. 83 yo mother had a kidney removed 5 yrs ago due to clear cell kidney cancer. In 4-13 she suffered a bad fall. while in hospital getting xrays dr found several large masses in both lungs. Dr says no need for further testing as her body and health is too fragile for treatment . Called hospice and told us about 6 mos . It has now been 5 mos and other than extreme fatigue I am seeing no other symptoms. Is rcc that has mets to the lungs small or non small cancer ? It is very hard not to know what is going on.
There are some surgical and medical options for clear cell renal cancer with lung metastases if you feel the idea was dismissed out of hand without them knowing your mother and/or without your mother learning more about them. I got into the literature by Googling pulmonary metastatic clear cell renal, and probably the two best articles I found were
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/renalcell/HealthProfessional/page1/AllPages/Print
and There are even a few clinical tirals out there related to this situation as well.
But, at this point it may very well be that the answer might be the same as the first doctor's recommendation even if you review every scrap of literature and consider every single risk and benefit. Mom's wishes count, and if the leg pain is due to bone metastases as well, it would seem more likely that good hospice care is the best thing. No one can fault you for going either direction with this. We all have limited time and its more about what you make out of that time than how much of it. It has got to be a blessing for Mom you are at her side, and may God bless you both.
If she has extreme fatigue and is not a candidate for aggressive treatment, hospice may be the most humane option. chemo and radiation treatments are rough. God bless you both on this difficult journey