Advice From Those Who Know

My grandmother (she's 84) was recently diagnosed with bile duct cancer. It's metastisised to her liver and is inoperable. Her doctor has given her about 6 months and what I'm wondering is whether or not she will suffer too much. Right now she's on oxy contin and her doctors are pretty much just trying to keep her out of pain. She's got two stents in with the bile collecting into two bags and that's the largest source of her discomfort. I just want to know what I can expect, and how much worse it could get.

It is so hard to know how this cancer or most cancers progress and what the symptoms will be. The best information you can probably get is from reading this message board and seeing what other people have experienced. From my husband's case and from others I have read you can probably expect more hospital stays and problems with her stents. She may also have fevers and swelling in her legs. My best guess is that her pain won't get much worse; it will be the other complications that will be hard for her. Much of the progression depends upon which areas of her gut the cancer attacks (it tends to spread locally). She may be able to die very peacefully as I have read others have done, especially if one of her organs just shuts down. The doctors usually do a pretty good job of keeping the pain down so hopefully that will be the case with your grandmother. Good luck and remember to enjoy all of the time you have left. The time will pass more quickly than you think.

Enjoy everday you have with her. Never give up hope because who knows what can happen. My Dad lasted six months but he died peacefully. I'm not saying there weren't some rough times because it can be unbearable at times to watch what they go through. Your family needs you so if it gets hard just take a breather and be there when you can. I know this from experience because my brother and sister left me to take care of my mom during the worst part of it all. I know now how much she appreciated me being there and i know my Dad loved that i never gave up on him. If your grandma is lucky a miracle will happen and if not hopefully she will go peacefully. My dad told my mom bye in his own way the morning he died and then went back to sleep but never awoke. I've said the best things was that he died in his sleep so there wasn't any pain. I hope this will help.