Hospital results - scared

[AndNoneForGretchenWieners]

DH was hospitalised in July with pneumonia. He has had it before 10 years ago but wasn't admitted as an inpatient on that occasion. This time, he was in for nearly a week, and they tried three different types of antibiotics before they found one that attacked his fever and brought his temperature down. He was discharged, but within a fortnight was back on another course of antibiotics from his GP because he got a chest infection.

He is 60, and has smoked since he was 9. He stopped smoking after he left the hospital and has been cigarette free for 6 weeks.

He was sent for a CT scan which he had last week. Now he has had a letter from the consultant saying that "unfortunately there are unexpected findings on th results and they will be in contact to arrange an appointment very shortly to discuss next steps." They have cancelled the appointment he had booked at the end of this month.

I'm really worried that it's something serious, if it was emphysema or chronic bronchitis, they would have just waited until his appointment surely, rather than sending this letter? The letter invites him to phone the consultant if he's got questions, but I can't convince him to do that, and he's told me to stop.worrying and that it won't make whatever it is go away if I get stressed. I just can't help it. His younger brother has had emphysema for 5 years, so.i think he's being a bit blasé.

Are there any medical.folks that can put my mind at rest about the language in the letter? Could it just be something like emphysema? Or is it likely to be something more serious?

I am not a medical person but I really feel for you. The wording would scare me. I would ring, I could not wait with that on my mind.

I would really ring too, otherwise you will worry all weekend.

I've just rung. The secretary was really helpful and asked him to come in today at 4, but unfortunately he is on nights and couldn't get cover so has arranged to go in the start of October. Apparently the consultant he is seeing asked to have him transferred onto her caseload after his CT scan results came through. I did the worst thing though and googled her - she's a lung cancer specialist. I haven't told DH. He is convinced it's just chemicals on his lung from when he worked in a paint factory, but he left there 17 years ago so I'm sceptical. The secretary wouldnt tell us on the phone what was in the results. She said it's better if the doctor explains it.

Oh hon that is a hard thing to have hanging over you. Sending a huge hug of support. Hope it is not as bad as you fear x

for you, that must be such a shock & very unexpected.

It sounds like a suspicious lesion & further investigations are required; it's not a diagnosis at this stage.

What do you think you'll tell your DH?

Thanks everyone for your support. I don't know what to tell him, I suspect he is thinking the same as me but doesn't want to voice it - he told me recently that on the day he was admitted to Hospital, he thought he was dying.

moreprosecco what is a suspicious lesion?

I'm worried about how we will tell DSS and DS if it is serious. DS is only 17 and I know he is worried already. DSS is much older, but is likely to be as gutted because DH brought him up alone from a baby.

If it's lung cancer don't wait until October for appointment - he should have cancelled his work and gone today. Id ring back and push for an earlier appointment even if it's a short notice cancellation.

I'm sorry - it does sound bad. Smoking is an awful habit and he knows exactly what he's facing he just can't bring himself to face it so is trying to put his head in the sand for a bit - who can blame him. Let him but by god push for all medical care you can asap.

I agree with applesandpears - I wouldn't wait either.

My aunt was recently diagnosed with small cell lung cancer and she was out on treatment really quickly- time was of the essence. She's responding really well to treatment but I've never seen doctors move so fast. Hopefully that's not what your hisband has but I wouldn't delay.

Try not to delay. Seriously. Just in case. Specislist would maybe not try and transfer him to her service if it was cut and dried though? Lots of hope that that is the way.....

My dad suggested I phone next week and see if there's an earlier appointment. It's been complicated by the hospital booking centre cocking up - the appointment he had at the end of the month should have been brought forward but they just cancelled the existing one without rearranging, so now there are no new appointments until December. The one in October is a cancellation, we go on holiday at the end of September so there's a 2 week period there that isn't suitable (already had to cancel July holiday when he was in hospital and it's his birthday treat).

With work, he is in a tricky position. He had a month off sick and is worried that if he takes time off at such short notice he might lose his job, if he had known earlier on he could have arranged something but it was too close to his start time today.

I'm glad your aunt is responding well, Tiggy - it must be so worrying.

apples the smoking is indeed a terrible habit. I've been trying to get him to quit for 18 years, he has tried and failed a few times but this was the shock he needed.

I'm sorry to read this. You must be really worried. I think if they were prepared to see him today, you should ring first thing Monday and see if he can be seen then. I wouldn't wait until October. Work and holidays should not be more important than his health. My fil didn't follow up on problems with his bowel because he was going on holiday in June. By the time he saw a consultant in August, it was too late. That was different to your husband though as fil had bowel cancer that had spread.

I had 'suspicious lesions' on my omentum - the fatty lining round the abdomen. I was being investigated for a huge ovarian cyst. They might have indicated a cancerous spread, but they didn't. After I was transferred to a specialist, and had had an 'inconclusive' biopsy, leading to surgery, I never heard about them again.

While I was recovering in the day-ward from my biopsy, the man in the next bed had had a lung biopsy and the consultant radiologist came round and told him there and then that he thought it was OK.

I know how terrifying this must be for you. But do try to take it a day at a time. Save your worries about how to tell the children till you've got a diagnosis. I was transferred to a gynaeoncologist because you need one to decide what is NOT cancer, as much as if it is. Mine wasn't - and he told me he was pretty sure I was OK as soon as I saw him, before surgery - from the same scan with the 'suspicious lesions' on it.

Yes - definitely get the appointment moved to asap - just to stop the uncertainty and the worrying. I do think that they would be moving a whole lot more quickly if they were really concerned. There's a 2 week target for the 'could be cancer' pathway. But just in case you've fallen into some administrative black hole, I'd ring up the consultant's secretary and try again.

Best wishes to you both. The waiting really is the pits.

Don't wait until the start of October. It may be worth asking the secretary to speak to the consultant about overbooking a clinic.
It is unlikely to be emphysema if they want to see him urgently.

Cancel the holiday and phone every day for an appointment. Please do not delay. He should have cancelled work to take the 4 pm appointment.

My Mum was admitted to hospital and told they thought she had pneumonia, but they would not release her until she had had a scan. After the scan she was told they were 99% certain she had lung cancer but it was possible she could have an operation and be totally cured. She took antibiotics and started to feel a 'tad' better but when she got to see the specialist at Papworth Hospital she was told that the mass had 'shrunk' and cancer was now looking much less likely. In the end, after recovering from the Pneumonia she was fine.

What this tells me is..........there are some forms of lung cancer that must be hard to distinguish from pneumonia and that they can be curable and that it is really difficult to draw any conclusions on the basis of a CT scan. I really would not wait with this though - to bring the appointment forward they must have wanted to see him more urgently than the end of Oct and time really is of the essence with this sort of thing.

I empathise on the employment situation but does he have employment rights? What is his length of service? His health really must come first.

Best wishes to you all.

Thanks all. I am going to try to expedite the appointment for him.

His work situation is complicated. The company he works for is a contractor to a factory that is closing due to insolvency. They currently have three staff working for this contractor, but they aren't a great company and have indicated that his sickness in July was problematic for them and if he has more time off it could be classed as a disciplinary. I'm a union rep and know that he should have no issues, but there is every chance they will fail to follow employment rights and then gamble that he won't take it any further. They would be wrong to assume that, but we don't need the stress of going through all that. Also as he is a lone worker (the three people all do individual shifts, so when he is on days, one is on nights and the other on rest day) it's not as simple as just cancelling work or not turning up.

On the days your husband isn't working could you/he ring the hospital as soon as the lines open and try for any appointments that have come up due to cancellations? I would ring every single day if I had to, I couldn't cope with the wait.

That's what we are going to do. Well I am anyway. He is sticking his head in the sand

Agree with other posters try to get an earlier appointment. My DFIL had lung cancer over 25 years ago, it was operated on and he is still going strong.

I agree with the others - this might turn out to be something very unpleasant or it might not. It is difficult to write a letter that simultaneously tells someone that there is a finding that needs closer attention and that doesn't worry them too much. Scans will often show up something that needs further attention (e.g. another scan or a biopsy) but doesn't mean he is necessarily going to end up with a cancer diagnosis.

I would definitely aim for the earliest possible appointment - if for no other reason than to get some answers / put your mind at rest.

Try not to assume theworst- I know it is hard not to but, as an example, my mum had had breast cancer and had a really bad chest infection and cough. She had smoked for 60 years but had given up 5 years previously. She had an x-ray which showed something, then a CT scan which showed something. I was told they were sure it was a lung cancer. She then had a biopsy a few days later and they said it was nothing, just normal lung tissue which had somehow shown up as concerning on the x ray and scan. It was a terrible week for us of waiting but it was all fine in the end and she responded to antibiotics.

An update, thank you for everyone who commented before, it really helped. We went back today to the consultant and got the news we were dreading - they are fairly sure it's lung cancer. However the good news is they have caught it early, and he will be sent for a PET scan within the next week (maybe even this week if they can sort it) and then a bronchoscopy and biopsy. They will know then if it's treatable, which it could be, and whether it has spread (which hopefully it hasn't).

He is taking it fairly well so far, although he was shaking like a leaf and wouldn't look at the pictures of the scan. We have a dedicated nurse, who is really friendly. They have cleared him for the holiday too, because it will be almost a whole week between the biopsy and the consultants weekly case conference, by which time we will be back.

It's so shit though. I have no idea how I will function at work so I don't know how he will - it just feels like hitting a brick wall. I don't have anyone I can ask for support, because my parents are trying to cope with my little sister who has been sectioned for repeated suicide attempts, so I don't feel I can burden them, and my sister would be who I would go to otherwise and I can't do that obviously. I feel very selfish for worrying about this, it's not me with the cancer.

I'm so sorry to hear this. You did the right thing by getting seen early and hopefully that'll mean positive things when it comes to his treatment.
You will need all the support you can. Enlist friends and use mumsnet. Look after yourself and your oh by eating well and sleeping (even though it is the last thing you will think to be focusing on). Can you afford to go part time for a while at work whilst you go through his treatment?

Im so sorry. Thinking of you and your family. Get friends around you both for practical and emotional support.

Unfortunately I won't be able to go part time, because DH doesn't get paid while he's off sick so we will need all the income we can get. The really pathetic thing is we are both huge introverts so have very few friends, and it has never really been an issue before because we had each other, and that was fine - i find it hard to maintain friendships because I either seem really aloof and disinterested, or go totally the other way and worry I'm too full on - I'm not used to other people really other than at arms length.

We are going out with the boys tomorrow night to talk to them about the next steps, and try to answer their questions. DSS's mum had breast cancer last year so he is familiar with cancer treatments and hers was successfully treated. DS is a lot younger at 17 and in his A Level year, so I'm anticipating him finding it harder to deal with. I might phone his year head and explain the situation in case he starts getting upset at school.