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| *Women health>>>Lung Cancer |
What to expect in the final weeks of lung cancer? |
What to expect in the final weeks of lung cancer? You mean to say Terminal Stage of cancer, Poor Prognosis the events are as under: he symptoms of lung cancer depend on its type, its location, and the way it spreads. Usually, the first and most common symptom is a persistent cough. People with chronic bronchitis who develop lung cancer often notice that their coughing becomes worse. If sputum can be coughed up, it may be streaked with blood (called hemoptysis (see Symptoms and Diagnosis of Lung Disorders: Hemoptysis)). If a lung cancer grows into underlying blood vessels, it may cause severe bleeding. Lung cancer may cause wheezing by narrowing the bronchus in or around which it is growing. Blockage of a bronchus may lead to the collapse of the part of the lung that the bronchus supplies, a condition called atelectasis (see Atelectasis). Other consequences of a blocked bronchus are shortness of breath, and pneumonia, with coughing, fever, and chest pain. If the tumor grows into the chest wall, it may produce persistent chest pain. Lung cancer may grow into certain nerves in the neck, causing a droopy eyelid, small pupil, sunken eye, and reduced perspiration on one side of the face鈥攖ogether these symptoms are called Horner's syndrome (see Horner's Syndrome: A Droopy EyeSidebar). Cancers at the top of the lung may grow into the nerves that supply the arm, making the arm painful, numb, and weak鈥攖his condition is called Pancoast syndrome. Nerves to the voice box may also be damaged, making the voice hoarse. This damage happens mainly in people whose cancers involve the left lung. Lung cancer may grow directly into the esophagus, or it may grow near it and put pressure on it, leading to difficulty in swallowing. Occasionally, an abnormal channel (fistula) between the esophagus and bronchi develops because of invasion by the cancer, causing severe coughing during swallowing because food and fluid enter the lungs. A lung cancer may grow into the heart, causing abnormal heart rhythms, blockage of blood flow through the heart, or fluid in the pericardial sac surrounding the heart. The cancer may grow into or compress the superior vena cava (one of the large veins in the chest); this condition is called superior vena cava syndrome. Obstruction of this vein causes blood to back up in other veins of the upper body. The veins in the chest wall enlarge. The face, neck, and upper chest wall鈥攊ncluding the breasts鈥攕well and become tinged with purple. The condition also produces shortness of breath, headache, distorted vision, dizziness, and drowsiness. These symptoms usually worsen when the person bends forward or lies down. Symptoms of lung cancer that usually arise later include loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, and weakness. Fluid accumulations around the lung (pleural effusions (see Pleural Disorders: Pleural Effusion)) occur when the cancer has spread into the pleural space. They can lead to shortness of breath. Severe shortness of breath, low levels of oxygen in the blood, and cor pulmonale (see Cor Pulmonale: A Disorder Stemming From Pulmonary HypertensionSidebar) may develop if cancer spreads within the lungs. Lung cancer may also spread through the bloodstream to the liver, brain, adrenal glands, spinal cord, and bone; less commonly lung cancer may spread to other parts of the body. The spread of lung cancer may occur early in the disease, especially with small cell carcinoma. Symptoms鈥攕uch as headache, confusion, seizures, and bone pain鈥攎ay develop before any lung problems become evident, making an early diagnosis difficult. Paraneoplastic syndromes (see What Are Paraneoplastic Syndromes?Sidebar) consist of effects that are caused by lung cancer but occur far from the lungs, such as in the metabolic system, nerves, and muscles. These syndromes are not related to the size or location of the lung cancer and do not necessarily indicate that the cancer has spread outside the chest; rather, they are caused by substances secreted by the cancer (such as hormones, cytokines, and a variety of other proteins).Its not pretty , if the person remains @ home theirs usually some sort of hospice care that comes in a few times a week to care for them. Also their usually breathing on oxygen. As well as medication for pain.. last March my grandpa died from lung cancer. In the final weeks he deteriorated very quickly. He became immobile, would not eat, stopped talking, so very tired, couldn't breathe. I can't say for sure what he felt, but watching him was something I will never be able to forget. He was suffocating in his own body. He had tried chemo, but it was already in stage IV when they caught the cancer. I believe it was a gift that he went so quickly because he was suffering. I had to say my goodbye to him over the phone while my mom held it up to him. I remember hearing his gasps, my mom said she knew he could understand me and had tears in his eyes. I planned on going home for a long weekend from my college, but was less than a day too late. My mom said she thinks he was no longer really there in his body not soon after I heard him on the phone. I still cry. less than two weeks before he died we swithced to in home hospice care to help with his pain. hospice basically eases the last stages into death as horrible as that sounds. Pain is the big one, the meds won't help everything. Possibly some dementia from the pain and meds. Don't take anything they say personally, it's not the person you remember anymore. The one that got me the worst is it always seems like they are trying to catch their breath, so don't let that freak you out either. Good Luck... My girlfriends mother died from lung cancer and so did my grandfather. My father passed 5 years ago from ms wich was also a long slow terrible experience. In two of the cases the patient ended up "talking" to relatives that had passed several years before. They were,unfortunately, in pretty bad pain, even with the morophine, and also started the terrible "death rattle" a week or so before they actually passed. This is one of the hardest things I think a person ever has to endure...watching someone they love suffer, and not beeing able to do anything aboout it. To be honest, my family got through many long nights, staying up late and telling stories over a few drinks. If you have anything you want to say and or tell your loved one...get itout!!!! |
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