Hi Sweenekm. A few years ago no my brother had been going to the doctors for just over a year, with this pain in his chest or the other thing the doctor had said because he was a class 1 HGV driver he had pulled muscles. A HGV 1 is those biggest trucks that's allowed on British roads well driving those about all day for years it was not unusual for some of the drivers to get sever muscle strain he had a holiday booked a cruise finishing in Madeira then they flew back to England from there. All during the cruise he started to feel very unwell but did not tell his wife because he wanted to get back to England but he thought her and her mouth there was a good chance if she got a doctor or something they would not let him fly back to England. He was in a lot of pain. By the time they got to Madeira it took him almost a hour to walk to board the plane they where told those that wanted to board could do but they had almost a 2 hour wait before it took off. He said he would not tell anyone he was feeling really ill not even his wife he just told her it was this chest strain and shoulder was causing him so much pain he told me he dare not say too much in fear they would not let him flat back to England and if they had have know believe you me they definitely wouldn't have let him fly as soon as he landed at East Midlands airport. He started to drive a 5 mile trip however he had to pull over he could not drive any further. She was petrified because although she had passed he driving test she never really drove the very odd occasion she did it was very early on after she passed her driving test and a really small car. My brother had a big car she literally had not driven in almost 28!yrs. he just said you have to I can't he told her to drive straight into the walking Center which did really surprise her normally he would go nowhere but home she got him to the walk in Center. Within minutes the paramedics where blue lighting him the the heart unit. When they got him in there obviously paramedics knew but my sister in law is as thick as two short planks because she overheard a paramedic radioing in through to the hospital and what they thought it was also ETA she heard them say suspected percadal effusion with a plural effusion she didn't have a clue they didn't mess about they cut his clothes to her to his chest the had a portable scanner ready he was too far gone to have any type of anststhetic the cut straight through his chest the doctor was a small man so he had to stand on a stool he just said sorry but this is going to hurt a little. Cut  straight  through his chest into his lung stuck his finger inside got the drain and inserted it. Next he was telling everyone what size tubing etc they had to use the scan for this one doctors are saying to my brother this will hurt but don't move whatever you do again straight through the chest wall into the pericardial, sack which he has to cut it's the membrane around the heart again he had to put his finger in to get the tube in he had to be extremely careful not to catch the heart itself but there was that much water around the heart anyway they got it in. Nest he had to go other lung by now he didn't say this is going to hurt he knew my brother had got thr message by now. By the time witch only took minutes the bottles what the fluid was being drained into where full one was actually just started to over flow. Once they had all the drains in obviously my brother was extremely poorly, he was told his organs was starting to close down they had him on drips with medication going in. The doctor did say didn't you feel you should have gone into the walk in ceter before tonight. Perhaps like last week didn't you notice anything my brother turned and said yes I wanted to come in sooner but we only flew back from Madeira tonight and we went straight to the walk on Center. His wife had to repeat it because he had literally not gone to sleep as such but you know when your that ill you just go into a type of sleep to heal. Anyhow the doctor said did I hear your husband right then when he said to flew back tonight from Madeira and drove staring to the walk in Center from there she said yes. They where utterly shocked almost disbelieving. Because they had know way of grasping he survived the flight. They did say his lungs or heart could have just literally popped while In midair due ti cabin pressure, they had now idea how lucky he was to have got to the hospital with his organs shutting down. Now one thing the did know although his heart was surrounded by water that was not causing the problem it was only the next day after scans etc they actually found out he had got lung cancer with a plural canerous effusion. But he had also got it in his shoulder, it was going into his right lung as it had started in the left lung it was in his neck making its way to the brain. It was at the base of his brain but hadn't quite got there yet. It was in his left kidney and liver. Well you can imagine his prognosis. Then four months later I was diagnosed with exactly the same thing. I had my left upper lobe removed went into chemo. My brother was giving anything from 3 weeks to a year. After I had the left lobe removed which is where the tumours where in my lung. The difference was mine had not spread outside of the lungs. I had ajuvent chemotherapy after the i operation by April they thought I was in remission in the May my brother passed away he lived a year and 9 days after that night when everything started to close down. By September my lungs where covered in small cancerous tumours I had only thr little bit of the left lung left most of the left one had gone so with my lungs being covered in small cancer tumours in all 3 lobes of the right lung and a tiny bit covered on the left I was given 6/8 months if I had some palliative treatment I hadn't got half that without. Now that was back in 2013 so what I am saying is that 6/8 moths as now turned into seven and a half years, so far. So I suppose what I am trying to say to you is if your mum wants to live a longer live she has to fight for it and she will get it like I have I refuse to let cancer have me. No tears no why me it was if cancer wants a fight trust me it's got one. And so far I am winning this fight of mine. No one can give a medical reason as to why I am still alive all the top research places around the world who have had my blood all they can agree on is I should not be here I should have died over 7 years ago all I can say is fight fight and fight. I have had 2 lots of Chen and one lot of immunotherapy. Oh and the biggest lobe of the left lung removed. Cancer treatment as just got better since I first entered the cancer system the one to get if she qualifies for it is immunotherapy it's nowhere near as bad as chemo. I will never ever go back into chemo. I pulled out of my second lot it almost killed me. I said then and I mean it then and I do now. I would never ever have chemotherapy ever agai even if they said just 4 months if it for a gutsnteed 15 years and we will pay you to have it. My answer would be a categoricaly no. Now that's just me. Just some weird reason I have just had bad reactions to it when I went into immunotherapy I had a bad reaction to that so I pulled out. No one really knows why I have had such bad reactions. Anyhow I wish your mum all the luck in the world she can live quite a long long time xxxxx