Hello and thanks for posting

I'm sorry to read about your situation. This must be a very difficult time for you and I appreciate you wanting to explore your options.

As nurses we don't recommend treatment as this needs to come from your specialist team who are familiar with all your medical details.

Treatment decisions can be challenging and many people do struggle with them, but I'm sure you know, only you can decide what to do. I think it is important that you understand all the information you have been given by your specialist team to help your decision. Do look at the benefits and disadvantages of having or not having treatment, and think about what you feel best able to cope with. There is often quite a lot of information to take in and it can feel overwhelming, so I would encourage you to get back in touch with your team to talk it through again. Talking to the team of doctors and nurses involved in your care can be the most helpful as they know all about your individual cancer. Talking to family and friends can also be useful.

We have some information on our website on how treatment decisions are made.

If you decide not to have any active treatment, it doesn't mean that nothing else can be done. You can be given supportive (palliative) care, with medicines to control any symptoms you may have. Palliative (supportive) care involves easing troublesome symptoms and aiming to improve a patients quality of life and providing emotional support to them and family members. You can read more about their role on the Macmillan website. You can also read more about palliative care on the Marie Curie website.

I hope this is of some use. 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