Hello
I’m new to this and a bit overwhelmed. My 82 year old dad had bladder cancer last year. First scan after treatment was clear. Last scan showed deposits in the spine and a cavity on the lung. While they have confirmed cancer deposits on spine they are unsure about lung and say it could be an infection. To determine whether it is or not they want to do a bronchoscopy but he is petrified of the procedure as there are (as with all procedures) dangers. The trouble is he can’t start chemo and immunotherapy until docs know if it’s infection, cancer or just marks on the lung. We don’t want to pressurise him. He’s impossible as well, angry, frustrated, difficult (he hasn’t been an easy man for many years). Is there another procedure he could have instead? Hospital isn’t being that helpful! Thank you. Any tips for dealing with a very difficult parent in this situation would also be welcome as we are all also floored by this!
Hi Emma6362 my name is Chelle, and I am a community champ for the Lung cancer forum please do feel free to come and join the group where we have many members who are caring for family members with lung cancer, as well as people with lung cancer themselves. There is also a Bladder cancer forum and a Spinal cord tumour forum that you can take a look at as well.
I am sorry to hear that dad has this worry over the bronchoscopy, I know how scary this must feel for him. The bronchoscopy will not only determine whether this is cancer, or an infection, but will show, if it is cancer, what type of cancer this is. This is so important, as different types of lung cancer have different treatment plans. They really cannot treat the cancer without knowing what cancer type it is. There really isn’t another procedure he can have that will determine this. I don’t know where you can go from here, as it really is dads choice. Do you think he may talk to a counsellor to see why it is he is so against this procedure. I think I would suggest calling the Macmillan support line and talking to someone there on 0808 808 00 00. They are available 7 days a week from 8am until 8pm.
Wishing you and dad all the very best.
