Question about steriods

mrsptsu2012
mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
in Lung Cancer #1
I posted my story under "Is his body shutting down?" I only received a few responses. The doctors have had my husband on steriods since May 2011 for the tumor in his brain. He is going to have surgery sometime during the last week of this month. His sugar skyrocketed and now he is on insulin twice a day. It seems he is becoming more and more confused. They have let 3 mos. go by without any type of treatment for the lung cancer that spread to his brain. No one is telling me a prognosis. Please someone tell me what to expect.

Comments

  • lekkerone
    lekkerone Member Posts: 199 Member
    #2
    Sorry
    I cannot comment from actual experience but from reading on this forum, I understand that if you are not getting answers from the doctors then you have to get proactive and insist on direct answers to your questions. I guess I would start with why has nothing been done in three months and go from there. Remember something, they are in your employ and not the other way around. Have a list of questions and make an appointment. Remember though that there are some things they can't answer because they don't know for sure.
  • mrsptsu2012
    mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
    #3
    lekkerone said:

    Sorry
    I cannot comment from actual experience but from reading on this forum, I understand that if you are not getting answers from the doctors then you have to get proactive and insist on direct answers to your questions. I guess I would start with why has nothing been done in three months and go from there. Remember something, they are in your employ and not the other way around. Have a list of questions and make an appointment. Remember though that there are some things they can't answer because they don't know for sure.

    In my case even that is not possible. My husband is incarcerated. They only tell me what they want me to know. That's why I am seeking answers here. They did a biopsy of the lung in May to confirm it was lung cancer. Yet, they are telling me they don't know what stage or if it is non-cell or small cell. It has spread to the brain therefore, I am assuming by everything I have read that this is stage IV. With him being incarcerated I am not even allowed to know the date of the surgery. They say they will let me know once he has been transported to the hospital. I need some answers; I need to know what to expect.
  • mrsptsu2012
    mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
    #4
    lekkerone said:

    Sorry
    I cannot comment from actual experience but from reading on this forum, I understand that if you are not getting answers from the doctors then you have to get proactive and insist on direct answers to your questions. I guess I would start with why has nothing been done in three months and go from there. Remember something, they are in your employ and not the other way around. Have a list of questions and make an appointment. Remember though that there are some things they can't answer because they don't know for sure.

    In my case even that is not possible. My husband is incarcerated. They only tell me what they want me to know. That's why I am seeking answers here. They did a biopsy of the lung in May to confirm it was lung cancer. Yet, they are telling me they don't know what stage or if it is non-cell or small cell. It has spread to the brain therefore, I am assuming by everything I have read that this is stage IV. With him being incarcerated I am not even allowed to know the date of the surgery. They say they will let me know once he has been transported to the hospital. I need some answers; I need to know what to expect.
  • mrsptsu2012
    mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
    #5
    lekkerone said:

    Sorry
    I cannot comment from actual experience but from reading on this forum, I understand that if you are not getting answers from the doctors then you have to get proactive and insist on direct answers to your questions. I guess I would start with why has nothing been done in three months and go from there. Remember something, they are in your employ and not the other way around. Have a list of questions and make an appointment. Remember though that there are some things they can't answer because they don't know for sure.

    In my case even that is not possible. My husband is incarcerated. They only tell me what they want me to know. That's why I am seeking answers here. They did a biopsy of the lung in May to confirm it was lung cancer. Yet, they are telling me they don't know what stage or if it is non-cell or small cell. It has spread to the brain therefore, I am assuming by everything I have read that this is stage IV. With him being incarcerated I am not even allowed to know the date of the surgery. They say they will let me know once he has been transported to the hospital. I need some answers; I need to know what to expect.
  • mrsptsu2012
    mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
    #6
    lekkerone said:

    Sorry
    I cannot comment from actual experience but from reading on this forum, I understand that if you are not getting answers from the doctors then you have to get proactive and insist on direct answers to your questions. I guess I would start with why has nothing been done in three months and go from there. Remember something, they are in your employ and not the other way around. Have a list of questions and make an appointment. Remember though that there are some things they can't answer because they don't know for sure.

    In my case even that is not possible. My husband is incarcerated. They only tell me what they want me to know. That's why I am seeking answers here. They did a biopsy of the lung in May to confirm it was lung cancer. Yet, they are telling me they don't know what stage or if it is non-cell or small cell. It has spread to the brain therefore, I am assuming by everything I have read that this is stage IV. With him being incarcerated I am not even allowed to know the date of the surgery. They say they will let me know once he has been transported to the hospital. I need some answers; I need to know what to expect.
  • mrsptsu2012
    mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
    #7
    lekkerone said:

    Sorry
    I cannot comment from actual experience but from reading on this forum, I understand that if you are not getting answers from the doctors then you have to get proactive and insist on direct answers to your questions. I guess I would start with why has nothing been done in three months and go from there. Remember something, they are in your employ and not the other way around. Have a list of questions and make an appointment. Remember though that there are some things they can't answer because they don't know for sure.

    In my case even that is not possible. My husband is incarcerated. They only tell me what they want me to know. That's why I am seeking answers here. They did a biopsy of the lung in May to confirm it was lung cancer. Yet, they are telling me they don't know what stage or if it is non-cell or small cell. It has spread to the brain therefore, I am assuming by everything I have read that this is stage IV. With him being incarcerated I am not even allowed to know the date of the surgery. They say they will let me know once he has been transported to the hospital. I need some answers; I need to know what to expect.
  • Ex_Rock_n_Roller
    Ex_Rock_n_Roller Member Posts: 281 Member
    #8
    Educated guesswork
    On the medical aspects of it, I don't think anybody here will be able to give you anything more than a not-very-educated guess. The only things I'd begin to comment on are: (1) Steroids can make your blood sugar spike higher than normal, and, (2) If the lung cancer has spread outside the chest (i.e. into the brain), it is Stage IV (that's one of the ways they define Stage IV).

    Beyond that, it sounds like you may have legal issues regarding what the doctors are required to tell you. I'm definitely no lawyer, but there is probably a line between what the doctors are willing to tell you and what they MUST tell you. I think you said before that your husband had signed an agreement to have medical results released to you. Do you know if he also made you his health care proxy? If he didn't, you'd probably have to get him to demand of his doctors that they release information to you. If he did, you can probably demand it yourself because you might need the info for decision making.

    Without the proxy, I'm guessing you're more or less at their mercy, but in your shoes, I'd still be making noise until somebody told me to shut up (i.e. told me why they're not giving me the information).

    Best of luck.
  • mrsptsu2012
    mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
    #9
    Ex_Rock_n_Roller said:

    Educated guesswork
    On the medical aspects of it, I don't think anybody here will be able to give you anything more than a not-very-educated guess. The only things I'd begin to comment on are: (1) Steroids can make your blood sugar spike higher than normal, and, (2) If the lung cancer has spread outside the chest (i.e. into the brain), it is Stage IV (that's one of the ways they define Stage IV).

    Beyond that, it sounds like you may have legal issues regarding what the doctors are required to tell you. I'm definitely no lawyer, but there is probably a line between what the doctors are willing to tell you and what they MUST tell you. I think you said before that your husband had signed an agreement to have medical results released to you. Do you know if he also made you his health care proxy? If he didn't, you'd probably have to get him to demand of his doctors that they release information to you. If he did, you can probably demand it yourself because you might need the info for decision making.

    Without the proxy, I'm guessing you're more or less at their mercy, but in your shoes, I'd still be making noise until somebody told me to shut up (i.e. told me why they're not giving me the information).

    Best of luck.

    Thanks for the response. I just feel so useless.

Discussion Boards