Hello
Recently my 73 year old Mum went into hospital after fainting and breaking her leg. She has been in hospital for 5 plus weeks now being treated for postural hypotension that they think is causing her fainting. During the routine tests they found a lung lesion. They say they cannot do a biopsy because of it’s position. It showed as a very high suspicion of malignancy on a PET scan. Initially they said the next step would be to surgically remove the lesion and then send a sample for tests. However, now they are saying they first need a lung function test to determine whether she is fit for surgery. She has smoked a lot for 50 plus years, has COPD and her mobility and fitness in general have been bad for some years.
I wondered if anyone can explain to me what happens next if she is deemed unfit for surgery. How will they ever know what the lesion is without a biopsy and therefore how can they treat it? Do they re-scan to see if and how it is growing? Would that prove that it’s a malignancy? They are also not sure if she would be fit enough for radiotherapy. I presume this means ditto for chemo? So in this case, she is simply on palliative care?
thanks in advance for any help
