survival time after pleural effusion

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Donnanva
Donnanva Member Posts: 31
in Lung Cancer #1
Hi. Gary, hubby, was dx;d with stage 4 cancer in sept 2010. They did surgery to install a tube in his lung sac which comes outside of his body. I drain that for him every day. It usually produces between 400 to 500 mls. this has been going on for a month. Is it true that you usually only have 4-6 months at this point? Right now he gets very tired and has lost weight but really is doing pretty well. He gets very tired but still can walk around and go places. thank you.

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  • Booster24
    Booster24 Member Posts: 13 Member
    #2
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    I was diagnosed with Stage
    I was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer and have pleural effusion too. I read the same thing about the 4-6 months longevity issue and my doctor told me it to stop believing what you read on the internet. Everyone's situation is different.

    They drained a liter of fluid from me, which is considerable -- but not huge. My doctor recommend a pleurodesis and it has helped. It is a relatively minor procedure that takes a good thoracic surgeon less than 45 minutes to do. It can eliminate the need to drain pleural fluid on a regular basis .

    You should speak to your oncologist and ask him about it. Best of luck to you guys.

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