My Father has been cancer free for 3 years but in January he began showing symptoms that the cancer may may have returned.

He has had a PET scan, chest x-rays, blood work, CT scan, numerous scopes and all have come back negative for cancer.

During an EGD they took a biopsy of an ulcer that they found and it came back positive for cancer. Is it possible that the cancer was missed on all of the other tests? All tests have been done within the past 2 months.

Also...
He was originally diagnosed with thrush but the medicines did not cure it. It appears as if the thrush has just gotten worse. Is thrush best treated through an IV? Is thrush really this painful? Or could something else be wrong?

My Dad has lost 20lbs and can not eat a thing. His next doctor's appointment is on Tuesday... hoping to learn more.

Your help in offering insight into my questions would be greatly appreciated.
Kim

Kimberly,

I am sorry to hear they have found cancer in your Father. It is possible the other scans did not find it and it is possible it was too small to detect. Now that the biopsy is positive, make sure you are dealing with someone that has significant experience with the type of cancer the path shows.

Thrush is caused by yeast (candida) and different people respond to different types of treatment. If the candida has spread throughout the body and in the digestive system it is very possible that the weight loss is a direct result. As sore as his mouth sounds, he may not be eating enough, too. There are some short-term pain remedies like Miracle Mouthwash that will eliminate the pain but the important thing is to get the pain under control and get positive confirmation it is thrush. It is easy to determine but is one of the harder tests to take samples for. Often the person taking the sample is not trained and does not handle the process correctly. Keep on the doctors and get the pain under control. There is no reason someone should be hurting beyond their threshold of pain with all we have available today.

Good luck and best wishes for you and your father. He is very fortunate to have someone that cares so much for him helping him through this.

Ed

Kim, yes, thrush can be treated by IV. His symptoms though sound very similar to Frank`s when he was rediagnosed........I don`t want to scare you, but I don`t think this is anything to just sit on, he also started to lose weight......Love and prayers.........Dee

Kim, I had thrush for a long time and it was very annoying. I finally wenr to an infectious disease doctor who was able to eliminate the thrush.

Good Luck to your Dad

Ed, Dee and Kiba01,
Thank you all for your answers. It's terrifying waiting to meet with the doctors. Your words of support are greatly appreciated!
Kim

Ed is 100% correct. After my initial excision, I had 3 MRIs, CTs, the works. Additional cancer did not show until the second surgery. In my case, the cancer didn't act like a normal "tumor"; it was mixed around with normal tissue. This may be why it did not show on the tests.

Sorry I have no comments on the Thrush issue.

Good luck,
Sabrina

Kim,

I even know for sure I had cancer and I know for sure as of the last PET scan, MRI, etc., that I didn't have detectable cancer and I am still terrified waiting to meet with the doctors! My heart goes from pitter pat to THUMPITY THUMP as soon as I just walk in the door. I spent the fifteen minutes in the waiting room talking to a gentleman that was obviously scared to death and I noticed he was waiting to see my doctor. I tried to calm him a bit and gave him my number just in case he got bad news. It even hurts to see a stranger potentially going through this. I have given my name and phone number to everyone that treated me and told them to feel free to call or give my number any time.

Ed

Wow, What a couple of weeks it has been!

I'm very sorry for not responding sooner... as it turns out, my Father did have cancer (again), had surgery on May 10th to have his larnyx removed and is slowly recovering.

Unfortunately there were several issues after the surgery but we are hopeful that he is now on the road to recovery.

He received his prothesis yesterday and is working hard at practicing his new speech.

Thank you again for all of your support. I've thought of everyone on these boards during this trying time, but as luck would have it, my computer was down so I had limited access to the vast amount of knowledge that the boards offer. I'm back on line now and rapidly trying to read every word here!

My father's weight has dropped dramatically. I saw calorie filled shakes under a post at one time but can't seem to locate it. Could someone direct me to where I might find this information?

Thank you all for your kindness and support!
Kim

Wow, What a couple of weeks it has been!

I'm very sorry for not responding sooner... as it turns out, my Father did have cancer (again), had surgery on May 10th to have his larnyx removed and is slowly recovering.

Unfortunately there were several issues after the surgery but we are hopeful that he is now on the road to recovery.

He received his prothesis yesterday and is working hard at practicing his new speech.

Thank you again for all of your support. I've thought of everyone on these boards during this trying time, but as luck would have it, my computer was down so I had limited access to the vast amount of knowledge that the boards offer. I'm back on line now and rapidly trying to read every word here!

My father's weight has dropped dramatically. I saw calorie filled shakes under a post at one time but can't seem to locate it. Could someone direct me to where I might find this information?

Thank you all for your kindness and support!
Kim

Kim,

I have used a "milk shake" product called Scandishake that when mixed with 8 oz. of whole milk produces 600 calories. That helped me with putting back some of the weight I had lost. I've tried the chocolate and found the strawberry to be my favorite. The website is: http://store.axcanscandipharm.com/M..._Code=ASOS&Category_Code=SCANDISHAKE

I hope this helps.

Nancy