complications lung cancer?

Question

What complications can one person with lung cancer have that will cause sudden death? :'(

Answer 1

Blood clots are a complication of Lung Cancer and DO NOT respond to blood thinners.
My Father was Diagnosed with Lung Cancer and had one of the MOST extreme cases the Drs. here have ever heard of so here it goes.

Diagnosed in March 05

March 06
he complained about swelling and pain in his left leg we rushed him to the Hospital and they had to perform Surgery to remove several blood clots in his leg, he was then put on blood thinners and he never completely healed from this surgery, on the days that he was able to get out of bed, he required crutches.

April 27th 06
complained of pain and swelling in right leg, rushed to the Hospital again, Hemoglobin was at 5 required blood transfusions, continued stay in Hospital until May 3rd, 2006

May 1st, 2006
his right leg amputated below the knee due to Blood Clots, the Drs. then stated that the cancer was eating his blood and shooting blood clots out, thus causing his hemoglobin to be dangerously low, it was also discovered that he had a large blood clot in is aortic artery, just waiting to explode that the drs. could do absolutely nothing for, so he was more or less just a ticking time bomb.

May 25th, 2006
Rushed to the Hospital, couldn't breath
it was then discovered that his Right Lung had been infiltrated by the cancer and was gone.

May 26th, 2006
Sent home from Hospital on Hospice

June 4th, 2006
Died peacefully at his home surrounded by friends and family

My Father died just one month and 3 days after having his Right leg amputated.
This is the MOST severe case of Lung Cancer that any Dr. in our area has ever heard of.

Although the blood clots did not cause "sudden death" in my Father they could have at any moment, all it would have required is 1 clot to shoot up to his heart and that would have killed him.

Answer 2

Have to know more. If the person has recieved chemotherapy, it can poison the heart muscle and make it simply stop. The tumor can invade the vessels surrounding the heart and cut off the blood supply to the heart and cause instant death. Sometimes cancer tumors erode major blood vessels and cause internal bleeding which leads to death.
Lung cancer tumors are notorious for releasing enzymes and toxins which can cause electrolyte imbalances and blood clots. If a clot travels to the pulmunary artery, instant death is a possiblity. A electrolyte imbalance serious enough can stop a beating heart.
I dont want to depress you so peace and prayers to you and yours. Think of it this way, if the person dies quickly and without warning, it is much better than the pain and suffering associated with lung cancer treatment and a long painful death.
I am an Oncology nurse x 12 years.

Answer 3

Prognosis

Lung cancer has a poor prognosis. On average, people with untreated lung cancer survive 8 months. Overall, even with therapy, the 5-year survival rate is only 13%. Because small cell carcinoma has almost always spread beyond the lung at the time of diagnosis, its prognosis is generally worse than for other types of lung cancer. People who survive lung cancer but continue to smoke are at high risk of another cancer.

Because many people die from lung cancer, terminal care is usually necessary. Advances in end-of-life care, particularly the recognition that anxiety and pain are common in people with incurable lung cancer and that they can be alleviated by appropriate drugs, have led to an increasing number of people being able to die comfortably.

No matter what the numbers -fight to the end and live each day to the fullest.

Answer 4

There are numerous complications...some are rare and many that are common. You need to go over the ramifications with your doctors as well as the possible side effects of treatment. Go to lung cancer and hit search. It may scare you but it will provide ALL side effects regardless of how unusual. Do not depend on your doctor to provide you with all information as they see this as providing information for a medical degree only. My experience has been that the doctors want to maintain control and are too lazy to educate the patient on things they believe are unnecessary or the patient is unable to "process". Good luck!

Answer 5

with every life threaening disease there is a chance of sudden death...if u know this person i would have gotten an autopsy. but there are several things that could have not been detected at the time of death

Answer 6

Pluraeffusion
Short breath

Answer 7

Uncontrolled blood vomiting .