My dad rang me early January to say that a "shadow" had been found on his lung after a diabetic nurse saw that he was shaking and she arranged immediate tests for him. Following this, he said, he had a PET scan. This did not reveal any cancerous properties in his lungs but showed up a malignant mass in his colon. Needless to say I was devastated and angry at the same time as he had been through these tests and told me nothing.
I live in South Wales and he is in Yorkshire so I can't just pop round of course. In the middle of last year he told me that he had given my 2 daughters Power of Attorney during and after life. He said this was in case he needed an op and I wasn't available to sign if he couldn't. This made me think that perhaps he had been ill for longer than I knew about. I did later find out that he had his lungs drained in November which nobody told me about.
Between my knowing that he had cancer and him seeing anyone seemed to be forever but he was eventually sent to a different hospital for a different scan and this confirmed lung cancer as well as colon cancer. At his PET scan he was asked if he had worked with asbestos and he said he had but this idea was later dismissed. On Feb 27th he had his lungs drained again under GA and a biopsy taken. On 2nd April he was given the results, terminal mesothelioma. He was offered chemo and radiotherapy but refused straight away. He was then discharged by the lung consultant and referred back to the colon cancer specialist at the other hospital nearer to where he lives. He was given 6 to 12 months on 2nd April but at the consultation with his oncologist last week it seems to be nearer 6, with Macmillan nurses being contacted and him being asked to look at hospice care. I have many different feelings and emotions, not all of them nice and I hope I can get the courage together to post my real feelings soon. By giving away power of attorney i feel that something has been taken away from me.
