My dad is 72 and had stage 1A lung cancer "cured" by lobectomy. In May he was short of breath and had a ct scan that was clear. In July a ct showed fluid. They gave him antibiotics and hoped it would clear. One month later it was worse so today they drained it expecting infection. They found cancer on the outer lung and chest cavity. They said the good lung was not expanding enough to put in talc but hoped it would so they could do it tomorrow. If not a permanent cathader. They said oncology would see him tomorrow to discuss treatment options. They said it was not curable but did not give a stage or prognosis, but their demeanor was not at all upbeat. This is a good cancer center in St. Louis. This is all hard to process because my dad was in very good shape until recently. My questions are these:
1. Does this sound like a late stage or might it be treatable with chemo?
2. Will the fluid stop if the chemo is successful?
3. I feel terribly guilty because I chose the doctor....is this something that sounds like it should
have been caught? The doctor said this type doesn't show on scans. Is the good lung not
expanding because they let the fluid go too long?