My mother was diagnosed with kidney cancer very late after seeing GPs for over a year. The kidney was removed in April and she was given an all clear; however now she has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer that has spread via the lymph nodes to her lung, bones, lining of the abdomen, and stem of the kidney that was removed. She has a mass at the base of her spine also.
we have been told it is terminal, and we have been told that any chemo would be palliative. However it has left my poor beautiful mother in a dilema. When she asks how much longer she has, she is being told that thye cant say 3-6 months maybe longer maybe shorter. She wants to prolong her life, but when she asks about chemo, she is told that her cancer is agressive and is not very responsive to chemo - so it could have no effect, or maybe 1 month, or maybe 6 months
I understand everyone is different, and that it is difficult to give definitive answrrs, but she is now so very stressed and upset because she feels she does not have enpugh information to make a decision. She does not want to have 18 weeks of chemo - and the side effects - if it results in o effect or only one month. however she is more than willing to go through with it for 3-4 months more time with her family.
i understand the position of the the consultant - but surely as the experts they could tell us, in their experience, with patients with the same cancer and at a similar stage, what the likey outcome could be?
my mother feels she is be g made to make a decision woth no information and little understanding.
