9 months now

bluey1sa
bluey1sa Member Posts: 5
edited March 2014 in Emotional Support #1
Its been 9 months since my mm passed away.
Her bowel cancer spread to Liver (twice) to lungs and then back to bowel.
We were aware of these as they showed up in the regular scans she had.
She had several chemo treatments.

Near the end she started to walk with a definite stoop to the left.
A scan of her head at that stage showed several tumors in her brain.
Mm opted for Radio therapy BUT were we told she had less than 2 weeks to live and lasted 8 days.

As a Family we approached the hospital to ask why these were not found earlier,
we were told that bowel cancer doesn't normally end up in the brain, so no scans of her head were ever taken.

I know we were chasing or tail in trying to keep on top of the cancer but hey one would think that when cancer is in multiple organs a COMPLETE scan would have been done each time.

BLuey

Comments

  • zinniemay
    zinniemay Member Posts: 522
    #2
    cancer
    I agree 100% . They do a ct scan and the a pet scan for my husband the C.T. is every two months. I wonder (maybe should not ask) what insurance did she have? Could be that the insurance only aloud for so much? Sad to say that. But I know many insurance have limits.
  • Pennymac02
    Pennymac02 Member Posts: 332 Member
    #3
    zinniemay said:

    cancer
    I agree 100% . They do a ct scan and the a pet scan for my husband the C.T. is every two months. I wonder (maybe should not ask) what insurance did she have? Could be that the insurance only aloud for so much? Sad to say that. But I know many insurance have limits.

    Insurance
    I was thinking the same thing; some insurance companies will only pay for certian tests.(I work at a specialty hospital and think some insurance companies are the new satan) I asked my husbands onc why the VA hadn't done a pet scan to check for mets and she said they ususally don't. They rely on the localized CT because the contrast in too many scans can stress the kidneys?
  • Barbara53
    Barbara53 Member Posts: 652
    #4
    right to know
    I rather think that the docs were perfectly aware of the high likelihood of distal metasteses but chose not to discuss it. As more older people with cancer are surviving longer with surgeries and chemotherapies, the occurrance of brain and bone mets is rising.
    Theoretically, various types of cancer survive chemo hidden away in the brain with the help of the "blood brain" barrier that keeps the brain from getting fried during chemo. After a while, the cancer cells figure out how to grow there.

    A few weeks ago NY state passed a law requiring doctors to tell patients the truth about their condition. I think, why should it take a state law? If a doctor does not think it is in the patient's best interest to disclose everything, they should do so with the next of kin/health care proxy. Is this not compassionate common sense?

    Best of luck to you, blue. My father passed very quickly when his cancer recurred. I had a hard time with it, and a counselor helped immensely. The best tip he gave me was to concentrate on remembering scenes of my father healthy and happy. It really works.

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