In May one of my dads legs swelled and his last 2 toes turned blue I took him to the walk in they sent him to hospital,they said was a swollen vein and to take ibroprofen I then took him to his doctors also just to make sure where he said he wasent worried about the toes but adviced he needed to stop smoking. 2 weeks later my dad lifted a heavy wardrobe and the next day started getting pain in his left side we thought he had pulled a muscle the next morning he was in a lot of pain and was feeling breathless and coughed up a slight bit of blood i rang an ambulance and they said they think its to do with his muscles but coz of the blood they have to take him to a and e. When we got to a and e they put dad on oxygen and did an x ray which showed fluid on his lungs they then said they needed to do a ct scan as the fluid could be caused by either infection or blood as he may have a cracked rib. He then got put onto a ward and was told he would have to stay in, I went home to get him some things phoned the hospital to say I would be back in half an hour, the nurse then said the doctors asked if you can come up asap So I rushed back to the hospital. the doctor then came to the room with a nurse and said he was very sorry for the bad news but its shown on the ct can that its very likely there's a small tumour on the lung. My dad then got moved to another ward the next day, he was bringing up a lot of blood and was still on the oxygen everything was a blur them 9 days he was in there but we got told he had pneumonia he had different blood tests, went down for a camera and bronchoscopy etc. We where then told no tumour was seen and the bronchoscopy was ok. Since then we have been non stop back and forth from the hospital dad had a ct scan which showed from the waste down was blocked so it's blood clots causing his blue toes! The chest xrays since showed the fluid on the lungs starting to clear up but we where told dads lymth nodes where swollen but this can happen with someone with pneumonia and to go back for a further chest xray in 4 weeks which was last week we got there and a lady called us in which was unusual as the consultant normally shouts us in I then noticed she had a Macmillan folder the consultant then said that the ct scan showed the lungs where clear of fluid but lymph nodes still swollen and he was conserned so would need a biopsy. But 3 days before i had dad in a and e with a pain again in his left side they did another ct scan and said his kideneys looked fine, bloods where fine and it was probably a bit of blood broke off the clot and stuck in dads kidneys and to take pain relief, the consultant then said he doesnt think thats the case and thinks it's his bones and will send him for a bone scan and some bloods. We where told if it was cancer it wouldn't be curable as in the gland im now scared its gone to his bones. we are now waiting till the 30th for the biopsy but dads in lot of pain his morphine been upped, voice has started to go croaky and today i noticed a lot of bruising on his left side which is where his pain is and also his stomach which he is now saying hurts too its heartbraking to see him go downhill so quickly and him not knowing what is going on hes just got over the shock of him not having a tumour now this has anyone else had similar symptoms etc please any advice would be great Claire xxx
Hi Claire () I am so sorry to hear the events of the last 3 months and the problems your dad is having.
This can be a very worrying and confusing time. It does sound that your dad has been having a lot of in-depth investigations and tests. Even although this can take soooo long it is very important to get a clear and correct diagnosis.
I can relate to some of the symptoms but that is insufficient to give you help with what is wrong with your dad and we would and could not do that - you have to trust in your medical team to get to the bottom of this.
In the mean time has given you some very good links for support and the help line is open till 8.00 (0808 808 0000) today if you just want to talk to someone.
We are always around so please don't feel you are on your own.
Hey Claire, you are doing great, just put the name of the person at the start of your reply and that make it spot on.
How old is your dad? I am 61 and overlooking being sidetracked by this cancer thing this body I live in has given me so much hassle :(
Your dad is so in the right place at the moment and you just have to trust his team to do the best for him.
Our 5 year old granddaughter is going into her 4th day in Primary 1 today and going into school she wanted to go find her classroom by herself for the very first time - she says 'I won't give up' that's a lesson to us all. We will never give up.
Lots of ((hugs))
Ah Claire, I also am sending you virtual ((hugs))
I am sure that KT is the same in that these types of discussions are the hard thing about helping out with Macmillan :(
Have they said what type of Cancer he has and do they intend to do any treatment to reduce the pain and mobility issues or are they just going to do pain control?
A treatment and care plan is very important. Unfortunately this is again a case of gathering up all the thread ends and making it into something that is coherent that helps your dad.
This will most likely require you and the family to become very proactive. As you know our over stretched NHS system can be slow to react so take the bull by the horns and get answers. Once you get one answer ask 'what next?' there is always a what next.
Pain control, wellbeing and comfort is so important at this point in time and this may be where Specialised Nurse Care and possible Hospice support can help out. I have a friend who has been receiving Hospice Care in his home for months through a Specialised Nurse.
It is very important both for your Dad and the family as a whole to feel that the best care that's possible is in place. Start with your GP and Hospital and knock some heads together to get a care plan put in place.
I am sure that you don't want your dad to be in hospital but rather somewhere that is comfortable and less sterile.
Don't assume that everything will automatically be put in place. This is one of the misconceptions about support like Macmillan Nurse Care - if specialised care is available in your area then it is up to your dads Medical Team to do most of the referral.
Remember I said about our 5 year old granddaughter going into school and she wanted to go find her classroom by herself for the very first time - and she said 'I won't give up' that's an encouragement to all your family. Do everything in your power to make your dad comfortable, get out the photo albums and make new memories.
We are always around for you. You can come and vent yourself at any time. KT has given you some good areas that you may also find some support from and ((Hugs)) again x
