My mum told me she was diagnosed with bladder cancer last year. She never specified what kind. She was told a less than 12 month prognosis. In December she told me she had until April and between then, she's been told its not as aggressive as first anticipated. In this same breath, she says her doctors don't know her staging or grading? She has has immunotherapy and 2 biopsies. She is alcohol dependent and was going to the pub during treatments? I live in a different city so I only get information she will share. We have a broken relationship and my brother is living with her who is also an alcoholic. He insists they have never been told any staging and now all the doctors are saying is its not getting any better or worse. No prognosis again or anything. She will not let me speak with one of her specialists. Not a single mention of any hospice or palliative care services when she was saying she was going to die. Nothing. Just her word and pictures of letters with blood appointments.

My mum has told me so many lies throughout my life. She lied that my brother had testicular cancer when i was a child. I just NEED some insight if this is realistic what shes said over the last year? Could she be lying? I've been to see her in the hospital but it wasn't a cancer ward, she was recovering from surgery when she had a bloodclot removed. That's the only time I've seen her in hospital. Is it possible for doctors not to give a staging but can give a prognosis? Can they give treatment not knowing a stage/grade? Can they simply say, we don't know a year later?