I’m meeting a friend at 4pm today (if Herceptin gets sorted out) and wondered if anyone could help me.
Her husband has bowel cancer. Operated on in 2006, chemo and rads. Liver secondaries and half his liver cut away in 2007. Great success - back to work. January 2008 suspicious areas in lungs, eventually diagnosed as lung secondaries and chemo given. 3 months scans show tumours are bigger, chemo not working and as his kidney is failing, he is having a stent put in.
I realise he is very unwell, but I wondered if anyone could tell me how bad he is. I don’t want to pester her with a million questions and as I’m a science idiot, I’m struggling to understand the time consequences of all this. I want to help and be a good friend and I don’t think my ignorance is going to help.
I’d really appreciate any input.
Thanks
Hi
to be honest - do you really need to know the exact time consequences here? I think you go with your gut instincts which is that the situation sounds really bad, and if she wants to give you more detail (follow her lead) you can support her with that. You sound like a great friend for caring so much to try to find out more for them, but I think you may know enough already.
cathy
Hi Alloway,
I am also trying to offer support to a friend very recently diagnosed with an extremely serious and aggressive cancer. As is often said on these boards, no onc can accurately predict survival and this is what I told her. I really hope her prognosis proves better than she told me but I will just be there with whatever support I can offer as and when she needs it. I think this is all we can do - carry on being a caring friend.
Jenny