Weight Loss

[Bregirl]

My Father-In-Law was diagnosed with COPD 4 years ago, The doctor gave him one inhaler to use as need no more than 4 times a day.  So he has been using it everyday for 4 times a day until last January and he told the doctor (this is a Family Doctor and not a specialist) he had a Nepualizer and the doctor told him he could use it up to 4 times a day to.  So he is taking his inhaler 4 or more times a day and the nepualizer 2 times a day and is still saying he cant breath (we have been fussing about this because we think that he is taking to much of the one med.).  The doctor has never checked to see if the COPD has progressed or not.  So I am taking him to Lung Specialist (not happy with his family doctor) what test should be done and what questions should I ask?  He has also lost about 70lbs in the last year and has a bad cough and is congested & his nose runs all the time.  He is always saying he can't eat.  They did a CT scan and didn't find anything wrong with his stomach, but did see a spot on his lungs that he assumes it the COPD (he hasn't seen his family doctor yet).  He was just diagnosed with Prostrate Cancer two weeks ago, it is at the beginning stage T1.

[Bregirl]

He had tests done 4 years ago in the Hospital when he was diagnosed with the COPD and a couple of weeks ago he had a CT done for his prostrate and they seen the spot on his lungs then and then the doctor had a chest x-ray done and it was on it to, he told us to make an appointment with his family doctor to see what he wants to do.

[Between]

Get him to a specialist. You wrote that he has a spot on lung and spine. This needs attention, and not by the family doctor who is pushing him aside. I believe copd shows up as inflated lungs, although he could have spots from recent infections. He needs to be taken care of by a pulmonologist, not by a family doctor that don't seem to know what the heck he's doing. Has he ever had a pft, or ct or mri???

[Bregirl]

The doctor that is treating him for the prostrate cancer is the one that ordered the chest X-Ray because of all the congestion.  And he is the one that said it might be cancer on his lung and that it would be up to the family doctor if he wants to have a biopsy done or not because of his COPD.  I'm just confussed on what to do for him.  I think he has been fulling around with his family doctor to long and needs to go to MCV to a lung doctor.  Could the spot on his lung be associated with the COPD or would it be something else completely?

[Bregirl]

The doctor did an X-Ray on Friday and told us today that there is a spot on my father-in-laws lung and that he thinks it may be cancer, but it is up to his family doctor do decide if he wants a biopsy done or not.  He was told four years ago that he had COPD.  Should he have a biopsy done?  He is starting treatment next week for the prostrate cancer.

[sdp4314]

Absolutely!  Does his oncologist  for his prostate cancer know about the lung growth????  Also, a bronchoscopy needs to be done on the lung nodule?  Maybe if you told the current oncologist he could make arrangements for the other with a colleague.

[Bregirl]

When doing the bone scan the found a spot on my father-in-laws spin they said they are treating it like it is cancer to, because they don't want to put him thru a boipsy, is this normal?  Could this cancer be lung cancer spreading to his spin & prostrate?  They did a chest X-Ray Friday and he is to go to his family doctor for the results on Thursday.

[sdp4314]

I am not sure, but the weight loss is alarming as well as loss of appetite.  Please get him to a Pulmonary Specialist.

[Bregirl]

Could he have lung cancer with the COPD causing it to be worse?