Should I Be Concerned About Cancer ? Posted: 05-29-07 18:04pm
Hello. My mother is 51 years old, and has
been diagnosed with Idiopathic pulmonary
fibrosis (bilateral) since 1994.
Obviously, her disease has progressed, and
her lungs are really bad. She sits at 92
02 sat on 8 liters and is no longer
ambulatory. Usually, when my mother
presents with new symptoms, they are
attributed to this illness. In March, my
mother was admitted to the hospital for
pulmonary edema. While there, she
contracted pseudomonas aeruganosa in her
lungs. They treated her and nearly a
month later, she was released. Upon
admission, she was 236 pounds--granted
they got alot of fluid off with lasix, but
she left there weighing 219. She was
released on March 19. There have been
prior hospilizations--one for a "rectus
sheath hematoma", which has led to chronic
internal bleeding.
More troubling is that today, her weight
is at 192 pounds. She is immobile for the
most part. She is in constant pain. She
vomits nearly every day now, despite not
eating much. She has black stools, but
they are not tarry or oily. She is
sleeping about 18 hours a day. She is
very pale, and yet, her RBC doesn't
currently show anemia, though she has had
that at various times. She has no
appetite, and her urine output is scant,
and varies in color from golden to a light
brown color, though the clarity is clear.
I am just wondering if I should push
having cancer screenings done? I am most
curious about Stomach, bone or pancreatic
cancers. I realize that a treatment is
likely futile, however it would aid me in
knowing what to do for her to keep her
comfortable. Any advice given would be
helpful. Thank you.
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