Hello to everybody out there, I am hoping someone can help me with my questions, my father has just had an emergency opeation to remove a blockage in his bowel, the surgeons have put a tube in to bypass his problem but have not taken out his bowel as it is too badly damaged from radiotherapy. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer 1 year ago and underwent radiotherapy in the summer, which had no effect however while he was in hospital establishing his bowel problem he had a scan which showed he now has secondary cancer to his kidney, liver and lymphatic system. A nurse spoke to me and said that he probably wouldn't be here this time next year and that I should base our plans on 6 months, can anybody help me with what to expect in the next 6 months or if this expectancy can be relied on. thanks
My mom was diagnosed with bladder cancer last year. She underwent the scrapping of the bladder in November and in December she had 33 radiation treatments. She has reoccuring UTI's and is now in the hospital with a serious infection in the urine. We think the antibiotics are FINALLY getting this infection under control. We have not had a CT Scan since the surgery or radiation. But our Dr. told us that if she had the radiation it could give her 4-5 more years. Again, we haven't had another scan yet to see if the radiation did anything.
We are hoding on the hope that the radiation did its thing in killing the bad cells and that we can get this UTI infection under control. We have our faith in God and his will is perfect. We may not understand it or agree with it, but he is in control and we have put our lives in His hands. The power of prayer is very strong and so is our faith.
I'm so sorry to hear you received this bad news about your father. It's always so hard to look ahead with cancer, especially when doctors can't offer you anything definite to count on. I can't offer you specific medical advice, but when cancer has spread to several different areas, particularly major organs such as the kidneys and liver, it is much more difficult to treat.
The nurse may have mentioned "six months" specifically because that is the time-frame that qualifies your father for hospice. Any cancer patient whose cancer is not curable and who is likely to have less than six months left qualifies for hospice, which is a wonderful service that can help you with home nursing, pain medications, and lots of expert advice. I highly recommend asking the nurse and doctors to refer your father to hospice. People mistakenly think that hospice is for the dying, but this is not the case. If you get good news and it turns out your father has more time, it can be extended, but in the meantime you get affordable, knowledgeable home-based help. There is lots of support to be found on Caring.com, so please keep coming back and let us know how things are going.
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