Paraneoplastic Syndrome

On 3/26/2008 DaughterCaregiver wrote:

My dad has lived w/ non small cell lung cancer for 5 years (he's 83), but the last round of chemo ended up being too much for him, and he's now been in hospice at home for the past 3 weeks with supplemental 24/7 nursing assistant care. His condition has quickly deteriorated, and even though he's in hospice, I still stay in touch with his oncologist. When I described the symptoms, he feels that Dad is suffering from paraneoplastic syndrome, which is pretty rare. What I've read online says that this syndrome more often appears before tumors are detected, not during late stage cancer, such as my Dad. A patient in hospice can't accept active medical treatment, but I'm not reading conclusively if paraneoplastic syndrome is actually treatable (as opposed to being managed), and at Dad's advanced age and stage of cancer, is it even feasible to pull him out of hospice to undergo treatment? If he stays in hospice, does he eventually succumb to the eventual shutting down of his physical capabilities? Has anyone else found themselves in this situation?

Thanks,

Mary 

What is paraneoplastic syndrome?

thanks angel22