Kakalina

There are no treatment options at this point. He is home and under hospice care at this time. This type is so rare it is hard to find out much about it. Thank you for your support

They finally diagnosed my husband at the VA. It is stage IV Sarcomatoid carcinoma of both lungs with the entire chest wall involved and the lymph nodes. From what little I can find out about this on line it is very, very aggressive. In 14 days I've watched him go from normal to skinny, pale shaking and dying. They sent us home from the hospital last night with hospice. All these machines and all these medicines are terrifying. I feel so overwhelmed. They are giving him 6-8 weeks most likely. I am scared and want to talk to someone who has been through this. Last month we were on a cruise ship having a great time. How could something like this happen so fast? Thanks in advance for any help or support you can offer.

Thanks. We just got back from the visit. He told us the cancer is in both lungs and also the lymph nodes are involved. He will set up a PET scan and an appt. with an oncologist. I guess it doesn't get anymore real than this, does it?

Hi. My husband ( 66 and a smoker for over 50 yrs.) has been diagnosed by the VA as having lung cancer. They didn't yet know the stage or type. Today we are going to see a pulmonologist. I was wondering what role one of those plays in the health care. I can't say how scared and worried I am. My husband has withdrawn and is spending a lot of time sitting on the patio by himself. He doesn't want to talk about it and I won't force him. Which leaves me feeling pretty alone. My family are all gone or far away so I don't have a lot of local support. Sorry, I didn't mean to run on. Just please answer the original question if you can.

Right now I am feeling very overwhelmed. Thanks so much for the support. Dawn, that sounds possible. Let us get through this first round of test and see what we are actually dealing with. Thanks again.

Well we just got the word that it is indeed lung cancer. The Doc said there will be lots of tests ahead to determine type and stage and such. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now and my husband doesn't want to discuss it. I understand but it is hard.

Thank you both for your kind replies. I guess it is true that the waiting is the hardest part. I called the # they left for me to the oncology lab for the results. They said they will have the pulmonologist call us when he can. We are dealing with the VA and they are not known for being the fastest or most responsive entity in the world. Hopefully he will call back soon and we can move forward.

I am not certain when it started but I noticed how much weight my husband had lost and he started coughing all the time. In Sept. it got quite bad. In Nov. we were in South America and I made him go see a Dr. who told him to get a chest x-ray when we got home. He is in his mid 60's and only quit smoking in Sep. when he got too sick to be able to smoke. He started coughing up blood and he is tired all the time with no energy at all. It took forever to get him into the VA so I finally took him to the ER in mid Jan when he was so weak he could no longer drive. The chest x-ray shows nodules on both lungs and a 6cm mass on the top of the left lung. His calcium levels were over 13. The put him on Augmentin and sent us home. One week later we were back at the ER. The blood work showed highly elevated calcium levels. They admitted him to the hospital. The did a needle biopsy on Fri. They also did constant IV's to "clean the excess calcium out of his blood". He was released yesterday. He isn't sleeping quite as much as he was before. He is also taking the pain medication as he should instead of waiting until he is in agony. Three Doc's said they were pretty darn sure it is lung cancer but until the results are back can't say for sure. It was a holiday week end. We should know something today or tomorrow. I am scared and very worried. So I am researching as much as I can to try to prepare for that which probably can not be prepared for. Sorry this is so long. I have no local support and I am all alone with him and this sickness.