Cancer Research UK main site

My Mother has Pancreatic Cancer

Jort
Offline

My Mam has just been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer after suffering Pancreatitis for 4 years. She was told on 3 occasions that she didn't have cancer and not to worry about it. She started to loose weight drastically and still nothing was done. She was also told that there were black flecks on her lungs. So she was told her lungs were clear then 2 days later it is on her lungs and it is inoperable. She is going to have a stomach bypass to make her more comfortable and get rid of the tube that is feeding her . Is it normal to not be given a time scale so that you can sort everything out so that Mam can have quality of life that she hasn't had for a long time .

 

  • Offline

    Hi Jort,

    So sorry to read about your Mam and that she has gone so long without her cancer being diagnosed.
    It isn't unusual to not be given a timescale, unless you or your Mam have actually asked for one. Doctors tend to be hesitant to give any sort of dates because it is hard to predict, but it is worth pressing them for an answer. Asking "would you be surprised if ..." sometimes works better than asking how long have I got?"

    Good luck


     

  • Offline

    Yes I'd have to agree - I think they really do try to avoid speculating on life expectancy for a number of reasons.

    Firstly it is hard to predict someone can be doing really well and then a sudden complication can set in and things can do downhill rapidly or people can do unexpectedly well and really beat the odds.

    Secondly it's not something you can take back once you've told someone and not everybody wants to know. You may want an answer to that question but does your mother?

    but for what it's worth you can look here:

    www.cancerresearchuk.org/.../statistics-and-outlook-for-pancreatic-cancer

    You want the section advanced stages where cancer has spread to another part of the body

Speak to a nurse

Quick links

Follow us

Registered with Fundraising Regulator (logo)
Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ.