Need Advice on Lung Cancer

[smilenancy01]

Dear Doctor,

My 82 year old grandfather was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. He was smoker for many years and has not smoked for more that 10 years. I have notice he has lost allot of weight, lost his appetite, coughs constantly and he seems to be tired most of the time. Sometimes, he has trouble breathing but he is able to breath by himself. We have purchased an oxygen tank which last only about a few hours and we were told by his doctor to buy an oxygen concentrator instead, but as I searched online there are two types of oxygen suppliers (oxygen generator & oxygen concentrator) for which I don't know the difference. Could you tell me what the difference between the two is and which one is better for his case? Is there a treatment or surgery required for this disease?

[smilenancy01]

Fortunately he does not suffer from heart disease, he does have diabetes which I believe doesn't have a major effect. My grandfather currently doesn't know he was diagnosed with this disease. Do you think we should or shouldn't tell him? What if he has COPD, is there any treatment and well he undergo pain??

Thanks.

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  Oxygen concentrator is just another name for oxygen generators.
These are machines which take room air and filter out the nitrogen component in it, leaving an increased concentration of oxygen for use by the patient. So any of the machines (either oxygen generator or concentrator) is appropriate for your grandfather.

As for treatment of the lung cancer, surgery is indicated for the earlier stages of lung cancer, but not for advanced or metastatic disease.  The decision whether surgery should be done or not will also depend on how strong your grandfather's body still is ( is he still able to withstand the rigors of surgery?), and if he has other underlying diseases (example, COPD or heart disease) which could affect the outcome of the surgery.