How long will dad survive?

Question

My dad has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma Stage IV. The oncologist told us that there is a softball size tumor in his right lung. The cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, his liver, his kidneys, and his lower back. Because of his pain, it could be in the bones as well, but they are not going to check this because the treatment would be the same. With radiation and chemo and if he gave up cigarettes, He has 12-18 months to live. But my dad says he doesnt see the point, and I think he is not going to do treatment or quit smoking. If there is a doctor or an oncologist out there, please tell me what the end result of this will be.

Answer 1

First, let me say how sorry I am, and I know how useless all of this advice will seem at times. I know, because I have a terminal lung disease (not cancer, but just a deadly), and more importantly, I am a father. I have two daughters who are going through the same thing you are, and I know it isn't easy for them, but I also know this experience is going to make them a lot stronger.

I admire your father's courage and his common sense. He understands that the radiation and chemo are going to make him very, very sick. In many cases, the "cure" is much worse than the actual disease. There is a physical cost associated with chemo and radiation and an economic cost as well. He probably weighed all of his options and decided that he would take quality of life over quantity of life and that's the best route for him. He has decided to live out the rest of his life his way, and hopefully people around him will support his wishes.

His death is not going to be pleasant or easy. I will warn you ahead of time that the pain will be unbearable and his suffering mighty. The best you can do is support him, love him, and be there for him so when he has lucid moments, he will see someone who loves him. Believe me when I tell you, there is nothing better than to hear your daughter's voice or see her smiling face - it has a way of taking that pain away and it transports us (at least for a moment) to a happier place and time.

If you are interested, I would love to send you a book (free, no charge), that might give you a little insight into what he's going through. Just drop me a line at [e-mail] and put "attention Barry M." in the subject line. I will send you an electronic copy in PDF format. The book might help you to at least realize that there are others out there in your shoes.

I wish you, your family, and your father luck and peace. I hope his time left is spent around people like you who love and care for him. In the end, that is all any of us could ever ask for. Good luck.

Answer 2

I'm sorry, but the end result will be death. I'm not saying this to be mean. The odds of survival from any stage lung cancer are poor. Stage 4 means it's over. 5 year lung cancer survival rates have been hovering at around 5 - 7% for decades. Because of this, I have to agree with your dad. What's the point of prolonging the misery with radiation and chemical poisons when the end result will be the same? Warren Zevon, the rock and roll guy who died of cancer a few years ago felt the same way your dad does and refused treatment. He lasted about a year longer then the doctors thought he would - so there's no telling how long he has left without treatment, but it's probably not much. The best you can do is be as supportive of what he wants as you can and be as strong as possible during his suffering - if you fall apart over it, things won't be any better for him.

Answer 3

Try Vitamin C therapy. A few years ago a cancer researcher came out with a paper saying that the best cancer and infection fighter as yet found was Interferon, but, at the time, it cost $15,000 a gram. The good part was that Interferon was a product of the natural breakdown of Vitamin C in your system. The FDA says that the RDA for Vit C is 64 mg a day, just enough to prevent scurvy. Linus Pauling, who got a Nobel Prize for his work with Vit C and a second Nobel Prize for organic chemistry, said 1000 mg a day as a minimum and 2000 mg a day if you are sick. On a personal note, I was sick twice a year, for 2 weeks at a time, for 20 years, and was flat on my back for at least a week each time. To this day the doctors have no idea what the problem was. After I gave up on the doctors I tried Vit C. I took enough to keep from being sick and just below too much to get diarrhea. It followed a bell curve over 2 weeks with a peak at 40,000 mg a day – about 300,000 over the 2 weeks. I was not sick for those 2 weeks and after a couple of years of that I have not been sick since. I did not dissolve my kidneys, as some doctors said would happen. I did not get any calcium build up or stones and did not dissolve my cones or solidify my joints. Try it, but drink a lot of water – Vit C is a natural diuretic.

Answer 4

I am so sorry for you and your father.His cancer is so advanced he will not be cured.By receiving the Chemo and radiation it will buy him time. This is totally up to him. I can see his point,chemo is awful and it is possible he might be sick all the time. Which is better 12 to 18 months of misery or 6 months of feeling OK with pain medication? I am almost four years out from breast cancer. The chemo was terrible and i really don't think i could go through it again if it comes back. I will pray for you and your dad.

Answer 5

Im neither of those but watched my grandmother go through something similar, she did quit smoking and she did do the treatment and lived much longer than expected, however at the same time, she really just wanted to move on, she was tired and still always in pain, and the last few years were very tough on her. It may be, and will be a very rough road either way, and i wish you the very best of luck in the difficult journey your about to face. But either way your father chooses, make sure you support him, even when it hurts, because in the coming times, he will need you and the rest of your family more than ever

Answer 6

hey,
i'm not a doctor or anything but want you to know that cancer is viscious. i've lost a few friends and family members to it. it's not fun to watch or go through so i just wanted to let you know that i'll be thinking of you and wish you the best. no one knows what the end result will be but we can hope for comfort.

.

Answer 7

hey sorry

sometimes u just gotta let things go b/c god wants it that way and a lot of times its hard

when i grow up my goal is to find cures for cancer

sorry i cant help now

stay strong

Answer 8

really it all boils down to death and this is your father choice let him live out what time he has left the way he wont to and make every minute you are with him count and happy my husband and mom have cancer and this is what i do for them make them happy

Answer 9

I am Soooo sorry...i lost my aunt, uncle and grandma to cancer.....and my cousin has had it as well..........it has to be very hard on you!!! Stay stong for your dad and PRAY alot...i have found it helps me to keep going! Good luck and i wish you and your family the BEST!!!

Answer 10

There is hope so dont give up...This is what I came up with..
Go and take some cesium chloride with rubidium and DMSO. Also take some oxygen drops, and ip6 pills. Also, take an aloe vera plant, a fresh one from the local floral shop, and cut off their pricks. Then cut off a chunk and put it into a blender. Put some vanilla ice cream into it. This is going to be extremely bitter so just gulp it down. Do this maybe 3 times a week for about a week or two. This should take care of you and kill any remaining cancer you may have left in your body. The oxygen drops helps your body take in more oxygen and nothing more. But, its effective because cancer cannot live where there is too much oxygen. Um, it also prohibits cancer from developing. And its natural, all it is is a liquid that allows your body to take in more oxygen. the cesium chloride changes your ph level in your body so that cancer cannot live. Its like taking a freshwater fish and putting it into a salt water body of water. The fish will eventually die. This is what the cesium chloride does to cancer. The rubidium in the cesium chloride helps your body take in the cesium chloride. The ip6 pills take iron out of your body. It binds with the iron. Iron is the building blocks of cancer. So, without it, it cannot multiply. It will multiply until it runs out of iron. And without iron, it will have to die because it needs it to live, thrive, and multiply. And cancer multiplies alot faster then your normal body cells. So, you can do without iron for a while. But, this ip6 does something even more extraordinary. It takes iron out of the cancer cells and not from your body. But, this leads to the next situation. You need to limit your iron intake. Like beef, red beets, broccoli, etc etc. You must eat brown rice. Ip6 is just an extract from this brown rice. It binds with iron but only from cancer cells. Cancer takes it from your body. So, by eating brown rice, it absorbs all the iron in your body.
PS..The aloe vera is a natural cure that alot of people can get a hold of extremely fast. Its cheap and available at any flower shop or nursery...Just grab one as soon as possible...while you wait for the other medicines to get to your door..pancreatic cancer is fast...so you have to be faster...