Mesothelioma

[DressDownFriday]

My FIL is currently undergoing treatment for Mesothelioma - caused by working with asbestos many years ago.

He is 70 years old and was diagnosed 12 months ago. He has undergone Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy. He recently had an operation to remove some of the tumour from the lining of his lung. He had a chest drain in for 4/5 weeks after the operation.

He is still in extreme pain and has been told by his consultant that this is to be expected after such an operation.

Has anyone had any experience/know anyone that has this condition? What did you/they go through? Life expentancy? (I can appreciate that not everyone is the same and outcomes etc will vary from person to person)

I'm not sure really what I'm expecting in way of replies but I'm interested in other people's stories - good or bad.

Sorry to hear about your FIL.

Have you spoken with the oncologist regarding his condition and prognosis?
They would be the best people to advise you. Life expectancy is dependant on so many things such as stage of cancer, if/where it has spread, response to chemo, tumour location etc.

Is it post operative pain he is experiencing? This can take a surprisingly long time to go after thoracic and a recovery time of 8-12 weeks is not unusual. I'm guessing he is at home. What pain relief is he taking?

Hi. thanks for the reply.
He is due to see his consultant next week and hopefully dh will also attend and ask all the questions. Not sure whether fil doesn't want to know or if he is afraid to ask so we are left in the dark.
He is taking morphine for the pain.
Fil was not aware of the recovery time for the op and was therefore worried about the pain he is in. It was only this week, 7/8 weeks after the op, that he was told the pain is expected.
He had been having annual checks as he was aware he was at risk of this condition do hopefully it has been caught early.