Questions before dr. visit

love4life
love4life Member Posts: 40
edited March 2014 in Lung Cancer #1
My dad goes back on Monday for a follow up visit and that's when they'll decide if what's showing up on the xray and ct scan is more than just pneumonia and decide if they want to do a biopsy. I have a few questions since I'm not sure what to expect. If it turns out they want to do a biopsy will they send him home and schedule the biopsy for days/weeks down the road? Will they have do other tests before they do a biopsy. He had a quadruple bypass 1½ years ago but there was no heart damage since they found the problem before he had any chest pain or heart attack. We travel 2½ hours to get to the hospital and I want to be prepared the best I can.

I have read a lot about lung cancer and the possible treatments he would have to have if it turns out to be cancer so I could be as prepared as possible for whatever the doctor tells him. A lot of this stuff falls on me since my parents are divorced and neither is remarried. Both parents have had health issues before and so I know what role I will play in this if it turns out to be cancer. My mom had kidney cancer in the fall and even though my sister lives 2 hours away she was home every weekend to help and my mom has sisters and her mom that also helped during that time. My dad has no parents, only 1 sibling that even lives nearby and most likely wouldn't do more than make a phone call to check on him so I'm kind of nervous about what happens if it turns out to be cancer. My husband and kids were great through the past health problems but I know it's extremely hard on my 8 year old when I have to be gone so much to help grandma/granpa.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I know God is with us and will get us through whatever is ahead but it sure helps even just typing these thoughts out.

Comments

  • Glenna M
    Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
    #2
    Biopsy
    Several months ago my ENT decided to do another biopsy to make sure what he was seeing was just swelling from the radiation and not because the cancer had invaded the tissue of the larynx (I have NSCLC in the left lung and SCC laryngeal cancer) His office was able to schedule the biopsy for the next day but your scheduling will depend on the doctor's availability and the availability of an operating room at the hospital. They will probably only do the normal pre-op testing, EKG, etc. nothing out of the ordinary and it doesn't take long. They may wait and do the testing on the morning of his biopsy but usually they get it done at least the day before. Unfortunately you don't get the results until several days later, mine took a week.

    I hope this helps with some of your concerns.

    Stay strong and please post again so we will know how your dad is doing. We care!!!

    Glenna
  • love4life
    love4life Member Posts: 40
    #3
    Glenna M said:

    Biopsy
    Several months ago my ENT decided to do another biopsy to make sure what he was seeing was just swelling from the radiation and not because the cancer had invaded the tissue of the larynx (I have NSCLC in the left lung and SCC laryngeal cancer) His office was able to schedule the biopsy for the next day but your scheduling will depend on the doctor's availability and the availability of an operating room at the hospital. They will probably only do the normal pre-op testing, EKG, etc. nothing out of the ordinary and it doesn't take long. They may wait and do the testing on the morning of his biopsy but usually they get it done at least the day before. Unfortunately you don't get the results until several days later, mine took a week.

    I hope this helps with some of your concerns.

    Stay strong and please post again so we will know how your dad is doing. We care!!!

    Glenna

    Thank you
    I really appreciate you taking the time to respond Glenna. I've been through different types of cancer with my husband and mother but each one is so different from the next that once again I find myself not knowing what to expect. I will definitely give an update after we meet with the doctor again on Monday.
  • kimbee1218
    kimbee1218 Member Posts: 29
    #4
    My experience
    I am reading this after my reply asking about your husband. My Dad went to his Dr on 5/18, he sent him for CT next day. Called him in right after and told him he thought it was cancer and had spread to lymphs. Made appt with pulmonary Dr for 6/1 - had PET scan and pulmonary function test on 6/8 and biopsy on 6/10 - Dr came out and told me he was sure it was sclc and had spread throughout his lymphs in chest. We went 6/16 to get(confirm) biopsy results(they take a few days to get). We are seeing onocologists on 6/24. So we are well over a month from when he first went and they suspected for sure that it was cancer. He didn't tell me what was going on until 6/3, or else I would have pushed to have things go faster. 6 weeks with sclc can be a long time and my Dad is starting to feel physically bad real fast now. If I were you I would push for appt and test dates to be as soon as possible. The only thing that I see that cannot be rushed beyond 3-4 days, is the pathology report on the biopsy. But it does sound like your Day is not at the stage that my Dad is - my Dads was real obvious on the CT scan. I wish you and your family the best. I have a good feeling that your Dad will not have cancer, but I would still push things along. I thought I was prepared for the worst and when the Dr came out after the biopsy and said "it is not good" and started talking about maybe months to live - it literally floored me right there. Good luck and keep me posted.
  • love4life
    love4life Member Posts: 40
    #5
    kimbee1218 said:

    My experience
    I am reading this after my reply asking about your husband. My Dad went to his Dr on 5/18, he sent him for CT next day. Called him in right after and told him he thought it was cancer and had spread to lymphs. Made appt with pulmonary Dr for 6/1 - had PET scan and pulmonary function test on 6/8 and biopsy on 6/10 - Dr came out and told me he was sure it was sclc and had spread throughout his lymphs in chest. We went 6/16 to get(confirm) biopsy results(they take a few days to get). We are seeing onocologists on 6/24. So we are well over a month from when he first went and they suspected for sure that it was cancer. He didn't tell me what was going on until 6/3, or else I would have pushed to have things go faster. 6 weeks with sclc can be a long time and my Dad is starting to feel physically bad real fast now. If I were you I would push for appt and test dates to be as soon as possible. The only thing that I see that cannot be rushed beyond 3-4 days, is the pathology report on the biopsy. But it does sound like your Day is not at the stage that my Dad is - my Dads was real obvious on the CT scan. I wish you and your family the best. I have a good feeling that your Dad will not have cancer, but I would still push things along. I thought I was prepared for the worst and when the Dr came out after the biopsy and said "it is not good" and started talking about maybe months to live - it literally floored me right there. Good luck and keep me posted.

    Very good news
    We went to see my dad's doctor yesterday and the doctor confirmed that it is an infection and not cancer in my dad's lung. I appreciate the time everyone took when reading through my questions and responding. I will most likely not be hanging out on the boards much but want you to know how much I appreciated being able to come to these boards when I had questions and wasn't sure where to turn for answers. Good luck to all of you and God bless you and your families.
  • Glenna M
    Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
    #6
    love4life said:

    Very good news
    We went to see my dad's doctor yesterday and the doctor confirmed that it is an infection and not cancer in my dad's lung. I appreciate the time everyone took when reading through my questions and responding. I will most likely not be hanging out on the boards much but want you to know how much I appreciated being able to come to these boards when I had questions and wasn't sure where to turn for answers. Good luck to all of you and God bless you and your families.

    Great news!!!
    So happy to hear that it is an infection and not cancer!!! Your father is one of the lucky ones, we have had several on here lately who found out they didn't have cancer. I love these posts that have such a happy ending.

    Take care, my best to you, your dad and the rest of your family.
    Glenna
  • kimbee1218
    kimbee1218 Member Posts: 29
    #7
    love4life said:

    Very good news
    We went to see my dad's doctor yesterday and the doctor confirmed that it is an infection and not cancer in my dad's lung. I appreciate the time everyone took when reading through my questions and responding. I will most likely not be hanging out on the boards much but want you to know how much I appreciated being able to come to these boards when I had questions and wasn't sure where to turn for answers. Good luck to all of you and God bless you and your families.

    Great News
    It is great news about your Dad. I love to hear the success stories. Hope everything stays good with your Dad.

Discussion Boards