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Suggest Treatment For Fluid In The Lungs In An 87 Year Old
my father is 87 years old. he is very active, on Monday he went to the doctor with difficulty breathing. He was sent for a chest xray. They discovered an area by his lungs. He was sent for a ct scan followed by an appointment with a pulmonologist who stated it is a large area of fluid. Tomorrow morning he is scheduled to have the fluid removed with results given on Friday at the doctor s office. I am an ovarian cancer survivor who fought her way back from 5 surgeries and chemo in 2000 and again in 2004 from 1996-2004. Please tell me this could be something other than cancer. I feel a sense of urgency as the doctor seems to be moving fast and my father worked with asbestos years ago and he was a smoker but quit over 46 years ago
Mon, 4 Apr 2016
Hi & Welcome to HCM.
I appreciate your concern for your beloved father.
From the history given in your query, your father seems to have developed complication due to prolonged exposure to Asbestos.
Prolonged exposure to Asbestos can cause lung tissue scarring & shortness of breath and these symptoms usually don't appear until many years after continued exposure. Since as per the initial chest x-ray & the CT scan have revealed the presence of fluid in the lungs, it could be due to tumor in the lungs. The pleural (lung) fluids should be examined for the cytology and depending upon the diagnosis he needs to take chemotherapy if found to be suffering from cancer. Hope this will help you.
Best regards.
I appreciate your concern for your beloved father.
From the history given in your query, your father seems to have developed complication due to prolonged exposure to Asbestos.
Prolonged exposure to Asbestos can cause lung tissue scarring & shortness of breath and these symptoms usually don't appear until many years after continued exposure. Since as per the initial chest x-ray & the CT scan have revealed the presence of fluid in the lungs, it could be due to tumor in the lungs. The pleural (lung) fluids should be examined for the cytology and depending upon the diagnosis he needs to take chemotherapy if found to be suffering from cancer. Hope this will help you.
Best regards.
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