Hi,

My Dad was diagnosed with AML in 2017 and started on chemo. After three rounds he was in remission and we had around 8 months before it came back. He was told it was still treatable with the options of more chemo and a possible stem cell transplant. His last round of chemo wasn’t successful and they have now ruled out a stem cell completely, despite having a really strong match. They have said they will now provide maintenance chemo but don’t know how long that will last but they will possibly put him forward for trials. I asked how long the maintenance chemo is likely to work for and they said it could be anything from one month up until a year. I don’t know what this means. Does he potentially have a month to live? What are trials and do they ever prolong life or if it just a last chance stab in the dark with a low success rate? I haven’t spoken to my Dad about anything since we were told the transplant wasn’t happening - this is purely because I am unable to have a normal conversation about it without breaking down and I know the strain on him would be a lot heavier if he saw me in tears at this stage. His only symptoms seem to be breathlessness, pale face and tiredness but he is still functioning like himself so I just can’t understand how it’s a possible that there’s no cure. I really don’t know how to cope with this at all. I feel like my heart has been ripped out