Lung cancer along with serious health issues: Treatment options?

I think you may want to get a second opinion. We’re they able to get any biopsy results? Seems like you should know more about the mass.

I agree with Mistyl. Plus having COPD does not mean there are no treatment options. It just means that surgery is not an option they want to go with. I would ask not only about the biopsy results but ask if they did genetic testing on the biopsy material. That will give additional important information for possible treatment options.

Maybe also ask if pulmonary rehab would help get you strong enough for treatment and if so, ask to be referred for that. There are online options if you don't have a good program near you.

My 81 year old husband has had lung cancer for twelve years. During his last CT scan, he noticed that the medication they give him internally felt different than it had in the past. Plus, they stopped the scan short of what it usually took. Since then, my husband has experienced memory problems. He's never had any memory problem before with any treatment even chemotherapy. He see's his doctor in a few weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how this memory issue should be handled? Could it be the same thing as the "Brain Fog" that I've read about on here with cancer treatments? Your advice and prayers are greatly appreciated!
PML

Hi @jamie69, I want to add my welcome and hope that you saw the helpful replies from @bpb and @mistyl

Lung cancer in the early stages may not cause any signs or symptoms. I agree with the others that getting a second opinion would be a wise idea if this is possible. Keep asking questions of your doctors to understand.

@pml, this must be confusing for both you and your husband. Some medications can effect memory and cause cognitive issues. What medication is he taking? I would certainly make his doctor aware of this issue at your upcoming appointment. You might also wish to talk to a pharmacist.

Hi Colleen!
Thank you for the suggestion of talking to the pharmacist! I hadn't thought of that. We are seeing my husband's doctor purposely to mention the memory problem. My husband is on a lot of different medications and has been on them for a long time. However, the memory problem started after he had a CT scan. This had never occurred before when he had CT scans and he's had a lot of them. He's had lung cancer for 12 years and is doing very well at this time. Except for his memory problems, he feels great. I will let you know what we find out.
PML

Hi Colleen!
My husband saw his primary care doctor this week regarding his new memory problem as a result of the CT Scan medicine. The doctor was concerned and also interested in a "home remedy" that we are trying to see if it improves my husband's memory. There is an over the counter medicine for improving memory that includes water, electrolytes and a lot of preservatives. We didn't care for the idea of the preservatives in it so we decided to mainly have my husband drink a lot of water and drink Gatorade which helps your electrolytes. I should also mention that we live in Edmonds WA and the water is directly from a mountain stream and very fresh and good tasting. By consuming these two items and prayers, my husband's memory is beginning to slowly improve! The doctor wants to give it two months and see him then.
PML

That sounds promising @pml. Keep me posted.

Hi jamie- I hope that you don't mind me stepping in here, a bit late. I've been a lung cancer survivor for 25 years and I understand having a lot of CTs. Just in the last couple of years, I've needed to use an anti-nausea med. But that's not a biggie.

It's so strange that someone can be stable for a long time on meds and scans and treatments and then, bam, something very weird happens to make you sit up and say, "What is this?"

I totally agree with Colleen's recommendation of speaking with his pharmacist! I relay heavily on mine.

What is the home remedy that he suggested? I'm being nosy so if you don't want to answer that's fine.

I wish you luck with this. I hope that you will let me know even if you don't tell me what the home remedy is.

Merry

Hi Merry!
First of all, I'm PML not Jamie. But that's OK. I can see where that could be confusing since Colleen mentioned both Jamie and PML in the same comment.

That's great that you have had lung cancer for 25 years and are doing well! My husband has had lung cancer for 12 years. Except for this current memory problem due to the CT Scan medicine, he has been doing very well also.

The home remedy is my idea, not the doctor's. But he thought it was a good idea. I don't mind sharing it at all. I found some over the counter medicine that was supposed to help your memory. But when I read the ingredients it had a lot of preservatives in it. My husband and I decided we didn't want the preservatives but the other ingredients were water and something that helped your electrolytes. We drink Gatorade and that helps your electrolytes and we live in Edmonds WA which has the best tasting water since it comes from a fresh mountain stream. So it just seemed natural for Ed to drink a lot of water and also some Gatorade daily. (I drink it too.) It seems to be working. Between that and prayers, Ed's memory is starting to improve!
PML

I'm sorry for the confusion. How is Ed now?