Dad with non small cell

Donna

This is my first message on here. My Dad, age 56, has been diagnosed with stage IIIa. He hasn't started any treatments yet but has been nauseaus for about 5 days now. He had been feeling pretty good until he had a mediastinoscopy done on 11/27. He is also having trouble sleeping due to chest and back pain. I am concerned about the sudden nausea. Has anyone experienced this with lung cancer (besides with treatments)? His radiation treatments should start next week and he will also be taking chemo but we don't know the chemo schedule yet. Dad first went to the doc on 10/14 and he was sent to a Thoracic surgeon on 10/22 because of CT scan results. He has been taking tests since then and we are just now getting ready to start treatment. Does it always take so long to get going on treatments? He has one tumor the size of a ping pong ball in his right lung and it has spread to some chest lymph nodes. The doctors are optimistic about his treatment because they said he is in excellent physical shape (other than this cancer) and can withstand aggressive treatment. I am also worried because he just had a bone scan done today to make sure the cancer hasn't gone to his hip (which has recently started bothering him in the past 4-5 weeks). He says he doesn't really have pain in the hip but for some reason it now causes him to limp a little. The doctors said they didn't think it was the cancer because he had a PET scan on 10/25 and they felt that the hip joint would have showed up cancerous if it were there already. I pray they are right.

brendac

Hi Donna - My dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Sept 28th. He had successful surgery on Oct 2nd and we found out the cancer is metastatic and is most likely spread from the lungs, although numerous tests show the lungs clear. He started radiation two weeks later and is now finished. If your dad is in good physical condition, I would question why it is taking so long to get treatment going. I know how hard it is to deal with every ache and pain, wondering if the cancer has spread. My dad is also dealing with back pain now and is scheduled for a bone scan and xray of the spine once the holidays are over. My dad also had a PET scan and nothing showed up so he is diagnosed with Unknown primary, even though the cells of the brain tumor were lung cells. The waiting and not knowing is the hardest part, but your faith and the support of family and friends can help you! I also received alot of help from the ACS 1800 number and speaking with the cancer experts there. They made me feel so comfortable asking my questions and talking about my fears. You and your dad can take charge of his treatment and push to get those tests done. I pray for you and your Dad and I would love to keep in touch as it sounds like we are in a similar situation. Keep up chin up and take care!!!

Donna

brendac said:

Hi Donna - My dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Sept 28th. He had successful surgery on Oct 2nd and we found out the cancer is metastatic and is most likely spread from the lungs, although numerous tests show the lungs clear. He started radiation two weeks later and is now finished. If your dad is in good physical condition, I would question why it is taking so long to get treatment going. I know how hard it is to deal with every ache and pain, wondering if the cancer has spread. My dad is also dealing with back pain now and is scheduled for a bone scan and xray of the spine once the holidays are over. My dad also had a PET scan and nothing showed up so he is diagnosed with Unknown primary, even though the cells of the brain tumor were lung cells. The waiting and not knowing is the hardest part, but your faith and the support of family and friends can help you! I also received alot of help from the ACS 1800 number and speaking with the cancer experts there. They made me feel so comfortable asking my questions and talking about my fears. You and your dad can take charge of his treatment and push to get those tests done. I pray for you and your Dad and I would love to keep in touch as it sounds like we are in a similar situation. Keep up chin up and take care!!!

Hi Brenda, thanks for writing me! I hope you and your Dad are holding up well considering what he is going through. I wish you all the best of luck on his bone scan and xray of the spine. I hope you receive good news! We got the results back on my Dad's bone scan and it showed that he does have cancer in his left hip. He began radiation treatments on 12/16 for his chest and now he will have to do radiation on the hip. The doctor said since the cancer has spread, he will not be able to have surgery on the lung. He will do 10 weeks radiation on both chest and hip. He will start chemo at some point but not sure when yet. The bone scan did not show the cancer anywhere else in the bones. The radiation treatments are tough on him and he is having a lot of nausea. The doctor prescribed an anti-nausea drug last week but it doesn't seem to help very much. I pray that the radiation and chemo combined will put his cancer in remission. I agree with you that the waiting and not knowing is the hardest part. Thanks for the tip about calling the ACS 1800 #, I will try it. I will pray for you and your Dad also and I would love to keep in touch.