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Realistically How Much Longer Does My Mother In Law Have

JWBessen
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Hi,

I would like to get some info about life expectancy please. 

My mother in law has had a PET & CT scan and apparently there are small spots showing on her liver, lung, bones, skull and eye. Last week she had a biopsy on the eye which confirms cancer has spread. The oncologist has said the cancer has spread but they have caught it very early. The spots on lungs and liver are too small to remove and do a biopsy on so they will start chemotherapy next week. 

She is 70 years old and generally healthy. 

We live abroad and trying to understand how much time she has left in order to plan to go home and spend some time with her. 

Any advice will be welcome. 


  • Hello JWBessen and thanks for your post,

    I am sorry to hear about your mother in law. This must be a difficult time for you all.  Prognosis is a question best answered by your mother in law's doctors as they have more of an insight in to the type of cancer that she has.

    With your mother in law's permission your son could try and make a telephone appointment to speak to them so you can both  be more in the picture about her situation and what to expect.

    The doctors may want to wait to see how well she responds to the chemotherapy. It is good that she is generally healthy which will hopefully stand her in good stead when she starts the treatment.

    Prognosis is a difficult thing to predict and even some doctors find it hard to accurately predict how long some one has got. Doctors are basing their predictions on other patients with a similar disease set but as I have said everyone responds very differently to treatment.

    I do hope that you manage to speak to her doctors and have more of an idea of her situation.

    If either of you would like to ring and discuss any of this with one of the helpline nurses you are very welcome to give us a ring. The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    All the best,

    Catherine

  • Offline in reply to CRUK Nurse Catherine

    Hi Catherine, 

    My Mother in Law was on her 3rd set of chemo last week however the Dr came in just before and told her they are stopping the chemo as it does not seem to be working. 

    Her latest CA15.3 results came in at 617.8 marked *H (Critically high) 
    Her latest CA125 results came in at 1837 marked *H (Critically high)

    She was then asked to do another CT scan yesterday and will be meeting the Dr on Monday to see how they can adjust the plan. 

    My wife is abroad with her mom and has been there for going on 2 months now and I am not sure if she should come home or stay. No one is giving any indication on what the actual prognosis is and how much time she may have left. 

    Can you or anyone advise on what these markers could mean and just generally how long we talking i.e weeks / months?

    Mother in law seems fine within her self and still eating well, just very tired which is expected with all going on. 

  • Offline in reply to CRUK Nurse Catherine

    Further to this, she was diagnosed with advance TNBC a few months ago. She has since had her ovaries removed and both her thyroids. 

  • in reply to JWBessen

    Hi and thank you for your further post,

    I was sorry to learn that your mother-in-law has been diagnosed with TNBC (triple-negative breast cancer)

    As Cancer Information Nurses not involved in her care, I am afraid we cannot say what the tumour markers mean exactly or what her outlook is. Only the doctors who are looking after her can give you more of an idea.

    The markers you refer to are tumour markers. These are substances that might be raised if there is a cancer. They’re usually proteins. They can be found in the blood, urine or body tissues.

    The doctors will use tumour markers for several reasons alongside other tests such as scans. For example, they can help the doctors see how well a treatment is working by seeing if the numbers go down. It sounds like unfortunately, in your mother-in-law's case, the markers have either not gone down or may have increased which can mean the treatment is not working which is what her doctors have said. However, the CT scan is also needed to provide more information and this will hopefully clarify her situation.

    I can appreciate this uncertainty is difficult and it is hard to know what to do for the best. Your mother-in-law should have a better idea when she speaks with her doctor on Monday. Perhaps then you will be able to decide with your wife whether or not she needs to stay with her mom.

    I hope things become more clear after your mother-in-law's appointment. Please do come back to us for any further information or support.

    Take care

    Jemma

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