Hi

Just wanted to take the time to welcome you to the forum though sad to see the reason that has brought you here. My husband had a different cancer (lung linings) but was also offered life prolonging chemo and varying degrees of pain relief throughout his journey.  It is often difficult for doctors to be exact about treatments/prognosis/time scales as every person's cancer can and does react differently in progression. For us it was  also a very much patient led conversation  so we wrote down the questions we had at each visit and the answers given to help us take it all in.  We were aware of patients (through contact with a specific charity linked to my husband's cancer) that although it was terminal and incurable they have cases of people living anywhere up to 10 years at that time. With a short burst of chemo (cut short due to problematic side effects) my husband's journey took just under three years. 

It must be difficult for you to be so far away (thank goodness for phones and e mail) though I can understand why your Dad would prefer to keep visitors to a minimum.  I also suspect that it is his way of protecting his family and friends whilst he tries to come to terms himself (very much how my husband reacted) with the cancer diagnosis.

Hopefully others will be along soon to offer their support (weekends can be a little quieter).  If you would like to talk to one of the nurses on this site they can be contacted mon to fri 9-5 on the number on this page or you can post questions on the Ask for Nurses thread (can take a little longer for a response due to workload).  Jules54