Wednesday, October 12, 2011

My 65 year old Father who smokes was told he has a large Malignancy in his lung. Does he have Cancer

My 65 year old Father who smokes was told he has a large Malignancy in his lung. Does he have Cancer?
He has not had a Biopsy yet. he had one scheduled, but he cancelled it until next week. Does this mean he officially has cancer. I read that the life expectancy for a 65 year old with lung cancer is that only 25% survive more then 1 year. I am confused. My Mom is a nurse and I would ask her, but my dad made me promise not to tell her. they are divorced.
Respiratory Diseases - 7 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
if he hasn't had a biopsy the doctors don't know for certain that he has a malignancy, though they are pretty good at spotting them after seeing so many on xrays. Malignancy IS cancer. He has to have a biopsy tho before they can say so for sure.
2 :
My grandfather just recently passed away with lung cancer.. so i hope that this isn't the case with your father. even though im not answering your question i wish you the very best and just do everything for your father that you can and help him keep his head up no matter what.
3 :
A malignancy means it's cancer. The biopsy will tell you what kind it is and how advanced it is. I'm sorry for your father and wish him the best of luck.
4 :
Not trying to worry you or anything.. A Malignancy is a general term, it means a serious disease that is worsening/spreading. The diagnosis is brief however it is most commonly used to describe cancer. The biopsy will reveal more
5 :
Um...I would say yes it is cancer. Because I believe they separate tumors into 2 sub category's. Malignant (cancer) and Benign (non-cancerous). Tumors in the lungs of smokers tend to be more often then not malignant. I myself am a cancer survivor and when I had my biopsy they told me that it was in stage 5 and that it had already metastasized (spread) to other areas outside of the original area. Unfortunately There is a good chance that this could be a cancerous tumor. But until he has an official biopsy done and it is analyzed by a pathologist then I wouldn't jump to conclusions. I really hope your father is going to be alright. I myself am a cancer survivor and I know the horrors and confusion and pain that a diagnosis brings. I truly wish the best for you and your family.
6 :
Until the mass is biopsied, there is no way to tell if he has cancer. even if he does have cancer, each specific type of cancer (there are many forms of 'lung cancer') has has different survival rates, and different treatment options-many of which have very high survival rates, AND we are developing new techniques and treatments every day. you should know that there is no quantifiable data linking smoking to cancer, although there is quantifiable data linking milk to cancer. in fact, although the percentage americans who smoked in the US decreased by 40% between the years 1970 and 2000, the percentage of americans who were diagnosed with lung cancer increased by 52%. if anything, these statistics infer that cigarettes FIGHT cancer.
7 :
Malignant= cancerous benign= not cancerous Yes your father has lung cancer. So sorry, you should really talk to your mother even though your dad doesn't want you to know.

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