Dad lying about having cancer?

I’m sorry I’ve posted after you not seeing the update.

How stressful and horrendous, I’m so glad the pup is ok, wishing your friend all the best.

He would have to have had a CT scan, followed by a pet scan and then a biopsy. A blood test would definitely not confirm lung cancer. I wish it had been that simple!! Your father seems to have other complex issues but of course it may be true if he has had all the mentioned tests. If his alcoholism is beyond him being able to function then I seriously doubt he was capable to keep appointments etc. I hope he is lying in a way and I hope he gets better soon regardless. 🙏

(I’m talking about a stage 2 cancer here; advanced inoperable lung cancer may be diagnosed on the clinical picture alone if people are too ill to withstand invasive investigations or treatment.)

I was a lung cancer nurse specialist, and there was no “blood test for lung cancer” although certain abnormalities e.g a low sodium or high calcium might indicate a problem. A CT scan may be SUGGESTIVE of lung cancer, but a biopsy via bronchoscopy or a CT or ultrasound-guided biopsy is needed to confirm any diagnosis.

Stage 2 cancer would only be diagnosed after all investigations were complete, and treatment would usually be surgery or radical radiotherapy, +/- adjuvant chemotherapy, with curative intent. If someone had negative results apart from an abnormal chest x-ray or CT scan, they’d usually have repeated investigations at 6-weekly to 3-monthly intervals.

He may have been told he has an abnormality that might be cancer, but without a biopsy the diagnosis cannot be made.

I was diagnosed with lung cancer in Dec 2017.
Prior to diagnosis, I had 2 X-rays 6 weeks apart, CT scan, scan with contrast, MRI, a Bronchoscopy and a biopsy. I received dozens of letters from the hospital as I was cc'd in to letters to my GP. (this may have changed since covid).
On being given the diagnosis, there was a specialist cancer nurse present and she gave me loads of leaflets and was my point of contact.
I had an operation to remove the effected lobe of my lung and I was fortunate it hadn't spread, so no chemo or PICC lines etc.
I think he's lying OP.

Get him to post on the MN Life-limiting Illnesses board and Reddit will tell us if he’s really sick within ten minutes.

Sorry, being facetious but I think your friend has every right to be suspicious.

My husband is on his 3rd lot of cancer and he's never had a PICC line inserted. First two times he had the drugs delivered by a needle in his arm or hand and this time he's having chemo tablets.

None of the times did he get results and diagnosis this quickly.

When I have a blood test it takes 8 days before I can ring for results.

My Gran did this. She told everyone she had blood cancer and was dieing. It was so weird. She had form for being very manipulative and controlling and a lot of mystery illnesses.

Even weirder 18 months later she found a lump, knew it was cancer, and did nothing about it.

@saraclara I'm so sorry, it's hard enough to watch someone suffer but knowing there wasn't a lot of hope for your DH must have been very, very hard

Lying about health conditions is drf something people do. My db's ex lied about all sorts of stuff - from miscarriage, to MS, level 4 cancers and lots in between. Sadly she died very young ironically from something that was self inflicted but treatable.

My family member had a ‘recurrent chest infection’ for 2 years, always getting prescribed antibiotics. By the time anyone cared to do anything else for him, he was down to 6 stone and the doctor at the hospital took my mum into a different room, told her he was dying and had 6 weeks at the most left to live. They wouldn’t even tell him themselves, they got my mum to do it! He was in the car after the appointment and said to us ‘maybe I’ll get some better tablets now and finally get better’ and she had to tell him that wasn’t the case.
What followed was a living hell that I could fill a full thread talking about.

That was 20 years ago and I know things improve but surely not enough to be diagnosed by a blood test over a bloody weekend!

I hope it isn’t lung cancer because it was horrific to watch it consume our beloved family member, I’ve missed him every day of those 20 years! And I will never forget the way he was left to suffer.

To lie about something like that, you have to be one very sick in the head individual and I wouldn’t be talking to anyone who could do that ever again if that’s found out to be the case.

@Daleksatemyshed , sorry for my last post having nothing but your name, tablet went a bit funny and I pressed post while mashing at a frozen screen lol!

I just wanted to back up saraclara, my chemo place isn't keen on PICCs unless they have to be done because your veins are giving up. I think it's because of the constant infection risk?

Honestly OP, if your reaction to someone saying they have cancer is to question it, does it really matter? Even if they were sick, you don't want someone like that in your life at all.

As for figuring out fakers, easy - cancer takes over your life. Steroid tablets, sharps bin, cancer keyworker/emergency cancer treatment line cards on the fridge, so many effing side effects leaflets! If he hasn't ANY of these to show you in a few weeks then it's pretty doubtful.

Vagueness or getting details muddled I wouldn't necessarily take as a sign of lying. A lot of cancer patients get so emotional during initial appointments that it's often advised to bring along someone else to ask questions/remember things, and some avoid going over the leaflets etc to try and forget about it I think.

Oh don’t get me wrong, I know the NHS can move fast under certain circumstances. I’m glad they did for your dp x

I had suspected lung cancer and had two X rays, a CT, blood tests and a PET scan before they told me verbally they were 75% sure I had lung cancer. I didn’t receive any letters initially as things were moving at a pace. It turned out after a surgical biopsy that I didn’t have lung cancer but another cancer which again I was told verbally. It took awhile for the letters to catch up. But given your friends dads history he could be lying.

I wish he had had one, to be honest. Not all the chemo nurses got the needle in first time, and it added to his stress.
I'm afraid that he didn't recover, but that was always going to be the case, sadly, as he was at an advanced Stage 4 when diagnosed. The palliative chemo gave him an extra (and very surprising!)18 months of good quality life though, and my DDs and I will always be grateful for that.

@Daleksatemyshed@Daleksatemyshed

Some blood tests done on a Friday would have the results through the next day, but none of them would be diagnostic of any cancer. Lung cancer is almost invariably first considered after a chest X-ray, which then leads to an MRI/CT scan, and sometimes a bronchoscopy and biopsy. Even on a rapid pathway it would take an absolute minimum of a week for a diagnosis.
Hes lying.

This! What a joke.

@saraclara well they say you live and learn, I had a pic line and so has everyone else I've known who had cancer so I thought it was the same for everyone. I hope your DH made a full recovery

Hiya,
Not sure about other tests available but my Dad had to have a biopsy and was told 2 weeks later it was cancer.

I'm meeting a friend tomorrow who was put on the fast track pathway for suspected lung cancer. She had a scan two weeks ago, but has to wait another two weeks before she gets the results of her various tests.