Interview LC19

Age at interview: 62

Age at diagnosis: 59

Brief Outline: Diagnosed with cancer of the right bronchus in 1999, followed by pneumonectomy (right lung removed).

Background: Handyman (retired), married, 2 children.

Describes the physiotherapy he had after surgery and shows his scar.

So which lung did you have removed?

I had my right lung removed and I seen the doctor who did the operation, he came round every day to see you, but it's not just him, one or two other doctors are there and other people who've had different operations on all that. And he said, "Well how do you feel?" and I said "I feel great," I said "I'm okay." "Do you feel strong enough to go home?" I said "Get me out the bed and I'll show you." So the therapists come along and they said, "Right we're going to take you to climb two flights of stairs," because they won't release you unless you do that. So I walked with her, got to the first steps, stood on them went [pretends he can't get his breath], "That's enough." But I was playing the nurse up. So we went up the first fight of stairs and come to a landing, "Are you alright?" I said "Yeah fine." She said, "Don't rush, don't rush," "I ain't rushing." I felt at the time I hadn't had an operation, as if I was as normal as anything. 

How many days after the operation was that?

That was a week

Right.

That was a week, and I climbed the next set of stairs, had a quick breather and then come back down again." She turned round, she says "Fine," she said "you can go home," so...

What sort of exercises did the physiotherapy get you to do?

Well what they do is, they get you to do is put, hold your arm, put your arm up like that, lift your arm up, hold your breath, they count one, two, three release. You do that two or three times you know then you should be able to now have a wash and shave, have a shower and all that, did all that in hospital. Because I felt you know as if I hadn't had an operation that time.  

How big is the scar?

It's from my shoulder down to, do you want to see?

Well do you want to show it on the film?

I'm not bothered, I'm easy [he pulls up his shirt and sweater].

We're just looking at the scar. Do you want to say anything about the scar?

Well when I first seen it I thought, 'Cor my life!' you know what I mean, I said "It's a big scar there for me." And but they said it's, over time it will heal up and you probably wouldn't know it when you see it.

He has not fully recovered from his operation and his activities are limited.

So how many weeks did it take you to really feel you'd recovered from the operation?

You don't really, in my eyes, I don't think you really do recover. When I say you don't recover you, I mean you do but it's going to take time, it does take time because when they open you up they're cutting through your muscles and moving your ribs and they're cutting through your tissues and whatever else just to get to your lung and whatever.  I mean... 

It's a big operation.  So what's the whole impact of all this been on your life would you say?

I'm annoyed because I can't go to work, simple, simple as that. I've worked, I've always worked, I was on security twelve hours, fifteen hours, sometimes I never, my wife would never seen me because I worked day and night. And I've always been at work and now I feel guilty because I'm not pulling my weight but what I don't do at work I do here. I can go down and vacuum, I can clean windows, but I have to watch what I'm doing. I mean if I'm going to stay doing [he reaches up] that's when it starts hurting me or if I over-stretch myself by cutting the lawn.  But at the end of the day I'm sore and I can do a bit and I mean I can iron, do some ironing, I iron the babies' clothes. But generally it's just looking after myself now. So I'm eating more, where I never used to eat before I'm eating a lot more now and I'm eating the proper foods now, I'm eating a lot of vegetables which I don't normally eat. I mean I couldn't stand cabbage but I'll only eat a certain kind of cabbage, which is that white cabbage what you call it and carrots, a load of greens now. But generally I'm okay. But there is times when I do have an off day and I'll say to the wife "I'm going to bed," she knows exactly what I'm going for I'm going to bed and I just stay in bed for an hour or may be half a day or all day long, I just go into bed.

Explains how the district nurses provided practical support after his operation.

Was it easy to get help or was it difficult?

Well I had the nurses, what do they call them, the district nurses because they used to come and see the wife, and then they found out about me, and they took me under their wing and they put a file out on me. And they've come round and they got me stuff where you have to, it takes ages to get it off the social services but they got it for me, they got me an extra mattress, what do you call it, things for sitting me up because I couldn't lie flat on my back at the time, I was propped up in my bed so I was lying like that you know. Got me one of them things where you put all your pillows on it like that and a thing to pull myself up, you know to get me up, to get me out of bed. They got me a shoehorn with a long handle so I could put my shoes on. And they just generally kept an eye on me.

Describes his relaxation and breathing exercises and suggests some useful tips for breathlessness.

Can you explain what you've been told and what it says to help your breathing?

Well I can go upstairs and lie on my bed, and play a tape and it's, a woman tells you. You start from your toes, you just lie there and just relax, relax and she starts from your toes and she works up through your feet, through your heels, up your legs, into the body, your arm and then it went up there, but I can never stay awake because it knocks me out. And I can be there for two hours and I wake up and I feel great.

This is relaxation exercises?

Relaxation exercises.

And are there any other breathing exercises you've been doing?

Yeah just normal breathing you know, hold it, and that type of thing. Climbing the stair, it's climb two stairs, stop, let your air out, climb another two stairs, let your air out and then eventually you can say well do three stairs, climb three stairs, let your air out, that type of thing. If you go shopping, balancing your stuff and if you feel a bit breathless, just lean up against the wall if you can, and just lean and just relax you know. People might think you're drunk but you're not, or you can suck a sweet.

Does that help?

Oh yes. Sit on the wall, have an ice cream, sit on the wall and have an ice cream, anything like that. And different types of things you can do to yourself but basically just looking after yourself and watch what you do when you're out.