Maudlin Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Hello, guys. I am new here and if this is not the right section of the forum to post, please remove my thread. I am very, very concerned about my mother - she is 60 years old, a former smoker (she quit smoking at the age of 54, but before that she had been smoking for 35 years). She has been caughing during the night for some time now. This morning she told me she had a rib pain on the right side of her chest. I saw some of the symptoms of lung cancer online and freaked out. Could that be a lung cancer, considering her past smoking history? I am so scared and frightened. I forgot to mention that she has a chronic bronchtis, meaning her lung is very vulnerable. Every time she has a flu she coughs for couple of weeks after that. Recently she worked in a dusty rooms, cleaning the floor, without mask protection. What should we do? I am panicking, she refuses to go a check herself. I am extremely worried. Do you think she might have a lung cancer? Thank you in advance for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Keep working on getting your mom to see her doctor, asking for a chest xray. Rather than jumping to cancer concerns, talk to her about getting healthy....taking care of the cough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Maudlin, Your mom's conditions could be signs of cancer or could result from irritant exposure triggering her chronic bronchitis. The answer to "could" rests with a doctor. I'd try and convince her to see her general practitioner and encourage you to accompany her at that visit. You could report on your mom's symptoms and history and these might prompt the general practitioner to order a low dose CT scan to screen for cancer. I've linked information about low dose scans so you can read more about them. The rib pain is of particular concern. In my pre-diagnosis stage, I was very reluctant to go to the doctor. I realized I had problems with my lungs but was afraid to learn the truth. My wife needed to do a lot of "serious encouragement" to get me into the medical system. Fear causes normally rational people to do strange things, and your mom could be experiencing this powerful emotion. I'd try encouragement to seek medical attention first, then ratchet it up to "serious encouragement." Again, I suggest you accompany her to the doctor to ensure complete explanation of symptoms and medical history. I hope this has helped. Questions? This is the place. Stay the course. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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