mbailey1961
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My Father is having difficulty breathing and is not hungry , has lost weight. He had fluid around
One of his lungs . The doctor drained over 2 liters from the lungs and there is still more
They are sending the fluid off to be tested it was blood red . My Father is 73 years old been
Smoking since he was 13 years 2 to 3 packs a day . He
Can't remember what was said to him and the dr office is closed for weekend and of course
We his children are worried. I have read with the fluid being the deep red is not a good sign
I just need know why there would be fluid and why red ? Is this curable ? So hoping for
Helpful answers please . Thank you so much .
Forums
Reply # - April 16, 2016, 07:15 PM
Hello mbailey,
Hello mbailey,
Welcome to GRACE. I am sorry to hear of your father's troublesome symptoms and the finding of a pleural effusion (fluid around the lung). Although your father's smoking history and loss of weight are concerning for lung cancer, pleural effusions can have other causes. As Dr. West has said "Not all pleural effusions in the world are from cancer, and in fact, it’s probably just under half, with the balance being from infections and inflammatory reactions." - http://cancergrace.org/lung/2007/03/17/intro-to-pleural-effusions/
Many of us with personal experience with lung cancer understand just how frustrating and nerve-wracking it can be to wait for test results, but at this point there's not much else you can do. I hope that your father's breathing will improve now that a large amount of the fluid has been drained (it can take a few days for that to happen), and that you get reassuring results from his doctor.
Please let us know what you find out.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - April 16, 2016, 08:00 PM
mbailey,
mbailey,
I just wanted to say HI and say I agree with Jim that it's difficult understand how frustrating and nerve-wracking this is. I hope it's not cancer but instead an infection or inflammation.
Best of luck,
Janine