1. < Lung Cancer

Fluid build up in the lung cavity

Posted by tedvoelker @tedvoelker, Feb 28 9:38am

February 2024 I was diagnosed with stage four non small cell lung cancer that metastasized into my right femur and left frontal lobe. After 2 months of Osimertinib my frontal lobe tumour had disappeared and one of three tumours in my right lung had also disappeared. My radiation was moved up a month as my tumour in my right femur had doubled in size. October 2024 brief stay in hospital was treated as an infection. Since November I started thoracentesis but after the first one had a trapped lung. Spent 19 days in the hospital and over 5 litres removed. Now I get a weekly thoracentesis to drain fluid which has been as little as 350 ml to 1.1 litres. They don’t know why the fluid continues to accumulate. I getting frustrated after 13 thoracentesis, does anyone out there understand what causing this and can I expect this to end in the future. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Ted

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mally007 | @mally007 | Mar 11 8:18am
In reply to @sharilynn "Lisa, they did put in a permanent drain and we were all prepared to come home..." + (show)
@sharilynn

Lisa, they did put in a permanent drain and we were all prepared to come home and deal with it every few days as needed. To keep him comfortable. Sadly, shortly afterward, he developed other complications and went quickly downhill. We lost my beloved late Friday and he never came home. We hadn’t even gotten to the point of an end of life discussion he had been so optimistic. We were very unprepared. My advice to anyone at this stage though, would be, don’t put off those conversations with your family. Prayers, Shari

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Heartfelt sympathies to you and your family. Prayers and hugs to you all.

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Mentor
Lisa, Volunteer Mentor | @lls8000 | Mar 11 12:48pm
In reply to @sharilynn "Lisa, they did put in a permanent drain and we were all prepared to come home..." + (show)
@sharilynn

Lisa, they did put in a permanent drain and we were all prepared to come home and deal with it every few days as needed. To keep him comfortable. Sadly, shortly afterward, he developed other complications and went quickly downhill. We lost my beloved late Friday and he never came home. We hadn’t even gotten to the point of an end of life discussion he had been so optimistic. We were very unprepared. My advice to anyone at this stage though, would be, don’t put off those conversations with your family. Prayers, Shari

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Shari, @sharilynn , I'm so sorry to hear this. Cancer takes far too many of those that we love. I'm sure the love that you shared was very special, and he was fortunate to have you by his side.
No rush, but when you are ready, there is a loss and grief group on Mayo Connect that you may find helpful. Take care of yourself.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/loss-grief/

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