 [ Symptoms ] i have a question about what happened to my dad he died on 117 from a gangrene infection  he had colon cancer stage ivwith a small tumor in the intestine no blockage and several metastases on his liver he had been taking chemo with avastin we took him to the hospital because he had shortness of breath turned out he had fluid in his lungs and abdomen how did the gangrene occur does the fluid block circulation and why did not the hospital notice a severe infection like that how does a person who had no wounds get gangrene and why they would just let him languish [ Disease ] i am so sorry you lost your dad i lost my dad a couple of years ago i completely understand your wanting answers about how he died perhaps the best answer is this medicine does not know everything we can not keep people from dying it is no comfort to know that but it is true from a pathophysiology standpoint i can tell you this if your dad had metastases spread of the cancer on his liver the chances are good he had them elsewhere including the lungs a doctor once described cancer to me this way it is similar to starting a row of dominoes tumbling once cells turn cancerous in one place they begin to turn cancerous in many other places in a domino effect that means your dad may have had metastases to his lungs and other vital organs as well as his liver how did the gangrene occur well i can not tell you that exactly gangrene is an infection and infections definitely can occur without any wounds fluid build up can cause an infection gangrene may have been the cause of your father is death but another likely culprit is sepsis sepsis occurs when an infection overwhelms the body is immune system and shuts down all the organs sepsis frequently is the cause of death in people with pneumonia and other conditions i am sorry you feel the hospital allowed your father to languish i am sorry he passed away i hope you are proud that he fought until the very end i wish i had answers for you i wish i could take the pain away i hope you know i sincerely share your pain over this loss my sympathy to you and your family