My mother was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. A PET scan did not detect matastses. She is 69 years old, a life-long smoker and drinker, has moderate emphesema, is not ambulatory and has a host of other health problems, none terminal. She wants my opinion on whether or not she should pursue the operation. She herself seems lackluster about pursuing it.
Unfortunately my view is colored by the fact that I helped a dear friend through lung cancer 10 years ago. With my encouragement, she pursued chemotherapy, even though her diagnosis was terminal. It ruined any quality of life for her, and made her last days truly miserable. I always had the feeling that the doctors knew there was no hope, but nobody wanted to tell her that.
Now I face this with my mother. The doctors are saying surgery might be technically feasible, but it is hard for me to imagine her going through such an ordeal. I feel very guilty advising her that she might want to consider pursuing palliative treatment only, but the visions of my poor friend, who was so much younger and in vastly better health, wracked with chemotherapy side effects in her final days won't go away. Is it better for my mother to enjoy her final months (or year(s)) in as much comfort as we can give her, or should we roll the dice and go for the surgery? (In truth, I don't think that the doctors will ultimately advise surgery, and all have advised to consider non-surgical, non-definitive treatment, but none has yet come out and said "listen, don't do this to yourself. ")
Does anyone know of an elderly, very infirm person who thrived after lung surgery? What are my mother's chances?
Thank you.
