stage 4 / copd and plueral effusion

lindahart
lindahart Member Posts: 1
in Lung Cancer #1

My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 NSCLC Andeo. He also has a plueral effusion and COPD.  His worse symptom is he cannot walk 10 feet with out being out of breath, so spends all his time in recliner.  He has had 3 rounds of chemo and after CAT SCAN there has been no change. . We drain his plueral effusion every 3 days and get about 400 cc out. it is usually bloody. He is scheduled to start a new CHEMO next week, but i think he is to week. He has quit eating , but will drnk Ensure. He also sleeps alot. He is very week. When he was diagnosed in the middle of Dec he was given 2 to 3 months. How do i suggest to him he not do any more CHEMO and just enjoy what time we have left. What should i do

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  • Ladylacy
    Ladylacy Member Posts: 773 Member
    #2
    Your husband

    While my husband's cancer is different, but has spread to his lungs, we were told upfront that chemo would only prolong his life, and could possibly shorten it.  He elected no more treatment.  While that has been 2 years ago, he is steadily declining and has been on hospice since September 2013.  He also spends the majority of his days sleeping in his recliner or else in bed and gets weaker every day.  He has been on a feeding tube but has gone from 6 cans to 3 cans a day and has lost a lot of weight.   If your husband is too weak for chemo, I would think the doctors wouldn't go ahead with it.  If his blood counts are low, they won't.  As hard as it is, it is your husband's choice, but he should know that if he goes ahead with the chemo it could in actuality kill him.  That happened to a neighbor of ours.  He had a lung disease that hardens your lungs and then they discovered he had lung cancer.  His daughter tried to talk him out of the chemo, but the doctors talked him into doing the chemo.  He took one treatment and that did him in.  It is a hard decision for anyone to make.

    I have let my husband make all the decisions and it is hard to watch but he knows the outcome.  He has lasted much longer than the doctors expected and it is very hard to watch a once very active senior citizen go to someone who can't do anything anymore.

    Wishing you both peace and comfort.  Sharon 

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