Lung biopsy

My Nan was diagnosed with T4N3M1 a/c lung cancer on the 14th February. She is 82 years old on the 2nd March. She was discharged from hospital last Tuesday with no care or support from anyone, she has multiple heath issues. She is due to go back to the hospital tomorrow for a long biopsy but I am not sure this is in her best interests as she is not well at all, it is clear the cancer is already advanced and won’t be able to have surgery, I doubt she will be well enough to have chemotherapy or radiotherapy so I don’t want her to suffer anymore by having a biopsy that will probably tell us she is only for palliative care, I just want to keep her as comfortable as possible and don’t want her to experience anymore pain. 

  • Hello Feelingfree84 and thanks for your post,

    I am sorry to hear about your Nan. I can understand that this must be a difficult time for your family.

    I am not sure whether your Nan had her biopsy today as you look like you posted this yesterday.

    If you are your Nan's next of kin do chat through your concerns with her team. I am sure that her team who are involved in her care would be taking in to account her general health in deciding what treatment if any to offer her. The doctors would also take in to account what your Nan wants.

    The biopsy has the advantage of telling the doctors more about her cancer such as how fast it is growing and whether it would respond to any treatment.

    If you would like to chat this through with one of the helpline nurses then you are welcome to give us a call.

    Our number is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm.

    All the best,

    Catherine

  • Thank you so much for your reply Catherine, she didn’t end up having the biopsy as she unfortunately had a fall at 3am this morning so we ended up in A&E and couldn’t adhere to the fasting instructions as she needed some pain medication. We did still attend and saw the dr along with the specialist cancer nurse. I don’t think she is going to have the biopsy, she was told the cancer isn’t curable and she is unlikely to have any treatments which is what we expected. We have a nurse coming out tomorrow and the specialist nurse is going to give us a call on Wednesday, hopefully we can get things put in place that will make her comfortable and enjoy the time we have left together.