Brain tumour and lung cancer

Hiya, hope I'm writing this in the correct place im new to this. On 1st of June this year my father was admitted to hospital with walking issues, he had no balance and couldn't walk unaided he was originally thought to of had a bleed on his brain. After a ct scan they said they can see tumours on his brain, 3 days later after many tests and a mri he was diagnosed with lung cancer . He had a biopsy the following week on his lung which were inconclusive and a second set of biopsy on his lung the week after that. He is at home (was discharged 5 days after being admitted) with medication, he was on steroids 4, twice a day for 2 weeks, 2, twice a day for 2 weeks and now he's on one  steroid tablet twice a day, he managed to regain his walking when he was on the higher doses, now he's dropped down to the lower dose he has lost his balance and his walking ability again. He has been told he will have radiotherapy on his brain to try and ease that, he will be fitted for his 'mask' on Wednesday this week. My question is, has anyone any experience of this sort of situation and can he expect his balance and walking to regain after treatment? He's very down that he's 'gone backwards' walking wise down he's down to the all dose of steroids. Any answers or person stories of similar situations would be greatly received thank you x

 

 

  • Hello Lucy.  I am sorry to hear about your Dad's diagnosis and understand how devastating it is for you all as a family.  I do not have lung cancer but I do have cancer which has spread to the brain and just wanted to tell you about my experience earlier this year in the hope that it may help.

    I was told that I had a secondary tumour in the brain in January and had been experiencing sight problems, loss of balance, confusion, locking of my jaw/fingers etc.  I too was given steroids prior to RT and this really helped as it alleviated the swelling in my brain caused by the tumour. I would imagine that because your Dad's steroid dosage has decreased is why his symptoms have re-appeared again. 

    I had targeted radiotherapy (cyberknife or gammaknife) as I only had one tumour which was situated very deep in the brain.  About a month after this treatment I definitely found that my symptoms began to disappear - my confusion subsided, my balance improved and the joint locking happens less than before.  My sight is still rubbish but that is probably more due to my age and chemo side-effects.

    I really hope that your Dad's mobility gets better after RT - it may not be instant - but in my experience there was a definite improvement.

    All the very best to Dad for his forthcoming treatment and remember to take care of yourself too.  Always here if you need a chat.  Much love   Max x

  • Thank you so much max for sharing your story with me, that's very kind and really does help hearing someone else's journey with things. I hope your still doing well after treatment?

    Dad will be fitted with his mask tomorrow and then we should get a date I believe for the rt to start, he's just so down and says he feels like a old man again, we have spoken to his cancer nurse who has said we can up his steroids to 2, twice a day with the hope that extra boost may help him along with everything. The joint locking, I never thought about this, dads always suffered with arthritis in his knees and we have put this down to that, I didn't realise o could be also due to the tumor? It may not be but you have given me something to think about. Thank you so much again for taking the time to reply, your a star x