I hardly know how to start back up with this. I’ll warn you – it’s bound to be angry and sad around here for a while.
We got the death certificates yesterday. The “immediate and proximal” cause of death was listed as lung cancer with a “duration of illness” of 3 months.
That is not what happened.
Yes, 3 months ago my father was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was undergoing curative treatment for it – a single, large primary tumor with no lymph node or metastatic spread.
He died of pneumonia. In his good lung. He went into the hospital with one form of pneumonia that turned into sepsis. After 1 week he had survived the sepsis, but by that time he had pneumonia caused by another organism: Burkholderia cepasia.
It’s an organism that doesn’t usually cause pneumonia in people who don’t have cystic fibrosis. Most people get it in the hospital. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site says “Transmission of B. cepacia from contaminated medicines and devices has been reported.”
So it’s likely that either a doctor or a nurse had it on their hands and gave it to him or one of the bronchoscopes or the ventilator had been contaminated.
We were prepared to fight the cancer. He was prepared to fight the cancer. None of us were prepared for this. For 2 weeks he fought so hard. But most of doctors blatantly, obviously, were thinking, “oh, lung cancer patient” when they looked at him. They sat on their thumbs and did the bare minimum, while we were too shocked and desperate to realize that it was the bare minimum.
Very little was done for him until it was too late – until the organism that they probably gave him had taken too great a hold in his body.
And now they wish to list his death as “lung cancer.” Because “hospital-acquired infection” looks so bad on their statistics, you see.
And they thought, “oh, lung cancer patient, why bother?” and my father is dead.
I work in a hospital. I feel sick every day when I come in to the office now.
Oh, that’s so terrible and awful and wrong. How it must hurt.
Sounds to me like someone is nervous about being sued.
This would be typical of idiots trying to hide.
So sorry they’re making this worse for all of you.
So many lies live in statistics. So little good science, so little professional integrity. I’m angry with you.
Smacking should be administered to everyone involved in treatment. Do you need some mean lawyers? The only good part about being married to a lawyer is that he knows meaner people. Having also worked in a hospital, I am not surprised. Hugs for you, darling.
I am so sorry. I would also be mad and sick as anything. I don’t know if it’s productive to try to fight it or not, though.
Thank you for this post, my dear sister.
Oh, honey, I can’t even imagine. Were I in your place, I doubt I’d be coping half as well as you are.
*hugs*
I had a friend (non-smoker). Doctors thought she had lung cancer, and she underwent several tests and a small surgery before they determined it was non-cancerous scar tissue in her lungs.
A year later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent 2 years of treatment (which has been successful to date).
She told me several times during her breast cancer treatment that the difference in attitude (from her health care providers) was profound–lung cancer patients are disliked, not cared for, assumed to be victims of their own stupidity. Breast cancer patients have support groups, coordinated holistic health programs that are free (massages, etc), free stuff.
Lung cancer patients are the disposable, marginalized population of the patient world.
I’m SO SORRY for you loss.
Thank you, Perpetua.
I am *stunned* by the differences in how these patients are treated. Here in Houston, 23 THOUSAND people participated in the Komen breast cancer walk.
There is NO nationally organized walk to raise money for lung cancer research. And the fastest growing group of people getting it are young women who have never smoked! It’s crazy and unfair. If there was an effective test for early screening, SO many lives would be saved, but no one wants to put the money into that research.
UGH.
Really glad to hear that your friend’s treatment is successful.
Hi, This is Pete’s friend, Andie, we met years ago at… bygones, anyway.
I was tooling through my LJ and happened upon you and then this and I wanted to comment my deepest sympathy for your loss. My dad was just diagnosed with lung cancer 3 weeks ago, still in the “figure out what kind and what’s going on’ stage.
I am so sorry for your loss and what you have been thorugh/will go through. I think I get it and I am so sorry.
Thank you so much, Andie.
I wish for the best for your dad. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.