Please can anyone explain the possible outcomes of DVT and nodules on the lung to me?

[Wisteria]

DP's dad has just been rushed into A&E with the above presenting.
He's been getting more ad more confused and poorly since Christmas and they have finally diagnosed the above and sent him straight to A&E.

It is sounding none too good to me but if anyone can let me know the probable prognosis I'd be grateful as I would like to be prepared for the fallout when DP gets back.

bump - sorry, getting worried and can't decide from internet health pages

Sorry to hear about your father-in-law, it's hard to give a good idea. But if it is a DVT then the lungs bits could be bits of clot shot up in the lungs. If he responds well to anti clotting medicine then hopefully he will recover. The question is tho why he has got a DVT, and the other option is that he has got something serious like cancer that caused the DVT and then things are much worse.
I don't mean to scare you but looking at your post you have considered that. Hope you get to know more soon.

thank you so much for replying, feeling pretty helpless - yes I was thinking along the same lines actually. You won't upset me, I err on the side of cynical realism where parents are concerned unfortunately but dp is gutted and I want to know what I'm dealing with before he gets back from the hospital.

He seems to have lost his short term memory quite dramatically (almost overnight) and is crying a lot, very uncoordinated and shaky.
Would it be possible for this to have caused mini strokes? He seems to be having blackouts.

I don't think so.. the blood goes from the DVT in lungs and clots normally stick there. To get to the brain the blood clots are normally formed in the heart and then shoot up in brain.
But if he has had a lot of small clots in the lungs from the DVT then there is less oxygen in the blood and that can make him confused. If that's the cause then that should get better once clots dissolved.
Any illness (even chest infection) can make especially older person quite quickly confised and unsteady.

thank you; he's only 62 though , I think it started with a chest infection oddly enough though - hopefully they'll warfarin him up and he'll be fine for a few years yet

Hope so too! Good luck.

My gran had a DVT that went to her lungs, she recovered very well from that, had heparin and fluids on a drip, then got sent home with warfarin to take regularly. She was probably in hospital less than a fortnight IIRC. I hope that DP's dad makes a good recovery.

thanks TC - do like your name it sounds like my house due to my increasing MN addiction

They're doing a biopsy on his liver today - suspected cancer , have found nodules on lungs, liver, pancreas etc.

I know it might come back clear but there seems to be so many different presenting issues that I am finding it hard to be optimistic (although am pretending to be for dp's sake).

I've been here before with my mum and so am bracing myself for the worst.

I get very despondent about all the healthy eating and anti-vice advice bandied about to be honest. The last few people I know who've succumbed to this silent killer led exemplary lives with healthy diets and very little if any alcohol or tobacco in their lives.

sorry to hear that it doesn't seem to be a straightforward DVT. Hope that it turns out not to be cancer.

update - duty doc said today that they have found tissue mass and 'tumours' although yesterday they called them 'nodules' on liver, lung, pancreas, in neck and are waiting further info.

Rescheduled biopsy for tomorrow as they wanted to check which nodules the specialist thinks are best to take from.

DP just got back absolutely shattered and devastated...., am going to go and administer beer and hugs as he looks drained.

I HATE this fucking disease (if it is cancer which I know it might not be but it's not looking hopeful is it?).

Is liver cancer the one which there's basically no hope for? I'm thinking so but would appreciate any further knowledge - I only have terminal cases of cancer to refer to unfortunately

Sorry to hear that the worry continues for you all. I know very little about cancer, so really don't know about liver cancer.

Sorry to hear that the worry continues for you all. I know very little about cancer, so really don't know about liver cancer.