Does anyone have any experience of a pulmonary embolism? My mum has one on her lungs an and has been on blood thinning injections for 6 weeks. With no sign of dispersing. Can you tell me how long it will take and how we can tell if it’s going? Do they check on it after a certain amount of time?
Dear Cherries,
Welcome to our online community, I notice you have joined some of our forums and we hope you are finding this a helpful and supportive place to visit.
Thank you for your question about your Mum’s pulmonary embolism. My name is Emily and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.
It is not clear from your question if your Mum is currently receiving cancer treatment, but cancer and it’s treatments can increase your risk of developing a blood clot (thrombosis). As you are aware these are usually treated with blood thinning medications (anticoagulants). Your Mum’s doctors will decide how long this is for but this can be for a number of months.
Blood thinning medication is used to prevent other clots forming and stop the existing clot getting bigger. They do not usually break up an existing clot. Cancer Research UK have some helpful information about clots and their treatment here.
There is no routine follow up test or investigation for a pulmonary embolism. Your Mum’s doctors will use her symptoms as a guide to see how effective the treatment has been. If your Mum is still having symptoms of breathlessness you should contact her doctors or oncology unit as soon as possible. She may require further urgent assessment.
If you are unable to speak to anyone at the hospital you should contact 111. If she develops chest pain, is coughing up blood or loses consciousness you should contact 999 immediately.
I hope you have found this information helpful. If you wish, you can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or email us.
With best wishes
Emily – Macmillan
Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
(Our Ref: ER/AM)
