Hello Babesmom and thanks for your post

I am one of the nurses and Lucie one of our moderators thought it might be useful if we post something to you.I was sorry to read about your husband’s situation. This must be an incredibly difficult time for you both.

Usually it is relatively straightforward to find the primary cancer. It will either cause symptoms or it will be seen on a scan. But sometimes secondary cancers are found in one or more parts of the body, but the doctor can't find ( after much testing) where the cancer originally started ( the primary site). The cancer does not become established at the primary site but spreads via the blood or lymphatic system to another site and develops there.  When this happens this is known as cancer of unknown primary (CUP ) and you can read more about this by clicking here. 

It can be very difficult to cope with living with a CUP. Often doctors learn more about the cancer by the way it behaves and responds to the treatments someone is having. We have some information about coping emotionally with CUP on our website at this link.

I hope this is of use. If you would prefer to speak to one of the nurses directly, you can telephone us on 0808 800 4040.  We are here from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.

Kind Regards,

Celene