Husband most likely has lung cancer

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2007
Husband most likely has lung cancer
4
Wed, 08-13-2008 - 2:10pm

Hi -


I'm new to this board so forgive me if I'm in the wrong spot, asking the wrong type of questions, etc.


My husband was just admitted to the hospital last Thursday for the 2nd time this year, 2nd time for blood clots in 2 years.  When he had the first blood clot back in '06, it was just in his lung.  Then a month ago he was admitted for pneumonia.  They said he had a spot on his lung that had grown from the xray from '06.  The thoracic surgeon was on vacation and he was suppose to make an appointment the following week, but he didn't (chose to ignore it).  Now fast forward to last Thursday.  He had trouble breathing but thought it was from cleaning an old, moldy fridge at work the day before.  Turns out his blood oxygen level was only 62.  AND - he has a clot in his other lung and one in his leg.  He was to go for a biopsy of the lump on Monday, however, the pulmonologist doesn't want him off the blood thinners for fear that the clot will break loose and go to his heart and give him a heart attack (my dh just turned 37).    So the plan is to have him level out on the blood thinners then go for a PET scan and then have surgery next month to remove the lump (since it has to come out either way).  It is in a rough, "high traffic" spot (between the heart and the lung), so that is a bit of a concern as well.


I'm all over the place with this.  For one, I can deal with the blood thinners, although, that affects his job position so he'll need to figure out how to handle that mess.  But the lump -- I don't know.  The doctor said that for some reason cancer causes clots in some people (my husband has been healthy otherwise).  So it's a pretty good shot of being cancerous.  This has me worried.  Now with waiting for the clot in the leg --  I don't want the cancer to spread in the meanwhile.  My dh is all with the, "It's small enough that we caught it in time and they'll remove it" which is all fine and well, but I am a nervous wreck about the whole thing.  My face is breaking out and my stomach is constantly in knots -- and I'm already on anti-anxiety meds! :S


Does anyone have any advice or BTDT stories with waiting for another condition to level out before taking care of the cancer?  And what about the waiting on finding out if it's cancer or not?  My mother is insisting that if it is cancer, he's going to get depressed.  Does anyone have any advice on that?  I'm trying to plan this all out in my head so I'm not caught off-guard.


Thanks for any input.


 




 




 







iVillage Member
Registered: 09-06-2007
Wed, 08-13-2008 - 11:43pm

thw1.gif image by maggie3333


Welcome to the board, Erin.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2005
Wed, 08-20-2008 - 12:09pm
Try not to overthink it, Erin.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2008
Fri, 08-22-2008 - 3:47am
I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through. Sounds like you are still in the early stages. My father had small cell carcinoma, if your diagnoses is similar I would be happy to talk. My thoughts are with you
Avatar for travinski
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-21-2004
Mon, 08-25-2008 - 9:16pm
When my dad was first admitted to the hospital 10 weeks ago, he developed a blood clot in his leg also and a small piece did go to his lung. However, they managed to get rid of both the clots in his leg and lungs.

Travi