Can we catch a break PLEASE??

[camiboxer]

I went with my dad to his hemo/onco appt last week. Doc says that whatever dad is doing he should keep doing. Numbers holding and he feels good, looks good, high spirits, etc….
Dad takes the blood test results to the VA so that he can get his various meds (Plavix, Zocor, etc..).
They ask him how he is feeling (they don’t do anything for his MDS).
He tells them that he is feeling well but that he seems to be SHRINKING.
Dad was never tall to begin with…5’7-ish.
After his quadruple by-pass in 2000 we noticed that he seemed to slouch a bit while sitting and he was told to make sure he sat up as straight as possible since the incision would heal a certain way, etc…
He said it hurt to stretch it so he got used to slouching.
Anyhow…..
VA takes x-rays to determine if he has osteo.
They found a spot on his lungs. He heads in next for a CAT scan of the lungs and additional testing (blood & bone density).
At this point HE isn’t concerned AT ALL about the spot on the lung since he says “I don’t smoke, don’t have any symptoms”.
I keep trying to explain that one doesn’t need to have been a smoker or a current smoker to get lung cancer.
Part of me wants to crawl in a hole.
The sad thing about this whole thing is that no one ever MEASURED his height to tell him how tall/short he was. I made him do it last night. He stands 5’5-ish now. So perhaps he has lost 2 inches. Getting shorter as one ages is *normal*, especially if one does not exersice and keep those muscles strong and supporting the bones.
It’s natural for the verterbre (sp?) to shorten. He isn’t hunched over, doesn’t have issues with breaking bones.
I guess I am mad that they found the spot and trying to blame them for telling him he MUST have osteo thus needing the x-ray that spotted the mass.
I know it’s no ones fault in my head but my heart wants to put blame somewhere!
I just hope we get good results but I always thought that in order to tell if something was cancerous or not they needed to do a biopsy.
Any thoughts?

[Marcla]

Cami…. I understand your anger with your Dad’s report of a spot on his lung. I had a very similiar situation with my husband who was having short of breath spells. Fearing a heart attack, I took him to the emergency where the admitting doctor did a chest xray which showed a growth in his bronchial area. ( This xray was done after Jim had complained for several months of the same symptons to our family doctor and the VA doctor., neither did a chest xray). At that time he was admitted and run through all the tests, including a biopsy of the tumor…
I was very angry at our doctor for not catching this much sooner…. Ironically, five years later, and after my husband’s death in 2002, I still have the same doctor.
I am now dealing with MDS with my companion, Ralph…. he also received a dire prognosis, but fortunately Dacogen treatments have brought his counts up and he is doing very well.
Pray that the spot was detected early enough to give your dad a positive prognosis. I will be thinking of you as you deal with another problem. Sometimes everything seems to pile up at once … right now, think positive and (I dislike this expression, but it’s true) take it one day at a time. May God be with you and help you through the coming weeks…. Marla

[camiboxer]

Marla,
Thanks so much for your positive thoughts and prayers. It really does help. I suppose I just needed to vent. I’m hoping that his spot is nothing so that we can continue to focus on his heart issues, including pacemaker that will need replaced soon and this darn MDS.
Thanks again.

[camiboxer]

***UPDATE***
Dad had his scan this week in an attempt to find out more about the spot on one of his lungs.
They said it was “nothing abnormal”…..a spot on the lung IS abnormal if you ask me but I digress.
This was through the VA and forgive me anyone who receives care via the VA BUT…..
They also did blood work while there and never ONCE made any comments about his numbers. They could have mentioned that things look low, off or whatever but just said everything looked good (his numbers are not “good”).
The whole thing makes me angry. What if he didn’t know he had MDS? Not that the numbers alone would tell anyone that but it should be cause for alarm and talk of investigating what could be causing them would be in order.
I know it’s a moot point since we already know and have known but still….it’s the fact of the matter. Poor health care abounds.
Makes me not trust the findings with the spot on the lung. Angry and confused!!!

[Author]

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