My Pop has lung cancer and I need some help!

L6steel

L6steel

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
5,855
Hello folks!
Found out in October that my Pop has stage 4 lung cancer. What a kick in the gut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They said he had 6-8 months and started him on chemo.
He finished the chemo and they did a ct scan and found a spot on the spine so they did some radiation. They just did another scan and found another spot on the lung and one on a rib.
This bites big time but there's not much that can be done about it.
I've spoken with the man upstairs and it's all in his hands!!!!
What I was looking for here is information from anyone that has known someone that had lung cancer so I might get an idea of what to expect in the future with my Father.
My Mother is standing up tall but I know alot of it is a facad so anything I know up front will help me and her.
I know this is asking alot and I don't want to make anyone bring up bad memories of a loved one's illness.
Just anything you can help me with!!
Take care and God Bless!!!
Michael
 
My grandfather died of cancer years ago. He was hospitalized on-and-off, and in the end that's where he passed. But he was able to spend much of his final time at home with his family, with the help of a visiting nurse. On some days, with an oxygen tank, he could even go (as a passenger) on truck rides through the area where he'd lived and farmed most of his life.

Sorry I can't be of any more help than that. It was fifteen years ago and the timeline of events isn't clear in my mind.

Very best wishes and deepest sympathy to you and your family,
Bob
 
L6steel said:
I've spoken with the man upstairs and it's all in his hands!!!!
Click to expand...

Then you don't need our help.





I used to work for the radiology department of a large veterinary hospital fixing the equipment. Lung and intestinal cancer are the worst since they tend to be many small tumors and it's impossible to adddress them all. Sorry, but that's the truth as I know it.

My mother died of cancer. I was with her when the doctor told her she had six to twelve months to live. I then plotted how I'd best use those six months. A month later to the day, she was dead. I was robbed of five months.

My advice to you is to make every minute count. Use every minute.
 
Very sorry to hear about your Pop, Michael. My Grandfather died of lung cancer about twelve years ago. They did surgery in the Spring, but by Autumn it had spread to his spine and then his brain. He died in the hospital a short time later. I'm not assuming automatically that your Pop was a smoker, but that's what killed my Grandfather. Sometimes a lifetime of inhaling all that smoke just does too much damage. It sounds like the spreading has already occured for your Pop. I will say that in the end, they had my Grandfather on morphine to make it easier for him to live with the pain. So, there are things they will do to ease his suffering. Best to you and your family and especially your Pop.
 
Sorry to hear about your Dad.

About two years abo, my Dad was diagnosed with serious lung cancer. Bladder cancer as well. Things did not look good. While it wasn't easy, he had half a lung removed and has had several very unpleasant operations on his bladder (where they go in through the existing plumbing) but is still around to complain about the docs today.

It's certainly been a fight and he's had some real unpleasant times, but it's good to still have him around. The Docs torture him on occasion (NOBODY EVER wants a BCG treatment) but after a few days, he has a coctail and can piss and moan with the best of them. He's on o2 all the time and can't fly on airplanes anymore, but still finds his way to the Casino in buloxi once in a while.

Lung cancer certainly sucks, but isn't an instant death sentance. My Dad's was pretty advanced, but was still treatable. He's also a relatively young man at 62 and the long term prognosis is anyone's guess, but isn't that true for all of us?

Support him and love him and make your peace as none of us live forever.

I'll PM you with my number in case you want to talk.

Wishing for the best for both our Dads.
 
Once it has spread like that, it's difficult. Spend as much time with your dad as possible. I hope for the best, and I'm very sorry for your situation.
 
I just wanted to say that, while I can offer no real "help", you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. I'm very sorry that you all are having to go through this, and I hope that you are able to be strong for your family. If you are feeling sad or weak, come post here, or even email me if you want to talk or keep things private.

Since you said that there is not much that can be done about it, I have a feeling things may get worse before they get better, so I just hope you can somewhat prepare yourself for whatever comes up instead of getting your hopes up that things will turn around on their own. This might sound cheesy, but I think the best thing you can do is to keep your sense of humor with your family and try to keep their spirits up. I do tend to take the "class clown" role in my family when I'm worried about them; however, it does seem to work! Laughter is always a good distraction... Someone has to see the lighter side of things sometimes; even the darkest things have a light side if you find it. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be worried or sad, but I do think that you should try to make the most of whatever time you may get to spend with your father now. Live life while you can, ya know?

Best of luck to you and your family. I hope everything goes better than planned.

~ashes
 
I don't have any direct family members that died of lung cancer but a family friend of mine did. Sorry to say but lung cancer is one of the fastest spreading of all the cancers.

From point of diagnosis till he passed away was within a year. The progression was quick and the last couple of months he was thin and very weak. What was sad was he had another grandchild coming and he was making a doll house for her and i think they were taking lots of pictures and videos.

There will not be much hope of recovery but certain people do opt out of chemo and would rather live the rest of their lives with their family instead of suffering the side effects of chemo. There were times when he was really weak and there were times he appeared ok. They spent as much time as a family as possible going on holidays and all.

Anyway, i don't think i've been much help but from what i know, family support is really important. Make the rest of his life as comfortable as possible. If he is still able to walk and do things what i'd suggest is try as a family to do the things that he has always wanted to do. If he has always wanted to go somewhere this is the time for the family to do it. No point saving money for so much treatment that leaves him in bed half the time. That's my opinion anyway.

It's all in god's hands now. NOW GO SPEND SOME TIME WITH HIM.
 
My thoughts and prayers are with you Michael..........................
 
My dad had cancer as well and I certainly can sympathize. The worst part is not knowing what course the cancer will take. It seems to me that if active tumors show up on the liver or brain, there's not much time left. Then again, it's so unpredictable...I knew of several nursing home residents that were given months to live, (went into remission) and lived many years thereafter :confused:
 
I'm very sorry to hear about this. Hang in there, and let us know if you need any help.
 
My grandmother has cancer, and several friends as well, they've beaten it, but I've seen what it can do physically and emotionally just to them, forget the people around them. The only thing you can do is pray, like you said, which is what I'll do for you and your family.
 
I hope the Best for your Father and your family (including you).
I believe that a lot of the "medicine" is in our own will power to live. Help your Dad keep up high spirits as much as you can.
I hope everything turns our okay in the long run.

Todd
 
My Brother was diagnosed with lung cancer some years ago. He went to an oncology center for chemo, and after starting that, they found that the cancer had spread into his lungs from his spine.

They gave him a bottle of APC's(VA hospital), and sent him home. He came to my house for my birthday a few days later and seemed fine, but three days after that, had to be taken back to the hospital with pneumonia, brought on by a lowered immune system from the chemo.

He was in serious pain from the spinal cancer by then, and it was a rare fast spreading type(he'd been exposed to agent orange in Vietnam), and I had to threaten the croaker to give him something stronger than 1/4 gr tylenol codiene(that was state of the art pain medication at the VA in 1995):rolleyes:.
They finally put him on a morphine drip, and he went in to a drug induced coma, and died about a week later.

His death was a blessing, as, had he lived through the pneumonia, the pain, and other complications he faced from the spinal cancer would have been beyond the worst you can imagine, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

My father in law was also diagnosed with lung cancer about the same time, and he lived almost exacty 6 months from the diagnoses, till his death.

Probably not the info you wanted to hear, but you asked.
 
Stormdrane's link is a good starting point. Lance Armstrong's testicular cancer metastisied to his lungs and brain and he fought back to become what he is today. His Foundation's site provides some good links for research and survivorship.
Lance Armstrong Foundation

(I lost my father to stomach cancer and have been a dedicated Peloton Member with the LAF.) I'll keep your Dad in my thoughts and prayers. Attititude plays an integral part in recovery and survivorship. Never give up hope and always Livestrong!!

j
 
I lost my Father to cancer a few years back.
I think that a lot of good advice has been given-starting with attitude. Encourage a positive attittude- in him and your family--that certainly includes prayer for those who believe.

Remember that any given prognosis is based on an average of people who have the same disease under similar conditions. Key word here is AVERAGE. Half will do better--and half will do worse. There is little more that the doctor can predict.

Gollnick'd advice--to treasure every moment--is the most important. The bad thing about cancer is that it is a lingering disease, and patients can suffer badly (not all do, by any means). the good part is, that now you know that your time with him is limited (of course, it always was, but now that it is brought home to you). Say all the things that you need to say, no matter how hard it is. Remind him of the all the good times. Tell him that you love him.

best wishes for a complete recovery---
 
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