It is terminal. They've given him 6-9 months. They keep having to pull huge amounts of cancerous fluid from his lungs. He starts chemo today, but it doesn't look like they are going to do radiation because the cancer is just too big. The dr is also looking into 2 different pills that he may be able to take instead of doing the chemo.
Right now, he seems fine, so it's hard for me to accept the 6-9 month time frame. I know drs aren't god, and they can be wrong, which is really what I am hoping for at the moment. We've already been told to start looking at hospice care (which is why I asked about that last night).
This is a photo I took of Alissa and my dad last weekend at her birthday party. It makes me smile.
I am so sorry. Don't necessarily rely on that timeline. In my amateur opinion, he is just as likely to have a few years as he is to have less than six months. You just never know, unfortunately. My dad was fine for awhile after his diagnosis, but about a year after it was diagnosed as stage 4 (brain metastasis), he started going downhill fast. About three months before he passed away was when it became clear that our time together was very limited. I am thankful to have had that time to say goodbye, but in many ways it was harder then than when he actually passed away.
Anyway, I am so, so sorry. Cancer sucks. Please PM me if you ever want to talk.
I am so sorry. Don't necessarily rely on that timeline. In my amateur opinion, he is just as likely to have a few years as he is to have less than six months. You just never know, unfortunately. My dad was fine for awhile after his diagnosis, but about a year after it was diagnosed as stage 4 (brain metastasis), he started going downhill fast. About three months before he passed away was when it became clear that our time together was very limited. I am thankful to have had that time to say goodbye, but in many ways it was harder then than when he actually passed away.Anyway, I am so, so sorry. Cancer sucks. Please PM me if you ever want to talk.
Oh, Lord, absolutely. As much as it sucks to lose someone you love, the tension and stress while you're just "waiting for it" is almost worse.
And ditto about the timeline. It's not set in stone, either way.
Ditto those who said to take this time to make memories, take a trip together, take photos, do whatever makes you all feel happy and close.
If there are stories or history you've always wondered about, start asking him to tell you about these things. If your family is unsure about what his final wishes might be when the time eventually comes, start thinking about how to best approach to him about that.
Thanks He has gone through this before, and their timeline was 6-9 months then, and it's 3 years later. However, it's the fluid buildup in his lungs that makes this time worse.
He is getting a 2nd opinion. However, the people I have shown his scan too (nurses, people in the cancer field) agree w/ his dr's prognosis. Day by day, I guess...