Hi all,
My 62 year old Dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer (NSCL adenocarcinoma) in November with a fully collapsed left lung where main tumor is located along with a malignant pleural effusion and mets to his Liver and Spleen. The pleural effusion has been very troublesome for my poor Dad. It landed him in hospital a few times to be drained and again in Jan most recently as it needed to be drained with a large amount of fluid buildup that was causing severe pressure on his heart and caused a partial collapse on his right lung. My Dad had talc procedure for his right lung which was thankfully successful. During my Dads stay in hospital in Jan the consultant decided to put in an IPC drain on his left lung so my Mum could drain fluid for my Dad at home. Roll on a few weeks and Dad has had his first staging scan. His treatment is Pembrolizumab every three weeks (his PD-L1 was 80% positive) and he has had 3 infusions so far. Yesterday my Dad met with head of his palliative care team due to breathlessness and to discuss the results of his lung function after staging scan. Unfortunately the fluid is continuing to buildup on his left lung that is trapped and fully collapsed causing a lot of pressure on his heart even with draining 500ml per day. The palliative consultant started to talk about hospice and end of life care. We all knew my Dad was very sick but we still had hope that his treatment might help and we feel 3 infusions is still very early days to determine for sure if it will not work. I have two questions really if anyone with any experience in this could possibly give their opinion. Can a trapped lung with malignant pleural effusion clear up with Pembrolizumab? Are 3 infusions of treatment enough to determine real results?
We are yet to discuss staging scan with Dad's oncologist. The Palliative consultant was only discussing Dad's lung function results from scan and how there is not much more that can be done in terms of fluid buildup. We are due to meet Dad's Oncologist early next week so I want to be prepared to ask a lot of questions. We are fearful his treatment may now be stopped.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Laura
Hi Laura, welcome to the group, but sorry to hear about your Dad’s diagnoses. When a loved one receives a cancer diagnoses it is so frightening, especially when they start to talk about palliative care and Hospice. A Hospice is not just there for end of life, it is also the best place to be for pain management and respite.
I think the questions you are asking are very important for when you see the oncologist next week. I am not sure if you will get the answer here as we can only share our own experience with you, rather than give advice.
You can call the Macmillan support line and talk to someone there about this. They are available 7 days a week from 8am until 8pm on 0808 808 00 00.
Good luck with the appointment next week. Let us know how your dad gets on x
