Dead a week after diagnosis

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Dushichka - 09 Dec 2004 21:06 GMT

I am at a loss as to explain.....
A friend of mine, 31, has just died a week after being diagfnosed with
cancer.
How is this possible????
A normally fit and healthy man, suffered from occasional asthma.
Went to the doc two weeks ago with breathing trouble, doc gave him a new
inhaler.
A week ago he felt no better so he went to hospital where they did a chest
xray.Found a spot in the lung so did a full body CT scan, found cancer
*spots* in liver .
Did tests last Friday, result came in on Tuesday morning - told not to
worry, 95% chance of full recovery, Chemo started this Wedneday, died this
morning.
Apparently he was full of cancer, in the xray or scan his heart wasn't even
visible, just a mass of white.
How is it possible for a cancer to replicate and spread so quickly?
How is it you can be told you have cancer on Wednesday and you'll be home
for Christmas, and be dead a week later????
I am in total shock. It does not seem possible.

Reply to this Message

J - 09 Dec 2004 22:43 GMT

> I am at a loss as to explain.....
> A friend of mine, 31, has just died a week after being diagfnosed with
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> for Christmas, and be dead a week later????
> I am in total shock. It does not seem possible.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. My mother died 5 weeks after her
diagnosis of lung cancer.
The symptoms are probably similar (asthma and lung cancer).
My friend has asthma and at times has exacerbations and has inhaler
adjustments, so that's not unusual.

It sounds like he had a fast-moving cancer.
One cannot possibly have a chest xray or ct-scan every month, at what appears
to be an exacerbation of asthma.

Metastatic spread to the heart has been identified in approximately one-fifth
of all patients who have metastatic cancer with lung carcinoma being the most
common primary tumor. Symptoms of cardiac metastases vary. I don't know if his
heart also had cancer. The answers probably lie in the biopsy and staging and
autopsy, if applicable, but here's just one possibility of heart involvement
http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/supportive_treatment.aspx?id=23136 (which,
by the way, is very similar to signs and symptoms of lung cancer).

Unfortunate circumstance. Condoleances to all friends and family.
J

Reply to this Message

Dushichka - 09 Dec 2004 23:38 GMT

> I'm sorry to hear about your friend. My mother died 5 weeks after her
> diagnosis of lung cancer.

Sorry to hear that -very fast.

> It sounds like he had a fast-moving cancer.
> One cannot possibly have a chest xray or ct-scan every month, at what appears
> to be an exacerbation of asthma.

No of course not- but how can it be just a small spot and a week later have
invaded the whole body?

> Unfortunate circumstance. Condoleances to all friends and family.
> J

Thank you so much.

Reply to this Message

madiba - 11 Dec 2004 12:35 GMT

> A week ago he felt no better so he went to hospital where they did a chest
> xray. Found a spot in the lung so did a full body CT scan, found cancer
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Apparently he was full of cancer, in the xray or scan his heart wasn't even
> visible, just a mass of white.

The heart is usually 'white' on a chest xray.

> How is it possible for a cancer to replicate and spread so quickly?
> How is it you can be told you have cancer on Wednesday and you'll be home
> for Christmas, and be dead a week later????
> I am in total shock. It does not seem possible.

It isnt, normally. Either the doctors were downplaying the seriousness
of his condition and pushing up his chances of cure, (he had metastatic
lung cancer before treatment started) maybe to persuade him to have
chemo, or there was a problem with the chemo.

Signature

madiba

Reply to this Message

Sandy Halliday - 12 Dec 2004 21:44 GMT

That must have been a terrible shock for you but this man was obviously not
fit and healthy. Many people have symptoms which they ignore not really
knowing what it feels like to be truly fit and healthy. The fact that he
suffered from asthma even if it was occasional meant that he was not fit and
healthy. He must have had other symptoms like lack of energy. Some people do
not always say how they truly feel.

Some lung cancers do spread quite quickly but it probably started started
years ago and gradually took over his body. The chemo probably killed him in
the end. The statistics for success with chemo for lung cancer is not good.
His liver probably could not take it. The clues were there but he did not
acknowledge them.
so sorry for your loss. Cancer is a terrible thing. We must all take this
seriously and do all we can to prevent it happening to us. Its hard work
staying well.
Sandy

Reply to this Message

Howian - 24 Dec 2004 14:52 GMT

Small cell lung cancer spreads quickly. Given that this apparently was
exentisve small cell lung cancer, no doctor would tell him a 95% chance of
recovery- perhaps a 95% chance of a response from the chemotherapy.

>Subject: Re: Dead a week after diagnosis
>From: "Sandy Halliday" sandy.halliday@ntlworld.com
[quoted text clipped - 38 lines]
>> for Christmas, and be dead a week later????
>> I am in total shock. It does not seem possible.

Reply to this Message