Death following cancer

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P T - 12 Mar 2005 04:41 GMT

A friend asked about his buddy who died from cancer while still seeming
rather healthy.

His buddy had lung cancer which metastasised to his brain. He was in his
mid 40s. He had been in a hospice for a few weeks. My friend saw him one
day; they ate together, and the patient reportedly had a good appetite
and enjoyed his meal. He reportedly did not look bad. My friend
suggested they meet again in 2 weeks for a malt. My friend was surprised
when he learned the man died two days later.

My friend asked why the patient might have died so abruptly, while
appearing relatively well? (My friend rejects the possibility that the
death may have been hastened passively or actively since he was a
Catholic priest.)

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Jeff - 12 Mar 2005 13:55 GMT

>A friend asked about his buddy who died from cancer while still seeming
> rather healthy.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> death may have been hastened passively or actively since he was a
> Catholic priest.)

Sorry to hear about your friend.

People in their 40s do die suddenly, from things like heart attacks,
strokes, getting hit by buses or bullets. He could have had oen of these,
without regard to the stroke.

People who have cancer often have bleeding or clotting problems. These could
have cause a massive stroke or brain hemmorhage or heart attack. The lung
cancer could have weakended blood vessels in the chest or elsewhere, cause
massive bleeding.

Because the cancer had spread to his brain, he could have had increased
intacranial pressure, which caused his braimstem to go into the vetrebral
canal (herniation), which causes sudden death. He could have had seizures,
which is not that uncommon in people who have cancer that spread to the
brain (although they are rarely fatal).

He could have an infection (including pneumonia) from chemotherapy or a side
effect of his treatment.

Jeff

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