My Sister has had breast cancer and a subsequent mastectomy(over 15 years ago) She then developed Uterine cancer and had a hysterectomy.
She now has secondary breast cancer mainly in her liver which didn't respond to the last cocktail of weekly drugs she was being given (through a 'peg' in her upper arm)
Four days ago she was started on a brand new infusion that is still undergoing tests to treat the liver cancer and pre cancerous cells in her gullet.
Three days ago she went into our local hospital by ambulance because she couldn't breathe properly.
They put her on oxygen and scanned her lungs saying she had fluid there - possibly a chest infection/ possibly pneumonia.
She was put on anti biotics and anti fungal drugs through a drip and was told they would drain the lung the next day.
However when she was supposed to have the drain, a doc spoke to her and said they were not going to drain as there were 'changes' on her lung.
The family(2 sisters and Mum) know nothing.
My sister cannot talk beyond a whisper, and said it's too complicated to write down on a text, but said she has a decision to make.
We can't visit her and are all frantic wondering what is happening, Mum is getting over her second stroke and has angina, so I'm concerned about her health too.
Do you think my sister now has cancer of the lung too? What might the treatment be or the decision she has to make? What can we do as her family to support her with not being able to visit?
Hi and welcome to the community though so sorry to hear bout your sister and the impact it is having on your whole family.
I know when my wife had chemotherapy there were a couple of times she got infections in her lungs and had to go in to hospital for IV anti-biotic treatment. I also know that as a consequence of her chemotherapy working perhaps better than might have been hoped Janice ended up with a collapsed lung - that was fixable with a chest drain.
From your description though I could only guess what might be happening with your sister and that might not be either correct or very helpful. Is your mum "next-of-kin" normally the hospital will talk to them in a way they might not with anyone else though of course they still have to acknowledge any patients rights to confidentiality.
It might be helpful to you to contact one of the nursing team here, either on the community through Ask a Nurse or via on-line chat or direct to the phone service 0808 808 0000.
From my wife's experience her cancer is in her lung but those are secondaries from the original cancer. The good news in her case is that chemotherapy has managed to render her cancer stable - cure not being possible at the moment this is our new gold standard - living with cancer is something of a different world but is happening to more and more people all the time.
I hope you find some of the answers you need.
<<hugs>>
Steve
