All the consultants that my father has seen with regards to his cancer have said that he has Parkinsons. Now he is under pallative care and getting weaker every day they want to send him for a scan.
The Parkinsons has greatly limited his mobility to the degree that he cannot walk unaided. Which only adds to his frustration.
In his condition it will be extremely exhausting and uncomfortable for him to travel. He does not have the time left to wait in line for the scan and then a follow up appointment with the consultant, then discussions. Is there a fast track way, without having to pay privately.
Any advice would be gratefully accepted.
Thanks
Lisa
hi welcome to the forum,iam deeply sorry about ur fathers health,huge hugs to both of you
i would of said go private if possible,but all i can surgest is ask his gp ,he will have loop holes they can get through,and dont let them fob u off ,cus they can do this,they have for me,so i no its possible.thats the only thing i can think of im afraid.but there is many members on the puk forum,with lots of advice and surport,im sure someone will have a quicker answer for you both.or also if you give the surport team a call there number is at the top of the forum page,says helpline in large rittin.i wish you luck,both of you xxxx
i would of said go private if possible,but all i can surgest is ask his gp ,he will have loop holes they can get through,and dont let them fob u off ,cus they can do this,they have for me,so i no its possible.thats the only thing i can think of im afraid.but there is many members on the puk forum,with lots of advice and surport,im sure someone will have a quicker answer for you both.or also if you give the surport team a call there number is at the top of the forum page,says helpline in large rittin.i wish you luck,both of you xxxx
do you know what type of scan it is MRI, datscan?
if its an MRI they might be trying to rule out other diseases that are very difficult to tell from PD - a remarkably high number of diagnosis for PD are wrong, especially from doctors not specialising in that field. his being unwell may be making diagnosis particularly difficult.
datascans are for more positive diagnosis of PD in particular.
the only alternative that comes to mind would be for his doctors to give him ldopa anyway and see if it works. have they said anything about that?
if its an MRI they might be trying to rule out other diseases that are very difficult to tell from PD - a remarkably high number of diagnosis for PD are wrong, especially from doctors not specialising in that field. his being unwell may be making diagnosis particularly difficult.
datascans are for more positive diagnosis of PD in particular.
the only alternative that comes to mind would be for his doctors to give him ldopa anyway and see if it works. have they said anything about that?
Misdiagnosis seems to go hand in hand with Parkinson's
Hi, As you say your father doesn't have much time it seems strange to send him to hospital for scans, surely the best thing would be to keep him comfortable. Even if he has parkinson's it is a lot of upheaval for him to go through and by trying him on dopamine tablets they will soon notice if there is a difference in his mobility'
I had a friend who had cancer and not long to live and they sent him back home to die knowing it would only be days, then the hospital sent him for more treatment and he was in such pain and the journey was totally unnecessary. It becomes all more stressful for everyone, it is a difficult time but I think the patients comfort should come first.
god bless you both
vivian
I had a friend who had cancer and not long to live and they sent him back home to die knowing it would only be days, then the hospital sent him for more treatment and he was in such pain and the journey was totally unnecessary. It becomes all more stressful for everyone, it is a difficult time but I think the patients comfort should come first.
god bless you both
vivian
Hi, I am awfully sorry to read your posting, it must be a very difficult time. It might be worth going back to the ?consultant who suggested the scan and state your concerns, ask for more info so you and your Father can make an informed decision whether to go ahead with this. It's worth asking what sort of scan it is (as stated by previous poster, only a Datscan can give you something near to a PD diagnosis); what they hope to achieve by the scan and in what timescale; if it is PD, how would they treat it, would any drugs interact with his other medication or cause side effects (it sounds like he would not want any more discomfort at this point in time), and what effects would they expect the drugs to have, again in what time scale. And any other questions that you put in an urgent letter or see him/her in person, plan them in advance. If your Father decides not to go ahead with it then that's his choice, they can't make him; alternatively if it may well increase his quality of life and he wants to, then you can ask them to speed it up in order to get maximum benefit. Sadly it sounds like if he chooses to go ahead, it needs to happen soon, to make it worthwhile for him, but also economy-wise, which is the bit to highlight to the doctor, if you can...
It sounds like you have been given this decision to make with not enough information and of course you don't want your Dad to go through something like this unless it looks like they have a treatment plan which may make real difference to him.
This is adding to your distress so maybe the doctors need to know that, too, and help you all to come to a decision.
At the end of the day I guess you both use your gut feeling with this plus a bit more info. It's your Dad's choice ultimately, not the doctors.
My sympathies that this is going on and what a difficult time it is for you, look after yourself too.
It sounds like you have been given this decision to make with not enough information and of course you don't want your Dad to go through something like this unless it looks like they have a treatment plan which may make real difference to him.
This is adding to your distress so maybe the doctors need to know that, too, and help you all to come to a decision.
At the end of the day I guess you both use your gut feeling with this plus a bit more info. It's your Dad's choice ultimately, not the doctors.
My sympathies that this is going on and what a difficult time it is for you, look after yourself too.
Hi,
I am very sorry to here about your sad situation with your father. As everyone has said it is your fathers decision at the end of the day. Consultants and GPs dont like to leave conditions without a diagnosis and sometimes they forget that it is someones father, mother etc. life that they a dealing with. Not all medical people are like that but unfortunately some are. If your Dr. thought that by doing this scan it would help your dad then he would have arranged it asap. In my opinion all he is doing is arranging these tests so that at the end of the day no-one can come back at him and say WHY! did you not investigate my fathers condition. If you and your father feel that by having this scan it will improve your fathers quality of life then by all means go for it. Keep on and on at the CONS. the GP. or anyone concerned with your fathers care until someone does something and believe you they will. Talk to your father and see what he wants. I hope things work out for you both. It is a awful situation to be in. Good luck with everthing and look after yourself too!
I am very sorry to here about your sad situation with your father. As everyone has said it is your fathers decision at the end of the day. Consultants and GPs dont like to leave conditions without a diagnosis and sometimes they forget that it is someones father, mother etc. life that they a dealing with. Not all medical people are like that but unfortunately some are. If your Dr. thought that by doing this scan it would help your dad then he would have arranged it asap. In my opinion all he is doing is arranging these tests so that at the end of the day no-one can come back at him and say WHY! did you not investigate my fathers condition. If you and your father feel that by having this scan it will improve your fathers quality of life then by all means go for it. Keep on and on at the CONS. the GP. or anyone concerned with your fathers care until someone does something and believe you they will. Talk to your father and see what he wants. I hope things work out for you both. It is a awful situation to be in. Good luck with everthing and look after yourself too!
Hello , I read a post up here about just taking some levadopa and if it is pd then that will improve things. Maybe this would happen if you just spoke to the GP? Our GP put my h on levadopa first of all before referring him to a specialist and the fact that he responded to it was part of the diagnosis. Do you feel you could try that? Maybe too many specialists get involved and you're Dad is right , he doesnt want to go all over the place for this scan and that scan, he wants to be as comfortable as possible.Lots of love to you and you're Father love Sunray