Hi Dorothy,

So sorry to read about your son's diagnosis, it is a devastating time for everyone involved.

One of the most frustrating things about the cancer journey is how hard it can be to get a straight answer from people. This is due to there being so many variables in every case. One person's experience and outcome can be very different from another's, even if they have very similar diagnoses and are on near identical care plans. 

Your son's Oncologist will be able to give you an idea of what expectations to have, but any timescales you are given will be based on averages and could under or over estimate by months or even years. For example, I was told I had Stage 4 cancer and that I probably had between 2 and 12 months, possibly 18 months if the chemo was unusually effective. That was in October 2013 and I am still living a relatively normal life despite still having metastatic cancer. In a similar case, a friend's father who like me was in his fifties had the same cancer at the same stage but didn't make it past 2 months. I have no real idea why there was such a difference. There is hope but we shouldn't put too much faith in the estimates we receive. On average these are right, but there are extremes in both directions.

Good luck and best wishes 

Dave