Hello and thank you for your post,

I am very sorry to hear about your dad's situation and I can appreciate your concern about him.

Unfortunately, we cannot say if he should have the chemotherapy, as you say it is up to him to have it. But, understandably, he has reached out to you to ask what you think.

The following points might help with his decision:

The chemotherapy might help shrink the cancer, but it might not. So, you may want to ask the specialist team if they will check to see if the cancer is responding to the treatment. This would usually be done by a scan after 2 or 3 cycles of treatment.   

Looking at the side effects might help with a decision. However please bear in mind that not everyone gets all the side effects of the treatment. If you do get a side effect it might be something you can deal with easily or it could be something that would make carrying on with the treatment more difficult or not safe to do. For example; side effects such as nausea and vomiting can often be stopped with medication.  But an infection could be serious, as he could be unwell and may need to go into hospital to be treated.  There are other side effects he might get.  To be honest you will not how the chemotherapy affects him until he is on the treatment.  

After each cycle, he will be seen by the nurse or doctor to see if it is safe to carry on.

It is also possible he copes well with the treatment with a minimum of side effects.

It may help you and your dad to discuss this with his cancer nurse specialist. Also, you may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

Take care,

Caroline