My father was diagnosed with biliary tree cancer
(cholangiocarcinoma) on March 4, 2005. (He is 65
years old). He was severley jaundiced, was
losing weight and very tired so he went to the
doctor. He was admitted to the hospital
immediately.
He underwent a battery of procedures and tests
including the insertion of an external biliary
drain to remove the bile that was backing up in
his system. The tumor in his liver is the size
of a man's fist and takes up the entire left
lobe of his liver. It is not resectable and they
are treating him with chemotherapy to try
prolong his life. He has been home for a few
weeks after a 30 day stay in the hospital and is
skin and bones, has no energy, and is unable to
go outside the house without the aid of a walker
or wheelchair.
I am interested in learning as much as I can
about this disease and how to be as supportive
to my family as I can be. His doctors have
downgraded his prognosis from less than a year
to "weeks" - whatever that means. What should I
expect to happen?