Hello and thanks for posting

I can appreciate you want to know more about your dad’s 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 dad's specialist team. This is because they are familiar with all his medical details and will know so much more about his individual situation. Doctors base their assessment of someone's outlook/prognosis on their experience of looking after other patients with the same cancer. This will vary to a degree, depending on a person’s age, extent of their cancer, their general health and their response to cancer treatments.

I wondered if your dad has been referred to a community based Macmillan or palliative care team. Their area of expertise is in the management of cancer symptoms such as pain and they will also offer emotional support to him and the family. They will be able to help him and the family understand what is happening. They can help bring in other help and support when it is needed. I can say that when people are dying of cancer it is not usually a sudden thing (when it starts to happen) but may be a decline in health lasting anything from a few days to a few weeks and sometimes a few months. Often you will see that they will become more tried and less mobile, and need to eat and drink less.

We have information on our website about the support people can get at home when they have advanced cancer.

I hope this reply is of some help. Please get back to us if you need any more information or support.  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.

Kind regards,

Celene