CancerCompass message board discussion started by kc1102 on 5/28/2008 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,24442,0.htm Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ HelloFor the last few days, my father has had swelling in his feet. He went to the hospital on Monday and they said that he had a low amount of something that started with an "a" that regulates fluid in the vascular system and that when it is low the fluid leaks out. However, his oncologist said that while the level was low, it was not low enough to cause the swelling. He is not sure what has caused it. The hospital doctor gave my dad some sort of medicine to drain the fluid but his oncologist does not recommend it as he thinks it will not help much and will only dehydrate him. He wants him to have an EKG  or something like that to check if it is fluid around his heart but he does not think that is it. Has anyone else experienced this swelling in any body part and if so, what was the determined cause? Thanks so much. kc1102 Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT if this happend only in ONE foot it could be a deep vein trombosisif in BOTH feet it could be something related to heart renal or liver functiongood luck doc.soyami Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT What happened to your father is called edema.  Gravity causes surplus fluid to gather in the feet.  My husband even had it in his legs.  The doctor prescribed a diuretic pill to get it rid of the excess fluid and he lost 20 pounds in 4 days!  Of course, then one has to be careful of becoming dehydrated.  Test were prescribed for him during this time.  He had an echocardiogram to make sure his heart was OK and ultrasound or CT or ? of his legs to make sure he does not have a blood clot.  All was fine.Next in my husband's case he is taking a medication for fast pulse rate that can cause edema plus he has not been active.  Just in the past few days he is walking more and his ankles are no longer swollen.  Lastly, lung cancer by itself can cause some edema.  So you can see there are many reasons for edema.  What helped my husband was a diuretic, keeping his feet up and walking around more. Hope this helps.Trudie Trudie Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT