnosed
it was too late. She only survived for a
few months- sorry to say. This could
definitely not be the case with your mom,
i'm just saying that's what happened here.
My mother-in-law got out of the hospital
but never really got any better. She was
in such a late stage that she could
basically only be kept comfortable for the
time she had left. It was hard to
explain to the grandkids and we all miss
her very much. She too was only in her
early 60's.
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BADSAL
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 257 Location: PA
Posted: 10-18-04 09:05am
Take care of yourself as well. Make sure
you go in for a physical and keep your
health monitored regularly.
