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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Therapy For Lung Cancer

My husband had lung cancer,pulmonary fibrosis ,& emphysma. He had 7 sessions of chemo & the last was cancelled due to his breathing gettng worse. Several trips to the hospital for tappng of fluids. He never really complained of pain but was on small amounts of morphine at home when needed. The last week before his death, he was hospitalized ,had a breathing mask ,& was able to converse. Within a day a nurse approached me & said she would ask the dr to perscribe a morphine drip. She said I did not want him to suffer (which I agreed) & said I would be able to have more quality time with him. After a few minutes I went out to the hall & told her I did not want to speed up his death & she assured me it would not. During the night he woke up pointing to mice (that were not there) The next morning just after 8 am I tried to get him to eat something ,but no response. Within an hour he tried to get out of the bed, & was pushing gainst the railing & a gentleman in the room visiting his son came to my aid. It was a horrible & still is a hopeless situation. I kept thinking the nurse caused his death, with the order for the morphine. I buzzed for a nurse who administered a shot. (This all happened 3-28-2008) I kept holding him & noticed he wasn't responding & I asked the attending nurse if he was dying & she said yes. Within 10 minutes he was gone. I did talk to his oncongolist after his death & he tried to reassure me that everything was properly administered even tho he was not at the hospital. (Unfortunately he was on vacation & since I had to take him in by ambulance he was taken to the nearest hospital. ) Could he have lasted longer without the drip???? This has been a constant question for me.
Tue, 23 Sep 2014
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Oncologist 's  Response
Hi

Your husband was suffering from stage 4 lung cancer.

Average survival time during this stage varies from 3 to 6 months.

Moprhine is essential in management in this stage as it palliates symptom and may provide a pain free death.

He was managed correctly by the nurse.

Regards

DR De

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Suggest Therapy For Lung Cancer

Hi Your husband was suffering from stage 4 lung cancer. Average survival time during this stage varies from 3 to 6 months. Moprhine is essential in management in this stage as it palliates symptom and may provide a pain free death. He was managed correctly by the nurse. Regards DR De