Hello Denley and thanks for posting

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

Unfortunately as nurses here we cannot give a medical opinion on why you have not been offered treatment as we are not directly involved in your care. This needs to come from your specialist team. They are better placed to tell you this as they are familiar with all your medical details.

After a cancer diagnosis patients are discussed within a MDT ( Multi Disciplinary Team) where all the specialists come together to decide on the tests an individual patient needs, and a possible treatment plan. The decisions are based upon the type and stage ( size and extent) of cancer, the patient's age, and how fit and well they are and if they have any other health conditions that may affect them having treatment. 

Some people like to ask for a second opinion with another oncology ( cancer) team as they want to feel that they have left no stone unturned. If this is something that you would like to do, you could ask your GP or current specialist to refer you. We have some general information about getting a second opinion on our website.

I can appreciate you want to know more about your 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 specialist team. This is because they are familiar with all your medical details and will know so much more about your 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, and their general health.

We do have some information on our website about prognosis.  However I do not think this gives you the best idea on your prognosis.  This is because it is not about you, 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 so you cannot predict with any accuracy what will happen.  You can see our information on prognosis on our website.

I hope this 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.

Best wishes,

Celene