Should we be worried?

[Dav87]

My father-in-law has been to the doctors, coughing and wheezing, chest pain and weight loss. The doctors have given him antibiotics and steroids today, but have ordered emergency bloods tomorrow and also referred him to the hospital for a chest x-ray. Does this sound like they are worried it’s something serious? He’s a smoker and has been losing weight for a few months. He has also been off work with chest pain around 3 weeks ago and was sent home from work again this week. Should we be very worried? Are these symptoms of something really bad? Just trying to be realistic and assess the situation for the family. Thanks.

I would say the quick tests mean they want to rule out anything serious. It's impossible to say how likely it is your father-in-law is to be seriously ill, but they will err on the side of caution with symptoms that could point to lung issues.

If he is a long-term smoker, things like colds etc. will 'go to his chest' (I know this as I smoke myself) and take ages to clear up, so it could just be that, but (again, as I know myself) smoking is a risk factor for more serious lung disease, so that's why they will be looking to investigate as a priority.

I hope he's OK .

Thank you so much. He’s had other strange symptoms such as bruising really easily, weakness in his arms, stomach pain. If you go down enough of a rabbit hole online you’ll find all these symptoms point to something serious but I’m not sure if I’m just torturing myself!
I know it’s best to leave it to the professionals but it’s so difficult when you’re so worried.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply x

I know it's hard but try not to spend ages looking up symptoms online - as you say, you're torturing yourself and you can find almost any random symptom can be linked to a random serious illness somewhere on the internet.

The important thing is that his symptoms are being investigated quickly so any treatment needed will soon be on its way.

Unexplained weight loss is something that should always be investigated, so it is right they are doing so. It could be nothing, or something easily treatable or something more serious.