Hot and cold tumour

Dear Marley, 

Sorry to have to welcome you here.

I have never seen tumours described as hot and cold. Yes unfortunately they will have to do a few further tests to determine the full diagnosis and then a correct treatment plan. It feels like forever at the time but they will be working hard to organise this.

Please do not rely on any thing Google says. He talks jibberish and gives a lot of false information out. 

I would suggest giving the phone line here a call. It's free phone between 8am to 8pm on 0808 808 0000 where they have trained nurses to answer your questions.

I hope this will help you.

Hi Marley

So very sorry that you have cause to be on here.  

The 'hot' or 'cold' tumour describes how  the body's own immune system is recognizing the tumour. I only know this as my cancer was found when my immune system went into overdrive with some very strange neurological symptoms.   The many tests that Dad will have to go through will determine the type of cancer and the subsequent treatment plan. It frustratingly does take time to get all the testing done but it is essential. In a strange way, the testing process did give my family time to absorb the initial lung cancer  diagnosis and it became less emotional. The positive is that the cancer has been found and Dad is now under the care of cancer experts. 

Across the members of this  group, there will be experiences of most if not all  the various types of lung cancer and associated treatments. So when Dad gets his full diagnosis, please don't hesitate to raise any questions you may have. However, please remember that we are not medically trained and can only reply using our own experiences of lung cancer. 

It is OK to Google (we have all done it!); just make sure that you use the reputable sites such as Cancer Research UK, MacMillan, NHS etc.  There is a lot of incorrect, mis-leading and/or outdated info out there, not to mention the out and out crap!

I wish you and your Dad the best possible outcomes.

Kegsy x

Hello. I had never heard of it before either. I had researched in Macmillan’s and Roy Castle, both have lots of info but nothing about cold tumours. As you say, I am very wary of Dr Google. hence coming here to ask people who have actually been through this/are going through this. 

the problem is I am getting information third hand from my mum, who is obviously in shock as well so is not necessarily taking everything in. I have asked for the contact details of her Macmillan team so that helpfully I can talk to them direct and get more information so I can hopefully support them both. At the moment I don’t think my mum wants to ask any more questions and my dad definitely doesn’t. 
Thank you so much for your help. 

Hello thank you so much for your reply. 
I think frustration is the right word, we just didn’t realise that it would be so “bitty”. I do now understand why and it makes sense, as everyone is different, but we are just struggling with the waiting game again. I do appreciate this is the same for everyone. it does all make sense. It’s just a shock when you don’t realise you will get to know everything on the day. I find it frustrating that the doctor tells them he thinks it’s a cold tumour which he says is apparently not good but then offers no further explanation. I just wish they wouldn’t do that until they have all the facts.

I think, as you say, that I am hoping this period will give us all time to accept it, there have been lots of tears, but we are all trying to stay positive. My dad is otherwise extremely healthy, apparently his lungs and heart are in very good condition, so hopefully means he is strong to fight this. 

I came to the site to get first hand experience of the cancer, as I found that more reassuring, real people with good and bad prepares you better  I am going to see if I can speak to my dads assigned team to ask more questions to take the pressure of my mum, so she can focus on supporting my dad  

This pandemic is not helping with the stress levels though. My mum and dad were so worried about catching the virus, they did everything right, but this has snuck in and shocked everyone. 

Thank you again for taking the time to reply and your help and support.