Fluid and collapsing lung

• By cards7up
• Posted November 4, 2009 at 6:08 am
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So sorry to hear this is happening to your mother. There are many recent posts on this as is does happen more often than you'd think. Are they testing the fluid that was drained? Saying an extra prayer for your mom that she will soon find comfort again.
Take care, JC

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• By linbur
• Posted November 4, 2009 at 8:32 am
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Draining the fluid is not hard to do at home and is much easier than trips to the ER. Just remember to watch carefully what is draining and make sure there is no infection.

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• By radar212
• Posted November 4, 2009 at 9:03 am
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I have a lot of fluid In my lungs and cough up a tremendeous amount of clear frothy liquid. I am getting very short of breath. My onc doesn't seem to be worried about it. It is very difficult to deal with.
Any advice?

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• By pattytwo
• Posted November 4, 2009 at 12:09 pm
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is your mom on Terceva? Did your mom have radiation? What were her smyptoms? My husband finished chemo and radiation 2 months ago, he started on Terceva one month ago. He now 2 months after radiation has started coughing and has problems breathing. His cat scan showed something one doctor said fluid, the other doctor said irritation. We are not sure if it is the Taceva or radiation.The doctors are without any ideas for treatment.We have to find somethind to help the breathing.He is stage IV lung with mets to the spine.

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• By CAJ23
• Posted November 4, 2009 at 9:11 pm
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The drain is not as scary as it sounds. It called a pleurex cathiter. Your mom will have a small tube in her chest covered by an adhesive pad. It is not noticible under her clothes. It is very easy to drain. When I had my tube in placed I started draining every 3rd day. As treatment continued their was less fluid so I drained less often eventually going to once a week. The drain was removed after 6 months. I felt better immediately after the drain was inserted because I could breath so much better and my lung reinflated. I wish your mom well. Hope this helps a little
Cindy

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• By kq182
• Posted November 4, 2009 at 9:40 pm
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Hi, wishing your Mom well, praying that the draining of the lung has her feeling much better, Karen

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• By casepres
• Posted November 5, 2009 at 10:41 am
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The question would be is the fluid in the lung or in the lung lining. Our experience was the the fluid was in the lining and "pushing the lung" up so that it collapsed. After draining twice (2+ liters each time), a talc procedure was performed resulting in a two-night hospital stay. This procedure will extend my husband's life--hopefully for many years. There was cancer is the pleural fluid and in the nodes in the lung lining; the talc procedure allowed the doctors to do a complete biopsy, take photos, drain the fluid, and place the talc into the lining. The talc is "tricking" the fluid--there is no place for it to collect. I still am not sure where it goes. Followed with chemo and still alive and kicking and enjoying life since diagnosis on July 2008 with Stage 3B poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the lung with pleural effusion.

My understanding is the drain is another option and sometimes a preferred option depending on the age, condition, and staging. Perhaps your mother does not have cancer in her fluid . . . .and the drain takes care of the problem.

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• By GitarGrl
• Posted November 10, 2009 at 6:07 am
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My Mom had almost the same thing happen as yours. She went into the hospital with shortness of breath. They dithered for about a month trying to figure out what was causing the fluid buildup in her pleural area. They did two tests on the fluid itself (collected using a big needle by the pulmonologist) and both times it came back negative for cancer. Finally, they decided to do a VATS surgery to see what was what. The surgeon found the cancer and installed the pleurx catheter.

That was at the beginning of October. At first, we were draining 500-550ml of fluid every day. She started chemo about 5 weeks ago - she's on a 3 week cycle where she gets a treatment every 3 weeks. The fluid started decreasing about a week and a half after the first chemo treatment. Then it increased a little bit - but still not up to the 500ml of before - as she prepared for the next chemo treatment.

She just had her second treatment last week and the fluid is decreasing again. Yesterday was only 150ml. The idea is that eventually they may go to draining the fluid every other day or maybe once a week, depending on what's going on with her, with the idea that after some period of time, they may be able to remove the tube completely.

The tube itself is not that bad. I'm squeemish about such things, but this really isn't too bad. When not in use during the drainage process, the tube is curled up and hidden away under a dressing. It doesn't seem to hurt her at all. Once the pain from the actual surgery was gone, the tube didn't seem to bother her at all.

God bless you and your Mom. Hang in there. Don't be afraid of the pleurx catheter. It can really help.

Cris.

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• By logan2kel
• Posted November 10, 2009 at 7:31 am
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My moms lung collapsed in early July. She was tubed & in the hospital for about 10 days. Her tube was removed & her lung is still 10% collapsed. She has adjusted to the pneumo & is doing fine. Hopefully your mom will need the tube as a temporary fix!!!!!

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• By keepongoing
• Posted November 10, 2009 at 8:53 am
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Draining the fluid is not a big deal and can be done as an outpatient procedure called thoracentesis however, it will reacumulate. In order to stop fluid from reaccumulating and preventing the lung from collapsing, there is a surgery called pleurodesis which can be done by ideo controlled instruments so not whole chest has to be opened up. In this procedule they put talc into the pleural cavity which makes it adhere to the lung itself and thereby prevents fluid from reacumulating. Please google Pluerodesis and read about it. Any major university type medical center does this type of procedure. My husband had it done at Sloan Kettering in NY on a Friday and was home by Monday night without any tubes sticking out. Within one week he was back at work. Please read up on it and discuss it with your doctor or get a second opinion if your doctor either does not know about it or does not want to do it.
Good Luck and Good Health

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