Please forgive me if I fumble for words or don't seem to explain clearly. This is my first experience with cancer.
My father in law was diagnosed with lung cancer 2 months ago. I just found out last night that it is SCLC and that he is terminal. They have said he won't make it until July. My husband is devastated, the whole family is.
When first diagnosed, my fil had a tumor in one lung and it had spread to the brain in the form of 3 lesions. The plan was to irradiate the lesions and treat with chemo. The prognosis wasn't good, but we thought that we had a fighting chance.
My husband and I saw him a month ago, right after the first round of chemo (3 days of chemo, 4 days off) and he was doing so well. He didn't have any side effects and his appetite had returned in full. We felt so positive!
2 weeks later, as he was finishing up his 2nd week of chemo(he had a week off), he just went nuts. He became very violent and aggressive. We had been noticing slight changes in his behavior, but chalked it up to the steroids. He was hospitalized, they did a CT scan, which showed that 2 of the lesions had disappeared, the third had shifted to the frontal lobe, and they felt it was affecting his behavior. This was 2 weeks ago and he was sent to a psych ward until they could get a handle on his behavior.
He has been in the ward for 2 weeks now and has not received chemo. Last night the Doctors told us there is no hope for him and they are sending him home so he can die there.
I am so confused about this whole thing. About how this could just pop up and take this wonderful man in 2 months. He was in and out of the hospital about 8 months ago for a prostrate infection. The Doctor's say that there was no sign of the cancer then, but I don't know whether or not I believe them. Is it possible that they just didn't do the right types of tests? He smoked 2 packs a day for the last 30 years, why wouldn't they think to look for that.
I am sorry that this is running on. I feel like I am dreaming. I don't know what to do. I have never been this confused in my life. Is there really no way to fight this?