My mom 74 yr has had pain in her right chest area since Oct 2023 which at first didn’t bother her that much. She was incorrectly diagnosed with costocondritis in Jan of ‘24 in Urgent Care. They also did labs but her pcp didn’t question them or order further tests and she should have! Her pain got worse over time and she kept being ignored by her pcp to the point she wrote her a letter advocating for herself and then I got involved too in late May. It’s been difficult living in different states.

During this time she started losing weight, experiencing fatigue, and lost interest in many things. By late June we got results from CT scan and more blood work. All of which clearly show she has lung cancer and lesions on her ribs. Also a large mass on one of her adrenal glands. She also recently got a positive colon screening test and had a dentist biopsy a molar that was decaying in an odd way.

I found her a new doctor who specializes in elderly care and her first appointment is this Thursday. I’m flying out to go with her and stay with her. She finally was prescribed a better pain medication so at least she’s more comfortable and getting sleep. I’m LIVID about her previous pcp but can’t put energy there while I’m trying to be present for my mom.

My question is why does she not have an appointment with an oncologist by now? They wanted a PET scan first which she couldn’t get in for until late August. Her CT scan says URGENT in all caps at the top of her reading. Why is everything taking so long? I’m so frustrated. She’s called to ask for an appt multiple times and my dad has called, and it’s like there is no sense of urgency. She sounded so bad this last time I talked to her. I’m so scared. She said out loud, I don’t know if I’ll make it to a biopsy appointment she has on Tuesday. That’s how bad she feels. Yes she’s been a smoker since she was 16 and she quit about 5 months ago. :(