My husband had testicular cancer 35 years ago and as a result of radiation done at that time, he needed a pacemaker and 2 valve replacements 8 years ago. Other than that he felt good and looked wonderful. In Feb. 04 I brought him to the local hospital and he needed his galbladder removed. Before doing the operation they did a TEE test to look around the heart and valves. They came back and said they saw something but didn't know what it was. His doctor insisted he be moved to a New York Hospital. I told his doctor about the TEE test thinking there might have been something wrong with a valve. My husband said he never felt right after the galbladder operation. he started loosing weight, became anemic, out of breath, etc. He kept complaining to his doctor all his ailments and the doctor kept telling him to have his pacemaker checked. Nothing wrong with the pacemaker. A year and a half later he was diagnosed with stage lV squamous cell lung cancer in the bronchi. Does anyone think that something they saw doing the TEE test could have been the beginning of the cancer? My husband died 9 months after diagnosis and I am haunted with the idea that this could have been prevented had they looked at that test.
Any feedback would be greatly apppreciated.
Jeanne