My Dad Was Diagnosed 3 Weeks Ago

divinechild

My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer a few weeks ago. It's hard for me to clarify the timeline because he had withheld almost all information about the "three black dots in his lung" for the last 2 or 3 weeks and my mother, sister and I are only finding out how serious and advanced his lung cancer is a few days ago when his wife and my cousin finally started to tell us the truth and advised us to go see him (in another country) asap. According to his wife, he has cancer in his right lung, left lung, diaphram, liver and lymph node. He was a heavey smoker for like 70 years (he's 84 now) and I've been reading a lot on the internet about lung cancer that small cell lung cancer is closedly related to cigarette smoking---80% of the SCLC patient has a history of being a heavy smoker. I have not found any posts here with anyone has experienced their family member having SCLC, I'm wondering if the symptoms are the same.....

Since 3 weeks ago when he was first admitted to the hospital to undergo all kinds of test to confirm he had cancer I had wanted to fly overseas to be by his side but he kept sugar-coat his real condition and told us he only had an insignificant amout of cancer cell in his right lung so my mom and my sister always thought it gotta be stage 1 but he is very frail very fast and his wife and my cousin couldn't comply to him to lie to us about his real condition anymore. From reading in this forum I'm kind of confused that the only symptoms he as is loss of appetite, lost more than 10% of his body weight in 8 months, weakness and persistent coughs. He doesn't seem to have the lung infusion like everyone describe. Does this mean that he is not stage 4? Since he's not in the U.S and the doctor who treated him overseas is not giving out diagnosis of what stage his lung cancer is, they only tell us exactly where in the body they found cancer cells----in my father's case is almost everywhere.....

I'm getting my passport renewed but it's going to take 2-3 weeks even with an expedited service, 4-6 weeks with regular processing time. I'm afraid I won't be able to see him before he head on to transition to another plane if I don't go in the next week or two.

I talk to my mom and sister daily to keep track of how he's doing. Last night they told me his wife told them to buy airplane ticket to go see him asap because she has doubts how long he's going to last. She also said he couldn't eat anything everyday. Ate very very little. When he walked he couldn't walk by himself without help. But today she told my mom and sister that my dad slept very well last night without the nasty coughs, and he ate a lot for lunch and had a lot of energy, completely different from the day before. This alarms me because I remember reading in this forum that "when the final days came, it came VERY quickly" and also "Some cancer patients had a surge of energy hours or days before they passes" and this "surge of energy" from what his wife described to my mom and my sister today really worries me. Right now there's nothing I can do though because my passport is expired in less than 12 months and I need at least 12 months before expiration date on my passport in order to apply for a visa to the country he's getting treated.

I also have one more question: My dad is 84 years old so his other relatives all suggest that he does not go the chemo route because he's so old and frail it might kill him. Now he's getting complimentary healing--Traditional Chinese Medicine which is non-invasive. I am not sure what to think of the Alternative Medicine route but agree that it's true that considering my father's age and health condition whether he was going to be able to benifit from chemo without being killed by it.

Thanks SO MUCH for reading....

Sending warm wishes and healing energy to who may need it...

Shannon
[quote="anderskr22"]Wanted to share that my mom passed away after a tough 3 year battle with stage 4 non small cell lung cancer this past Saturday 11/5 at exactly 7am...the exact same time on the nose, that her hospice roommate passed away, whom she shared a room with these last couple days. Her roommate, who had the exact same lung cancer and kidney failure was actually sittting in a chair and talking the day before.... I can't believe they both held out throughout the night and they were both ready to go at exactly 7am on Saturday. They must have been kindred spirits. Smile

We were there in Albany, NY (6 hour drive from my hometown in Jamestown, NY), since she had felt most comfortable at the St. Peter's (Oncology/Hemotology) albany hospital, after the great care they had given her there through the "G-vax" lung cancer study she had been in for a couple years.The study she had been in, took a biopsy of her tumor and then made a vaccine out of it, to be reinjected in her to fight off the cancer. It had shrunk more than 1/3 of her tumor initially, which was in both lungs and then eventually contained her lung cancer for 3 years, which was such a miracle for stage 4 lung cancer. After initially being diagnosed, she went on the Iressa chemo pill, which contained her cancer, but the side effects of itching, burning, rashes, and acne, and diaherra were unbearable, and since it was effecting her quality of life (even though it worked), she had to get off of it, and we then tried the Albany G-vax study for her lung cancer, I just mentioned.

We arrived at the Albany hospice this past friday morning at 10am until late that night. Her husband, Walt said she had surprisingly just had a big bowl of oatmeal and coffee for breakfast that morning before we arrrived..He said she sat up, was talking and ate just before we got there and upon our arrival, she was unfortunately already semi-unconcious, but her eyes were open and she was breathing on her own.They say most terminal patients have a "surge of energy" hours or days before they pass. Unfortunately, we missed that by 1/2 hour. She had labored breathing from the fluid on her lungs, that they did the "scarring and powdering" on over the past several months, yet the fluid kept coming back and it was trickled down and spread throughout her stomack.
Hospice gave her morphine and that not only completely took away the pain, but decreased her labored breathing from the lung cancer fluid in her lungs.

We had heard from the hospice social worker there, that some patients don't want to take their last breath with family in the room, and will often wait until family steps out or leaves for the night before they do. Once we all got there and spent 10 + hours putting lotion on her arms, hands and feet, reading scripture to her, talking to her, and combing her hair, we told her since all of her children were there, it was okay to "let go" if she wanted,so we couldn't believe how long she held on breathing on her own (no machines) by a thread during the night. We feel for the first few hours we were there and her eyes were open, that she could hear us reading to her, and talking to her. However, once her eyes slowly shut throughout the day and she was unconscious for the last 4 or 5 hours, we feel she had already probably left her body, and it was just a shell there breathing until her body shut down. All of her other organs were in good condition, since she hadn't been really suffering more than 1 1/2 weeks.
We went to our hotel late friday night, and had told hospice staff to call
us with any changes. They called saturday morning, shortly after 7am, when she passed. We ended up heading there to spend time with her body in the hospice room to have some closure after we received the news.
At least she did not suffer long-term and is in a better place now. She was
just down in Florida a few weeks ago, still went to "Curves" women's excerise club and was hanging in there, up until the
fluid on her lungs spread through her chest cavity and into her stomach
cavity. It spread like wild fire from there.... Even though they weren't clear as to how long she had when she was diagnosed back in January 2003, she fought for 3 years at stage 4 and we feel that it was due to the Iressa and the g-vax study. We don't think she would have made it that long, if it wasn't for these two treatments.
I will keep all lung cancer patients and their families in my prayers.[/quote]

divinechild

My dad's lung cancer is in his left lung,right lung, diaphram, liver diaphram and lymph node. It has pretty much spread everywhere. I don't know what stage he is because he's being treated in another country and I here in the u.s still haven't seen him yet because I have to wait for my passport and visa. I'm really worried if I wait for one more month he might not be there. But I'm also wondering when I read on this forum some stage IV NSCLC lasted 3 years and some lasted less than 3 months......I know there are different cancer cells in lung cancer. Also I don't know whether it's small cell or non-small cell.

I'm here in L.A being kicked out by the landlord having to move by October 8th plus I'm waiting for my passport and visa wondering if I will be able to leave soon enough to see him before he passes.....

His diagnosis of lung cancer at such an advanced stage is so shocking to me and this is 2 weeks ago. It just doesn't feel real to me. I think I'm having a hard time to accept it.

I'm under a lot of stress not knowing how long he has and whether he has a month or 2 to wait for me to find a place to move to then go see him. I just wish I can be by his side and hold his hands right now.....

"][quote="rsv"]My mother-in-law was diagnosed on August 15, 2005 with stage 3B or stage 4 NSCLC (never really got a clear answer from the doctor). She died October 27, 2005. From time of diagnosis to death only 9 weeks and 3 days.
It was much more aggressive than they led us to believe.[/quote]

Wow, that timeline is almost spot-on with my father. He was diagnosed August 19, 2005. He was given 3-6 months w/o treatment, maybe 1-2 more months w/treatment. He passed away on Oct.18, 2005, not quite 2 months later.[/quote]

parkermd · New User Joined: 01 Sep 2009 Posts: 5

My dad was diagnosed with stage IIIB NSCLC (left lung) almost 5 years ago. He survived for 2 years and 4 months after his initial diagnosis. At first he was put on chemo (carboplatin/oxaliplatin) and radiation. This went on for about 7 months until they figured out that his tumor was no longer shrinking and his right lung now had a few small nodules.

He was enrolled in a trial for Iressa, a small molecule inhibitor for EGFR at City of Hope. Being off chemo made him feel much better. He was on Iressa for 1 year. The first 8 months were great. His tumor was shrinking. But the last few months his tumor started growing, he was in pain, and was having a hard time breathing.

He was put back on chemotherapy (FOLFRI - fluorouracil/leucovorin/irinotecan), which made him very very sick in the last few months of his life. He was constantly in and out of the hospital for various reasons (pain, infections, severe cough). The chemotherapy was stopped about a month before he passed away.

The last few weeks of his life were horrible. He was in constant pain. They gave him morphine drops that we would put under his tongue. This made his delirious and unable to communicate with us. The worst part is that I was unable to do anything for him. It's simply the most devastating thing anyone could go through to watch a loved one pass away so slowly and in so much discomfort.

I'm sorry that your families are going through this now. I only hope that your loved ones get better. Good luck.

divinechild

Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. My heart goes out to you.....I'm still having a hard time accepting that his cancer is terminal, but until I see him and talk to the doctor I really don't know all the details as I would like to, for example the type of cancer cells, small cell or non small cell ect. All I know is that the primary is lung cancer met to diaphram, lymph node and liver also it's in both left and right lung. Other than that I don't have any other detail information. I got my visa and am flying in 4 days to go overseas to see him, so are my sister and my mother flying from another parts of the world to go see him as well. Ever since he knew he had cancer he had told us he will not consider chemo or radiation because he does not want to be in pain and endure the discomfortable side effects. He went to the non-invasive Chinese Herbal Medicine route. But from what I heard on the phone everyday talking to my mom and my sister it sounds like my father's condition is progressing worse, not better now he's on Chinese medicine for about 8 days. So now I'm wondering whether we should convince him to try chemo. It's just so disheartening because there's is no knowing whether chemo is going to work like for a lot of people or kill him like some people commented on this forum. I'm torn not to know what to decide and whether to talk him into at least give it a try with chemo. But I know one thing for sure is that we have to cheer him up and don't make him feel even worse emotionally. Also organic whole food (raw food) I have heard a lot of sucess story in fighting cancer, even stage IV lung cancer went into remission!!! That is REALLY encouraging. I'm not in denial I know lung cancer is the most unpredictable cancer so I am prepared maybe he only have months or even weeks left, but I want to make sure that in his last days, weeks, months or years we can make it the best memory for all of us.

I'm so grateful I found the love and support from this forum. Thank you everyone SO MUCH and my prayers are with you all in the same condition or went through the same thing.

I will keep you guys posted on future development. Thank you again....

Shannon

divinechild

I'm leaving this Saturday to go to Hong Kong to see my dad. Talked to my cuisin and he said dad was "very frail and very skinny." My hearts are already there with him and I CAN"T WAIT to be by his side to hold his hands and to kiss his cheek but the same time I am really dreading to see how frail he must have been and I don't know how I'm going to take it and if I can control myself from not crying and showing my sadness in front of him (I know that would be the worse to do is to let him see that). I'm wondering anyone here can share their experience when they haven't seen their loved ones diagnosed with cancer and then saw them the first time when they are already very frail???

Meanwhile there are a lot of things going on here on my plate. I have to console my sister and my mother, there's a really evil step mother who is already pressuring my dad to write a new will (what a low life heartless scum this woman is! My dad has only been diagnosed for 3 weeks and confirmed stage IV a week ago and she is already pushing and pressuring my dad about a new will!) and the house I have lived for 4 years the landlord is taking back the property so I have to move out by October 9th. Initially my mom was suggesting that I move first then go see my dad in mid October but I'm so scared that I don't have enough time and I would not want to miss my last chance to say goodbye to him and to offer my love and support for him at this critical moment. I hope he lasts for 3 years with stage IV lung cancer but those are the handful of few lucky ones. I know the prognosis is grim. I'm trying everything I can to try to be there as soon as I possibly can and then maybe when we're all together (my mom, sister and me by my dad's side) we can figure out something, another alternative instead of him only taking Chinese Herbal Medicine now as he refused to go through chemo.

This is such a valuable resource. Whoever set this site up I'm so grateful to you...and all who is here to share their experience and support...

Shannon

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 2396

Shannon,

I've followed some of your posts and wanted to tell you how very sorry I am about this diagnosis for your Dad. Cancer comes flying out of nowhere and turns our lives upside down, never to be the same again. It takes time for your brain to assimilate this news, so be gentle on yourself.

I'm glad you'll be going to see him soon. Maybe you'll get more information about the type of lung cancer he has. I was sorry to hear it's already spread to the liver. Each person is very unique in how and where it metastasizes to in the body.

Let us know if we can help in any way through these forums. There are many good people who care a lot here.

Godspeed on your trip.

PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

divinechild

I'm leaving in two days and can finally see my dad.....it feels like forever. I talked to my sister yesterday and she told me dad changed his mind and is open to maybe getting chemo or radiation (in the beginning he exclude that option because he does not want to lose hair---even though he's 84---and does not want to indure the side effects of nausea and other things). My sister said it must be the 2 weeks of Traditional Chinese Medicine was not making any difference for him so now he's leaning towards Chemo. The problem is he thinks that in order for the doctor to decide exactly what meds to use they have to do a needle biopsy first, and he thought the risk involved was not worth it (there might be a rupture in lung among other things). My question is exactly how high is the risk of complication of this procedure? Is it worth risk it to have this needle biopsy done? Is there any other way to get the required tissue to decide which chemo procedure he should get? There are so many questions and especially that I'm here and didn't see the exact report and didn't talk to his doctor and my dad was not willing to talk about the detail of his diagnosis so there's very little I can do here until I fly out to Hong Kong on Saturday. This is such a great resource and support and I will keep you guys posted. I'll probablly be able to ask the right questions once I'm there and get the details of the medical report of my father's condition.

dano

Hello Shannon
As far as the biopsy goes it depends on the mass they are testing. In my case my tumors did not have a lot of mass, when I was first tested with the needle biopsy and the results came back inconclusive, but it was a really easy procedure to go through. It was two years later when I had a bronchoscopy that I found out I had cancer and that was a little more difficult procedure.
Dan
_________________
55 year old male, Diagnosed Nov. 9,2007 with NSCLC IV with Mets to the lymphs and brain
Had full brain radiation treatment in Jan 08 treatments now every 4 weeks with Alimta, taking Lovenox for blood clots, Now working full time
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=9993

divinechild

Here's some update:

I'm in Hong Kong right now with my dad for 10 days now, leaving and coming back to L.A tomorrow.

When I saw my dad he was very thin but still in pretty good spirit. The next two days he was always tired, unable to keep his eyes open for more than 10 minutes at a time. Coughing non-stop with a lot of mucus. He started a Chinese Herbal Medicine regimen which the doctor claimed is directly working on killing cancer stemcells. He was responding so well and shown miraculous improvement since day 1. It has been a week now that he's on this Chinese Herbal Medicine treatment. I notice very visible change and improvement in his energy level (He stays awake hours at a time and his eyes are big instead of when I first came visit that his eyes were hardly fully open), he walks in strides instead of barely dragging his feet to walk, and his coughs had lesson significantly. Also when we first came here (my mom and my sis and I) he complained of feeling sore and bloatedness in his neck on both sides ( his cancer has met to lymph nodes, diaphram, clavicle) but now he said it has lesson. I thought I came here this might be a final goodbye to him but now I feel optimistic in his prognosis. A lot of people here are using Chinese Medicine for various kinds of cancer. I'm ethnically Chinese but except for having acupuncture treatment for tendonitis before I have very limited knowledge and experience with Chinese medicine being born in the U.S.

My dad was diagnosed on August 9th with stage 4 lung cancer. I'm really grateful to have found this forum. I will keep everyone posted with updates on his course of treatment and his progress. Even though my mom, my sister and I all see really miraculous and visible improvement in his condition but he is having second thought about maybe going chemo. We all decided we will give the herbal medicine another week to see if this treatment will completely take care of the discomfort he felt in his neck (which I belive is where the lymph nodes which shown cancer cell in the CT scan) then to decide whether he will actually consult another doctor about what kind of chemo he will need.

I feel so much better that I came as fast as I could even though I have to find a place to move in 20 days when I go back to L.A. I feel very much like a foregner here even though I'm ethnically Chinese.

Anyways, thanks everyone for your posts....

Shannon

divinechild

thank you for your post, Dan!

I'm at the airport waiting for boarding....on my way home to L.A.

I thoght I was able to leave knowing that the treatment my dad is receiving seems to be working since he started taking the herbal medicine September 9th. Now I recall the last couple of days he seems to have less of an appetite than when he started 9 days ago. Also he complained weakness in all 4 limbs. When I first arrived here he could struggle to get out of bed and stand on his own. The last 2 days he couldn't get out of bed and stand without I physically hold him up by his arms. Also yesterday evevning when he was speaking to us I found him speaking with short of breath and that is a first. I called when I arrive at my transfer city he sounded fine spitting out words with pretty good energy again. I'm torn between whether I should go back to the States and move (I have to move out of my house by Oct 9th) and put everything in storage and just fly out again to be by his side for a few months as I get the impression from reading on this forum the last 3 weeks that lung cancer is so unpredictable. Some respond well with treatment and live well pass their expectancy and lasted on for 3 years and others respond poorly and pass in a short few months. There really is no way of knowing how a patient might respond to any kind of treatment it seems.

Any advice?
[quote="dano"]Hello Shannon
As far as the biopsy goes it depends on the mass they are testing. In my case my tumors did not have a lot of mass, when I was first tested with the needle biopsy and the results came back inconclusive, but it was a really easy procedure to go through. It was two years later when I had a bronchoscopy that I found out I had cancer and that was a little more difficult procedure.
Dan[/quote]

onecoyote · Senior User Joined: 15 Jul 2008 Posts: 150

Hi Shannon,
If you are in the situation where you have to move out in October anyways, I would do that and go see your dad again. Like you and many others have said, cancer is unpredictable. Your dad seems to be flip flopping around with symptoms and it's hard to say whether that is the chemo or the cancer causing all this. My husband is stage IV and he is terminal and going without treatment. He has good days and very bad days where symptoms pop up over night and then disappear in a few days, very frustrating but he is still with me. You know the saying, "where there is hope........there is life".
From your obvious caring and concern for your dad, I think you might regret not going back if he were to pass away suddenly. So if you can do it, go for it.
You are a good daughter Shannon, hang in there,
Charlene
_________________
Husband Danny, age 66,
diagnosed squamous cell June 6, 2008,
Right pneumonectomy performed with no adjuvant chemo or radiation on Sept. 2008
Metastatic lung cancer in the ribs, scapula and right kidney raised it's ugly head May 2009.
Renal cell carcinoma diagnosed May 2009
One round carbo/taxol, too weak to continue
Cancer racing like a freight train
Held my husband's hand when he passed away September 29, 2009

divinechild

Dear PBJ and onecoyte and everyone who responded to my posts....

I just want to shout out a HUGE ThANK YOU to you guys! Reading your posts has been so helpful and very supportive.

After I flew back from Asia on September 18th and talked to my dad and my mom and sis everyday, today they told me after I left my dad has been eating less and less and coughed like 10 times in a minute. He couldn't sleep at all last night and when I talked to him today he sounded SO tired and weak, the worse I have ever heard him since his diagnosis. Now we're all worried and everyone is indecisive about whether he should stay in China and contine the Chinese herbal medicine that he's receiving or fly back to Hong Kong and switch to traditional medicine. Since he is 84 years old and the lung cancer has spread to both his lungs, lymph nodes, diaphram and scapula.....we don't know whether he will benifit from chemo.

It is so heart wrenching because now I'm back in L.A and I'm so far away and I can't do anything about it. But on the other hands, I'm kind of relieved in a way because I don't know how it's going to affect me if I was there right now and see him suffers so much and see him so weak....it will break my heart......My sister told me the last couple of days he only ate a bite or two each day, was so weak and tired he couldn't get in and out of bed or stand up by himself without someone helping him, and he coughed non-stop and it hurts his throat so badly from coughing so much.....I guess the main thing I get from reading other's experience is that lung cancer is so unpredictable, not even the doctors can accurately predict what's going to happen and how long the patient will last. Some people alternate between good days and bad days.....I only hope that my dad is only alternating with the bad days temporarily now and this will pass and he will have his good days again (he sounded very well when I talked to him a day or two ago, joking with me like his old self....)

Oh this is so heart wrenching....I was hoping he was the best case scenario where he can live 2 or 3 years even with a stage IV diagnosis and even the rare case where the cancer will go fully into the remission....but now I'm not so optimistic anymore......

Any input and comments, or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH PBJ and others....

Sending warm thoughts your way....

Shannon

[quote="onecoyote"]Hi Shannon,
If you are in the situation where you have to move out in October anyways, I would do that and go see your dad again. Like you and many others have said, cancer is unpredictable. Your dad seems to be flip flopping around with symptoms and it's hard to say whether that is the chemo or the cancer causing all this. My husband is stage IV and he is terminal and going without treatment. He has good days and very bad days where symptoms pop up over night and then disappear in a few days, very frustrating but he is still with me. You know the saying, "where there is hope........there is life".
From your obvious caring and concern for your dad, I think you might regret not going back if he were to pass away suddenly. So if you can do it, go for it.
You are a good daughter Shannon, hang in there,
Charlene[/quote]

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 2396

((((Shannon))))),

I'm glad you were able to spend time with him and are safely home again. I can't imagine how difficult it is to be away from him, but my oldest and his wife had to move across country late in my husband's journey. Guys are a little different and he never revealed what that meant to be away from his Dad.

The coughing is so difficult and not likely to get better unless they can reduce some of the tumors that are causing it. My husband also coughed a lot and the use of Mucinex helped thin the mucus secretions to help it be more productive.

Stay in contact with your family regularly so you don't feel isolated. It's one heck of a roller coaster ride with unpredictable outcomes. Where there is life, there is hope.

Keep us posted and I'm sending hugs your way.

God bless,
PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

onecoyote · Senior User Joined: 15 Jul 2008 Posts: 150

Hi Shannon,
To reiterate what PBJ said, the coughing probably won't go away. Even if the tumors were on the outside of the lung, any touching of the lung or compression of it will initiate a cough. Tell your dad to hold a pillow into his chest when he has coughing fits, it cuts the effect somewhat. Also, can he get a hold of any cough syrup with codeine or guafenisin? Surely Chinese medicine must have a mucus/cough reliever.
Hot liquids like tea and such also help to loosen phlegm and also relax the muscles of the chest. My husband swears by hot baths and gets great relief from having one everyday.
I wish your dad all the best and hope he finds relief soon,
Charlene
p.s. We all feel helpless Shannon, you are not alone with that feeling.
_________________
Husband Danny, age 66,
diagnosed squamous cell June 6, 2008,
Right pneumonectomy performed with no adjuvant chemo or radiation on Sept. 2008
Metastatic lung cancer in the ribs, scapula and right kidney raised it's ugly head May 2009.
Renal cell carcinoma diagnosed May 2009
One round carbo/taxol, too weak to continue
Cancer racing like a freight train
Held my husband's hand when he passed away September 29, 2009

divinechild

Dear PBJ and onecyote,

Thanks SO MUCH for your comforting words..... Smile

I'm wondering his complaint of coughing non-stop and having so much mucus each cough is it because of the pleural effusion like some people talked about? Should he get drained?

The tips on cough relief is wonderful....I'll tell them when I talk to them this evening...... Smile

I finally got over the jetlagged today...a bit.....grateful I didn't stay up till 6pm and then slept till 3pm in the afternoon like I did the last 3 days....I finally fell asleep by 5am and woke up at 11am...well, an improvement....still feels tired....guess I'm just older....I used to beat jetlag in one day..... Smile

Sending warm thoughts your way....

Shannon

[quote="onecoyote"]Hi Shannon,
To reiterate what PBJ said, the coughing probably won't go away. Even if the tumors were on the outside of the lung, any touching of the lung or compression of it will initiate a cough. Tell your dad to hold a pillow into his chest when he has coughing fits, it cuts the effect somewhat. Also, can he get a hold of any cough syrup with codeine or guafenisin? Surely Chinese medicine must have a mucus/cough reliever.
Hot liquids like tea and such also help to loosen phlegm and also relax the muscles of the chest. My husband swears by hot baths and gets great relief from having one everyday.
I wish your dad all the best and hope he finds relief soon,
Charlene
p.s. We all feel helpless Shannon, you are not alone with that feeling.[/quote]

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> Lung Cancer Forum	All times are GMT - 5 Hours Goto page 1, 2, 3 Next
Page 1 of 3

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others