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Father diagnosed with lung cancer

Jacquir
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My 76 year old dad has been diagnosed with lung cancer, biopsy done Thursday, was told they caught it early. Results next Thursday, however get home & read the discharge letter it states the code T4N3M0, having googled this we see stage 4, this was never mentioned at both appointment, surely this should have been discussed rather than having to read on a discharge letter? The little glimmer of hope with the doctor saying they caught it early has been pulled away after reading this. I guess we wait till next Thursday to speak to the doctor.

  • Hello Jacquir,

    I'm sorry to hear about your father's diagnosis, though it's encouraging that the doctor says it's been caught early. The code used stands for Tumour, Node and Metastasis and numbers only give an indication but can be interpreted in different ways. You can read a useful breakdown of the TNM staging for lung cancer on our website. We also have other useful pages, which you can refer to at anytime.

    When you’re looking for answers online, you have to be careful as some information can be inaccurate. I'd suggest you avoid googling for now and it would be best to speak to her father’s medical team and of course you're welcome to give our nurses a call on the freephone 0808 800 4040. Lines are open 9 to 5 Monday to Friday.

    I hope the appointment on Thursday goes ok.

    Moderator Anastasia

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    Thank you for your reply. Yes we will write questions down so we remember to ask them. Thank you 

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