Hi ljg.. ....'. Your Dad has a good chance of living longer with chemo.  Don't forget that statistics are averages so some people live well beyond the expected time.  Hopefully your dad will respond well to treatment.

I have been having either weekly or 3wkly chemo infusions for almost 4yrs now and doing well.

It may be that other treatments may help your dad at a later date too. Surgery, nanoknife, ablation, radiotherapy.  You can help him find out more information when he gets into the treatment phase.

Keep hope - New drugs are being developed all the time and who knows what will be available this time next year.  All the best to you and your Dad xx

Hi there.

Thing to remember about the numbers that the work on is that its a big spread

With the cancer my wife had on average people managed 2 years *but* 25% make 5 - her mother had the same condition and my wife made 3 years but her mother made 4 and people do make more than 5.

All the doctor is doing is looking at what he has and what stage he's at and he knows that the average figure.

Now the downside is of course that for everybody who makes more someone makes less - it all depends on how well he does on chemo. Eventually cancer becomes immune to the chemo and there's nothing you can do about that but making sure he looks after himself and stays as healthy as he can will help him tolerate the chemo better. making sure he doesn't get ill during chemo is important too - flu shots for everybody (tell your GP you've a chemo patient in the house and ask for one)

And have some fun with him - take his mind off of it and show him you'll be able to cope if he's not there - thats what he'll be fretting about

Max is right  - don't trust statistics

I say that as a man with more than the average number of arms!

(Think about it! ;)  )

Hi LJG so sorry to hear about your Dad such a horrible thing to happen. The advice i would give you is when and if he starts chemo keep him eating and drinking fluids as the immune system can become very weak and open to lots of infections and other problems and also if he does eat etc then it will help him fight the cancer and has been proven life expectancy can go up dramatically so keep that in mind. At least he has will power to fight it. And tresure the time you have with him as you dont know how long he has or anyone for that matter. Sending hugs -Diane

Thanks you so much your advice, its really useful. Im staying as positive as I can for him. Today we found that is Chemo will begin next week and he will be on 'XELOX' which is a bowel cancer chemotherapy. He has to have a 2 hour session in hospital followed by 2 weeks of tablets, then a week off and the cycle repeats. after so long they will give him a reset and during this rest peroid they will do all the scans they need to do and Fingers Crosssed it will go in our favour!! even if it cant be cured i still hope he will be here for a long time yet! and still pray for a mircale. He is fighting this all the way!!!!!!

Hi LJG,

I can't add anything to what others have posted, except to say that in 2013 I was told that if I went on chemo I might last another year to 18 months.

Apparently I'm now a statistical outlier. As Max and Graham have said, life expectancies are always based on averages. These take no account of an individual's age, levels of fitness or whether they have any other serious conditions. There are no guarantees but for every person who dies before the average there's someone else who lives longer.

It sounds like your Dad has a lot to live for - that means a lot too.

I hope things go well for you and your Dad.
Dave

Thank you !
- ​He is ready for chemo to start on Tuesday, fingers crossed it works, i believe this chemo is XELOX. It involves a 2 hour session in hospital and then tablets for 2 weeks twice a day then a week off and the cycle repeats.

- the doctors have said its Pallative Intent, i just hope this controls it and he is stil with us for a long time to come. Its got to work...its just got too. Something needs to go our way in this journey

Hey again 

My dad seems to be doing okay. Hes been on his Chemo for a few days so far hes very sleepy. We were told side effects usually kick in from week 2. He is on XELOX. I was just wandering if anyone else has had this type of chemo. 

Despite what the doctors say i just feel i need to hope that he can overcome this. Is this normal or jusr me being unrealistic :/ 

Thank you