Hello,
Can anyone please help me with what questions I should be asking the consultant this afternoon regarding my MIL’s cancer.
She was almost 3 years ago and we were told at the time it was an intermediate grade cancer but because of other health issues, it was decided against surgery and to go down the tamoxifen only route.
My MIL has alzheimers disease so getting any information is quite difficult,and even getting a precise history of how she is feeling etc etc can be an issue. At the last appt 3 months ago (which i went with her to) they said the lump had started growing (from 1.5cm to 2,5cm)and changed her medication to letrozol. At this appt I told him my MIL has been experiencing headaches every morning and saying her sight was jumping, but he didnt think this was significant.
I now know that since February the lump has grown, because you can now actually see it in her breast, she has also been experiencing varied and more neurological symptoms which could be down to her alzheimers. However, the pyschiatric team have said that the breast cancer people should possibly be considering spread of her cancer too as an additional factor.
So I need to know - how do we know if its spreading? I dont even know what type of breast cancer she actually has, so what changes should we be looking for? And when do macmillan nurses or similar become involved? These are questions I am going to ask, but can you all add anything I may have missed? We as a family know that we dont want her to have any invasive therapy (she wouldnt stand up to it being less than 7 stone…) but we need to know what may or is happening or what we should be looking out for to keep her comfortable.
Any help would be appreciated.
Many thanks.
Not much help but giving this a bump.
Just to say - thinking of you - if they know about the size of tumour the hospital must have done some tests and I would think this would enable them to prescribe treatments and many oncologists prefer a non-invasive route and use chemo or hormone treatments so hoping they find something to help you MIL. Getting palliative care from a hospice or McMillan sounds important to ask about since your MIL has such complex needs.
Sorry I don’t have any answers… but thinking of you and your family and hoping others might have some info to share with you.
Thinking of you, my MIL also had Alzeihmers and I know that it will be very difficult for you to assess how she is really feeling, however, you should be able to tell if she is in pain - if so, this is definatley something to raise to make sure that this is managed properly to minimise any distress. I would advise having a list of all of the changes that you have observed over the last few months, both those obviously related to the BC and those not, so that the Oncologist can get a full picture of what has been happening.
My mother, who did not have Alzeimers, but had a blood problem that left her very weak, was passed endlessly between her GP and her Heamotologist when she developed various symptoms such as frequent falls, severe back pain etc and it took many months and her total collapse before anyone (an excellant locum GP)considered a recurrance of her breast cancer, which had by then spread throughout her bones and brain. Just adding this to show how important it is to get someone to look at the whole picture to make sure that the right care is in place.
I agree with Frances - it sounds as if getting a really good palliative care package in place will be essential for your MIL, so do ask about this too.
Good luck, Sue xx
Thank you for your replies.
The appt went quite well I think, the consultant who we saw this time seemed to appreciate that having it is important for us to know exactly where MIL is with her cancer and the implications for her. He has arranged for her to have CT scans of the head, chest and pelvis (previous scans have picked up an adrenal mass which seemed to be growing slowly so they can check that again). He has also arranged for a bone scan, so he is covering all options. The good news was that even though we thought the cancer in her breast had grown (after always being told it was “deep set” and being unable to feel it, we can now actually see the lump) it appears there has been no further growth in the lump in the last 2 months so that is good.
We now wait appts for the CT scans, and hope that she will let the tests take place!!!
Thank you again for your responses.
Glad to know you feel so confident in the response by the medics - this is so crucial
best wishes