Newcomer - Aunt just been diagnosed with cancer

Hunnibunni · New User Joined: 02 Aug 2006 Posts: 2

Hi, newcomer to this site, found it very informative as my Aunt has just been diagnosed with Cancer, wasnt sure where to post this but here goes.

She had been unwell for some time, keep going to the doctors with these fatty lumps which were all over her body but he just said it was nothing to worry about until she grew progressively worse and couldnt even climb the stairs, her breathing was terrible and she felt really poorly. i took her for her first set of tests one of which was a lung scan, they took the first view and called her back in to take another view which worried me at the time but i was really positive that it was nothing to worry about. However she was admitted to hospital about two weeks ago after my uncle made such a fuss at the doctors because he was so worried about her. By then the lung scan had come back and it was clear

They admitted her and all the things they needed to do They did a fine needle aspiration from her breast and it was clear. So not Breast Cancer which we were relieved about. They said it was possibly lung cancer but the scan had come back clear but they said that the fluid could have been hiding the growth whatever that meant.

They then took some fluid from the lumps on her body and found cancerous cells in them so we knew she had cancer but we already knew it wasnt from the breast and it was unlikely to be from the lung as they said.

Then they inserted a camera down her throat and found a growth on her windpipe obstructing the left lung so it was in a state of collapse hence the struggle to breath. But it wasnt in the lung so it was def was not lung cancer. They said the growth on her windpipe was a secondary growth from somewhere but they didnt know where until further tests. How they knew this i dont know, they tell you things but sometimes its hard to take in what they are saying as its such a horrible shock.

Yesterday they finally told us that the cancer had come from a lump on her side, that was where it had orginated from. Now obviously it had broken off and that is what all the lumps on her body are including under the arm. The biggest growth is on her windpipe which came from the first lump on her side near her bottom.

They told us there is nothing they can do to cure her, but they can shrink the tumor on the windpipe to ease her breathing and to help her eat as she cannot eat much. This is only a pallitive measure they said to make her more comfortable. They are doing a 3D bone scan today to find out where else it has gone and how much time she has left. They coulld not tell us how much time specifically, it could be a week, it could be a year depending on the spread but apparently it is very aggressive and fast moving.

Of course we as a family are devestated, we told her children yesterday and it was simply one of the most horrible times in my life. She is only fifty one but she knows what is going on. We are a close family and we will get through this as a family but i cannot tell you how sad and it is and how we are trying to keep each other going as a family.

My uncle is thinking of making a complaint to the GP as she kept going to him and he simply said it was nothing. We asked the doctor if she had been treated earlier would it have come to this point and he simply said she would have had a better chance then she has now.

Sorry to drone on but i would say to anyone if they have lumps or bumps they are not happy about make a fuss, kick and scream if you need to until someone takes notice of you and you get the treatment you deserve, My aunt is a shy little woman who simply was fobbed off and was afraid to make a fuss, she is a dear lady and we love her all dearly and we pray that they can give her a bit more time with us.

Thanks for listening and reading x

Life_101 · Regular Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 20 Location: N.E. Ohio

Hello Newcomer,
Sorry to hear about your Aunt. I don't know where you live or how close to a
major health facility but I would definitly get a second opinion.
Get copies of all of her medical tests including copies of her scans, CT and
PET if they did those, and get her GP to refer her to another oncologist.
And not one at the same hospital.

Something just doesn't sound right about her diagnosis. She sounds like a
very sick woman but I wouldn't bet my life on the opinion of one medical
facility. Good luck.
....... Frank .......

Hunnibunni · New User Joined: 02 Aug 2006 Posts: 2

[quote="Life_101"]Hello Newcomer,
Sorry to hear about your Aunt. I don't know where you live or how close to a
major health facility but I would definitly get a second opinion.
Get copies of all of her medical tests including copies of her scans, CT and
PET if they did those, and get her GP to refer her to another oncologist.
And not one at the same hospital.

Something just doesn't sound right about her diagnosis. She sounds like a
very sick woman but I wouldn't bet my life on the opinion of one medical
facility. Good luck.
....... Frank .......[/quote]

Thanks Frank, we have already started legal proceedings against the GP for negligence and procedures are starting. However we had some more bad news today from the scan. It has already spread to the lymph nodes and her breathing has worsened. We took her down for another scan and the oyxgen cylinder she was carrying almost ran out so they rushed her back to the ward and put her on pure 100 per oxygen. She has now started to be in pain, something she has not felt until this point so they offered her morphine but she refused for obvious reasons but she had a tiny dose of it. I dont mean to sound ignorant but when my uncle died they started giving him morphine at the end so i suppose i always associate it with that.

They have said she can come home and my uncle will be looking after her and the cancer nurses are coming in two or three times a day. oxygen is also going to be at home for her to have but really she gets a bit worse everday To be honest its all rather scarey for us. I cannot believe this is the same woman i took for tests three weeks ago. They have not offered her chemotherapy but they will be shrinking the tumor on her windpipe tomorrow by radiation therapy to help her be a bit more comfortable.

I am really nervous of all this, the unknown i suppose, something which cant be controlled.

Will let you know of any further developments.

Would like some input from others on pallative care and that, have they been through it, how did they cope, any coping stragegies and that, would be helpful

Cheers

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