Talc procedure to prevent fluid on the lung

whtnowblonde

Desiree,
I hope your Mom is doing okay. My Mom is still out of town and I can't stop worrying about her every second. She is all the way across the country, so the plane worries me. I talked to my Mom's pulmonary Dr. and she accidentally slipped and told me my Mom's cancer is stage 4. She somehow thought my Mom knew already and had told me. I feel bad now about that. When she gets home she is supposed to have the exact same procedure. In her case, it will be palliative care,because of the stage of her cancer. I hope your news is better. I have read so many articles, but it's not the same as talking to someone who is going through the same thing. Keep hopeful. They still don't even know where her primary site is and that is why it's taking so long to decide on what approach to take as far as treatment is concerned. But, since she has been out of town I guess they have figured it out. I will let you know what happens after the procedure. Her doctor did say it is very painful, so I feel for your Mom. Take care.

restepestep

My mom(she's 80) was just diagnosed with lung cancer. We found out because she had fluid on her lungs. They drained it and 6 days later it came back. They put in the talc and a chest tube for 2 days. The talc seemed to cause her considerable pain for about a week. She took Vicoden for relief. It has now been 3 weeks and the fluid has not come back. She still can't get her energy back, but she doesn't have pain. They put her on Iressa because they thought she was too frail frail for chemo or radiation. Has any one had any experience with Iressa being the first line treatment. Usually they start it after other treatments have not worked?

Desiree Kelsch

My mom has had the procedure and is very tired. Her incisions are healing well so far ( I have to check them because she can't reach-I am glad because otherwise I might not get to see them). She does have pain in the bottom of the lung where the talc is and the skin is a little warmer there. She is taking Loritab for the pain. She is hesitant to see the cancer doctor right now or to do a CEA - cancer blood test. I told her just to get rest and feel better this week that we would worry about everything next week. She is convinced it is the predisone that is causing problems with her breathing but it might be also the pain in the lung. I am going over every day and fixing meals and making sure that she is eating. I know that nutrition is an important part of keeping cancer at bay as well -- getting rid of the free radicals with antioxidants. So we are trying to eat more fruits and veggies with every meal. You might want to look at your loved ones meals as well. A lot of times, with our overly busy lives, we find ourselves eating whatever tastes good at the time.

Good luck each of you with your moms. I know it isn't easy. Today was a better day for me than yesterday. In our family we have adopted the saying of "Take it one day at a time", because it becomes too overwhelming if you look into the future too much. I am lucky that my job allows me to drive my own schedule so over the past year with first, my dad (he died in Nov. of cancer), and then my mom having lung cancer, I have been the primary caregiver. Do you have siblings that can help carry the load? Try not to get resentful if it doesn't seem they're "doing their part". I went through that and what I learned is that everyone handles it different. Some won't come around. My sister did but my brother didn't except to a small degree. Keep hope and talk to God every once in a while or even every day. It helps! In an odd sort of way, my dad's death gave me back my faith I had lost. So take care and know that there are people out there that are going through the same things as you are. I think it helps to talk so keep the posts coming.