How long are the good times?

Hi, my mum has just been diagnosed with Lung Ca with brain and possible breast mets. She has had the major brain tumour resected and there is still a lesion in her hippocampus. 
It is possible she can have the lung tumour resected but we are waiting to hear, however it is an unlikely option. 

I’m a nurse and mum has called me her ‘cancer coordinator’, I want to do everything I can for her including doing getting all the things she wants to do, done. 

I know it’s impossible to say for definite and that’s not what I am looking for and we are still waiting for the type of cancer (small cell, non small cell ect) but what time frame am I looking at before she is too unwell to be able to do much? What could be her possible prognosis? At a very rough guess. She’s 55 and doesn’t deserve this but these are the cards that have been dealt. 

many thanks 

A

  • Hello and thanks for your post

    I'm sorry to read about your mum. This must be a difficult time for you all.

    I can appreciate you want to know more about her prognosis. But I’m afraid I can't tell you very much, as someone's outlook will depend on several features of their disease, and it is such a hard thing to predict.

    Prognosis is really a question best answered by your mum's specialist team. This is because they are familiar with all her medical details and will know so much more about her individual situation. When doctors give a prognosis it can only ever be an estimate, so there is always some uncertainty about what might lie ahead. Sometimes patients live for longer than their doctors expect ,and in other cases the cancer grows more rapidly and patient's decline quicker. But there is no way to predict exactly what will happen in the future

    We do have some information on our website about prognosis  However I do not think this gives you the best idea on your mum's prognosis.  This is because it is not about her, it is based upon past studies. Statistics are not detailed enough to say what will happen to an individual person as  cancer can behave differently in each person,

    I hope this is of some use. Give us a ring if you would like to talk any of this over.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Kind regards,

    Celene