Questions and a follow-up on the pleural effusion

[Natsmb]

I have a question here, mainly because it's difficult to get a straight answer from doctors. They're very vague about anything just so that it can't come back to bite them.

I ended up having a pleural effusion and the thoracentesis took off about 1.1 l of fluid out of one lung. There seems only a small amount in the second one. After enquiries, it appears I gained the 1.1 liters of fluid during a four-month time span.

A CT scan showed very small growth in the metastasized ovarian cancer in my abdominal cavity. So the medicine appears to be keeping it at bay.

What are others experiences with pleural effusions? It's supposed to indicate that the cancer is progressing but in this case, the cancer progression is very nominal. With any progression is it normal to have that much fluid accumulate in that space of time? I'm asking because throughout the past year I haven't had that kind of a problem before. My heart had some problems with fluid but that was taken care of.

I'm on a bisoprolol a day to protect the heart. My general practitioner suggested I cut the dose in half to see if that helped with the heart rate. Is it possible the reduced heart rate might have contributed to the fluid accumulation.

I'm wondering if I should be worried. I see and read that the lifespan of those with pleural effusions is not especially positive. Unconcerned.

[Jh873]

Hi Natsmb,

I’m sorry you’re going through this, it can be such a scary time when you can’t get a straight answer. My experience with pleural effusion was when my mom was first diagnosed with OC. She went to the ER and they drained the fluid from her lung, then found the OC when they went looking for the cause. I was really worried and fixated on the pleural effusion, even after they staged her at IIb. I asked them why it happened, if she had metastasis to her lungs and if they had tested the fluid. The drained fluid showed abnormal cells but no cancer cells and her lungs were clear on CT scan. One doctor gently said to me that they don’t know why it happened but that sometimes when the body is sick it can happen.

I hope that my experience can bring you some piece of mind that my mom didn’t have tumour cells in her lungs but did get pleural effusion. She went 2.5 years in remission and just had her first recurrence.

Please take care

[Natsmb in reply to Jh873]

Thank you. That does help. I was kind of nervous about why would be happening now.

[Di16]

I had a large pleural effusion on my right lung when I was diagnosed early in 2008, nearly 12 years ago. I was told that in my case it was part of a syndrome that can occur when you have cancer. It was drained before I had my initial surgery, &I has not recurred since, even though I have had recurrences of the oc. Di

[delia2]

Hi I don’t know about the pleural effusion but I have taken bisopropyl for ten years to lower my heart rate and lower blood pressure. So cutting it in half would raise your heart rate. I suggest a second opinion if your consultant is not a clear communicator.