my dad is diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that has spread to his hip and his neck. his doctor called him on a friday night to tell him and we waited until tuesday for the oncologist office to get back to use about and appt, which was two weeks away.
when we went to that appt. they all seemed so surprised that no one had told us anything about it. surprised and irritated with us. i still dont know if its nsclc or sclc. my dad is 88 and getting frail and he has heart and blood pressure issues. this dr. wants to do chemo, but has explained very little to my dad about side effects, etc. he just told my dad that they had meds to counter any side effects. this poor old man thinks this will be like taking an antibiotic. the zometa they gave him wiped him out for 6 days. so much so that my dad thought that was the chemo. he was surprised when i told him that it wasnt. i didnt tell him, but i assume it will get worse.
where do i go to get some answers? the doctor would not give us a life expectancy with chemo, without. and i realize that is a guess but how else do you weigh your options. he said with out, his decline would be rapid, but then would not tell us what rapid was: 2 weeks, 2 months, 6 months, etc. when i asked if he had two more seconds as i had thought of some questions, he said "no really i dont" he told me to write down the questions and give them to the nurse. i wrote down three questions and when i approached her she said "this better be quick, i am going to lunch" i was speechless, which really irritated her, so i just said nevermind.
the cancer diagnosis at his age is hard enough, i guess we all hope for a peaceful passing, but i was so taken back by the staff at the hospital. i went in thinking these will be loving helpful people. i feel like we do not know anymore than we did when we went in. they have him all signed up for chemo next week. i thought people had picc lines. i thought there was some pre chemo things to do.
if my dad had decided on chemo after being fully informed, i could support this, but as it stands i feel like he doesnt have a clue. anyone with any suggestions?
lor
