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Zimbo

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  1. Hi all! Many many thanks for all your responses. It does give me some hope. After some complaining my mom has been "granted" a needle biopsy this tuesday. She has a full body PET scan in 2 weeks and a bone scan in 4 weeks. I think we are heading in the right direction!! Will keep you all updated. Regards Zimbo
  2. Hi all, This is my first visit to this board - and I am desperate for advice and help. My mom (65 y/o) smoked for 40 years and stopped about 6 years ago due to breathing problems. She was told she had emphasema (sp?) and has lived on medicatione ever since to ease her breathing. Every time it got worse she would take steroids which helped. The only thing that did not get any better was her voice which was hoarse and she had to keep clearing her throat before talking. A throat specialist found 2 nodules in her throat and removed one of them and sent it for testing. It was clear. The assumption was the sterioid pumps she was using had caused them as well as her hoarse voice. Overall she has managed well and has been very active walking every day, housework etc. Over the last 9mths or so her breathing has got more difficult and she would avoid stairs and hills if possible. A new specialist she saw did an x-ray and found it clear. In fact he said he did not believe she had emphasema - only asthma and changed her medication. Her breathing was a little better so it was left. About 2 months ago she went for another routine x-ray and the specialist saw a very small suspect area on her right lung. He thought it might be cancer but said it was probably very early stage because the tumour would only be 1cm or less and he could operate. However she had to wait a month to get a CT scan. The news was terrible. He said the tumour was 3cm in size, there was a lesion on her left lung as well and that the lymph nodes by her throat were swollen so therefore cancerous..... AND NON-OPERABLE. She was scheduled for a bronchoscopy 1 week later which was done and a biopsy taken during the procedure via the bronchoscope. A few days later she saw the doctor for the results. He said the tumour had looked OK and that the biopsy was negative BUT said he had no doubt she had cancer - probably stage 4 because it was in her lymph nodes. They had also done a urine and blood test and it seems her liver and kidney function was OK. Also the CT scan gave them the all clear. Because it is already 2 months since her initial diagnoses the doctor assumes it is NSCLC because of the slow growth rate. He thinks she may have had it for months or years but it didnt show up well on the x-ray because it is at the back of her lung. However it couldn't be sure how much the tumour had grown because it was so faint on the original x-ray. She saw her GP to ask for tranquilisers to calm her down as she is losing weight now through lack of appetite. She feels sick and very depressed. Her GP told her her case was very sad and it was a shame these bronchoscopy biopsys were so unreliable - in fact they hardly ever work!?!?!?!? Why the hell did they waste 10 days on a procedure that doesnt even work most the time?? She now has to go for another biopsy (this time via a needle through her chest) and a PET scan but it may be 1 or 2 weeks before she gets seen. These delays are terrible! She is on the public health system here in the UK and there is no way to afford private treatment. Surely these 2 months so far could be the death of her?? If lucky she may start chemo at the end of the month but not sure. We do know the specialist does not want to operate and does not want to use radiation so it chemo alone.... He refuses to comment on her life expectancy or anything further until the 2nd biopsy and PET scan get done. He has commented that she is still in good health and strong enough to take the chemo but thats it. My mom is convinced she has a few months to live and is very scared and depressed. She has started to lose a little weight and feeling sick because of the stress and worry never mind the illness!! What are your comments/ideas/thought on this everyone? Does this sound like Stage 4 even though she is in good health and there is no evidence of it in her other organs? If this is true what are her chances of survival on chemo alone?? Any feedback appreciated. Many thanks Zimbo
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