Dad has lost weight quickly and is breathless, feeling very worried

[OneUmberCrab]

I am 39 years old years, my dad is 81 years and has lost of weight over the last two month, nearly two stones. He is breathless and lacks energy. My cousin says he has the same symptoms as her dad who died of pancreatic cancer. I don’t want to lose my dad

Not sure why you’re posting here, as without doubt your dad needs to see a GP as soon as possible. Losing weight quickly without trying to do so is a red flag, and breathlessness needs to be checked out too. Please phone your GP for an urgent appt on Monday morning. Wishing you and your dad well

That sounds worrying. If you don’t want to lose your dad before time get him to the GP asap.

Get your dDad to his GP. Losing weight rapidly without trying is not a good sign. If he doesn't want to eatuch you can get prescribed high calorie drinks he could sip.

How breathless is he right now? He may need immediate medical attention.

https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/shortness-of-breath/

If he doesn’t need A and E now he needs an emergency GP appointment on Monday.

With the best will in the world, unless he goes to the GP there's nothing you can do. Persuade him to go. At 81 this is very worrying. He may be ill. He may be forgetting to eat which can be a sign of dementia. Can he afford to eat properly? The price of food has skyrocketed and anyone on a limited budget could well be struggling to buy enough food to sustain them. Both my parents are in their 80s and there's always something. They're still going and in reasonable health - living independently with relatively little outside help. For the second weekend I have made a 50 mile round trip to sort out something at their house because they just can't do it themselves. My mother's had a heart op recently so can't drive which is limiting them as she is the driver.

I’m so sorry @OneUmberCrab, what an awful situation for you to be in. Does your DF want to speak to a GP? Have you offered to go with him?

He needs to see a GP asap.

Yes, he absolutely needs to be seen. Not necessarily pancreatic cancer, but could be a lot of things. My dad was the same (though at 55). He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, offered palliative treatment and died 3 weeks later. I would take him to the GP or if you can’t get a GP appointment, I’d go to A&E on Monday.

He has the same symptoms of many many illnesses so I’m not sure why you have jumped to pancreatic cancer. He obviously needs to see a doctor asap, so call 111?

OP, it can be helpful to jot down a list of his symptoms to ensure the doctor has a full picture and nothing gets forgotten. Keep posting here if it helps you. Wishing you and your Dad all the best.

Exactly this.

There are a number of things it could be but being seen asap by his GP is the next step. I’d make sure to stress the unexplained weight loss alongside the breathlessness so it can be an urgent appt.

Honestly, I would go to A&E now. My DH had been getting breathless and a slightly tight chest which increased last weekend. We phoned for a GP appointment on Monday morning and were told to go to A&E which we did although we thought it was a bit extreme. To cut a long story short his blood counts were awful and he was admitted to hospital. On Wednesday he had a bone marrow biopsy and the preliminary results have sadly given us a devastating diagnosis. This is a relatively healthy man in his 60s who was working full time in a physical job the week before.

I would not leave the GP without a full blood count being done, OP. Hopefully it's nothing sinister but better to know

You need to get your dad to the GP as soon as possible. Weight loss and breathlessness are both serious symptoms at his age. I know it's scary but don't put it off. Better to know what you're dealing with. Sending hugs 🫂

Most gps do not have the facility to run these on site so best would be a blood test sent off and results a couple of days later.

If he’s breathless look for an out of hours service, we have one attached to a&e.