I did a decent search on here, and other than
this thread, I didn't really find much about my questions.
My 62 year old, heavy smoking father was taken to the hospital last month due to abdominal pains, and they discovered a "mass" in his large intestine. They removed the mass, along with 8 inches of his intestine and he was under the impression that all was well, and that was the end of it.
Today, he was told he still has the cancer and that is has spread into his lymph nodes as well as into some other part of his body (due to shock, he doesn't recall everything that was said to him at the time, but it's also in a part of the body he has never heard of before). He starts chemo on the 14th.
I am going to call his Dr tomorrow morning for further clarification to his diagnosis.
What are the main questions I should be asking?
My father lives alone in NB. I am very far from the 100K CP income club, but I do have access to flight benefits. Is the first chemo session something that I should fly home to support him with?
He just had double knee replacement a few months ago and finally is walking without a cane. Is this going to effect his mobility?
A quick peek online, and the ever opinionated Dr Google tells me once cancer reaches the lymph nodes, it is in the 3-4 stage. Is that true? ie: can you have cancer in the LN's and it not be stage 3 or 4? My wife's father was given 6 months when he was diagnosed and lived 5 years, so I'm not looking for a time frame, per say, but am wondering if it's that much more severe because it has spread outside of the intestine.
Other than my father in law passing 6 months after I married, I am very clueless to the subject. It's been an emotional day and I'm not sure exactly what to think but I've pulled up my big girl panties and just really want to know the true reality of the situation my family is facing. Looking for the straight up, non sugar coated, honest truth.
**********Update:**********
He has stage 4 Cancer of the Cecum, which is under the blanket of Colon Cancer.
The word he didn't know was Omentum (abdominal lining) They Biopsied that and he has Cancer there as well. 7 out of 22 lymph nodes they checked also have cancer. They are going with FOLFIRI and Avastin for treatment. Every 2 weeks. Intent of treatment is not to cure, but to prolong and they do a CAT scam after 6 treatments to see how he is responding.
His doc left is taking a long weekend so I can't get the actual prognosis until Tuesday, but I pretty much see the writing on the walls.
I know stage 4 is bad news, but the whole "we're not doing treatment to cure, but instead to prolong" was a kick in the sac for sure.
Thanks again for all the help, questions, websites and advice!