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Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) - Stage 4 - weeks to live

Pri
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Hi.

My dad was diagnosed with Stage 1 Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cancer last November and since then he has had surgery and radiotherapy and two shots of chemo. He finished his radiotherapy on 1 May 2015 and was told that a scan will tell after 3 months. However, he has had small lumps appear on his neck and they are spreading.

We were told that the cancer has come back and that it is not curable and that they are concerned at the rate it seems to be spreading. He has not been well, he is very weak and so they have kept him in to do tests to see if there is anything else making him tired.

We were informed by the doctor this week that the cancer is now at Stage 4 and is the most advanced and has WEEKS left. His calcium levels were raised at 3.8 which is common in advanced cancer. They have managed to bring that down, he is in a lot of pain. They have said that chemo is not a good idea as the cancer has come back in the same place he had radiotherapy, surgery and chemo and that is is only likely to be a less than 10% chance that his body will take it and it will only more weeks.

We are waiting for him to be a placed in a hospice which he is happy with and we have told him that if he wants to come home he can.

My dad knows its advanced but he does not want the detail, he has told the doctors to talk to his family. 

Questions going on in my head are: 

Does he really have WEEKS left or is the worst case scenario?

How do we speak to dad about any wishes he might have. He hasnt asked for details of his cancer or asked the doctor how long he has left, and we don't want to discuss anything more than the usual updates of everyday like etc..

Any advice/ guidance would be very helpful.

Many thanks

Priya

  • Hello Priya and thanks for posting,

    I am very sorry to learn about your dad and can understand you wanting to be prepared for what may lie ahead.

    I am afraid to say your dad’s situation does sound quite serious to me in that the doctors have said they are concerned about how quickly the cancer seems to be spreading and that any further chemotherapy would only slow rather than kill the cancer (this is palliative treatment).  So there has been a shift away from trying to cure your dad on top of which he seems to have quite a fast growing cancer.

    It is difficult for doctors to predict exactly how a cancer will behave and how long someone has.  This will depend on how well the cancer responds to any further treatment and where else it spreads. Because it is uncertain, the information available from the medical team often does seem rather vague.  Doctors are usually willing to give their best estimate about someone’s outlook.  I am not sure if this is something that your dad’s doctors might have already discussed this with him. If not he can ask, but he might not want to know just for now.

    Please give us a call if you want a chat on 0808 800 4040 (we are here from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) and do get back to us if you have any more questions.

    Best wishes,

    Julia

  • Offline in reply to CRUK Nurse Julia

    Thank you for your response, the doctors have not yet discused the details with us or said how long they think my dad has left and so we are playing the waiting game until we know more. We don't know whether we need to act on things immediately or whether we have some time.

     

     

     

     

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