my mom has cancer that spread to her brain and it was classified as a stage 4...how long will she have?
490942
Stage 4 cancer is generally considered the final stage, though there are more and more people surviving stage 4.  Stage 4 also means that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.  Chemo-therapy is the most popular form of treatment.  Sometimes radiation and surgery are incorporated into the treatment.  There is really no way to determine how long she will survive.  It depends a lot on her attitude and willingness to survive.  If there is a lot of pain that can't be controlled, she may want to let go simply because pain is so taxing on the person.  Bless you for your care and concern.  You are a reason for her to survive.
702376
My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990.  She battled it, and won.  She had lymph nodes removed as well as a total masectomy.  Along with 6 months of chemo.  Unfortch her cancer recurred in 1998.  This time in her bones.  She battled bravely again, with weekly chemo for 5 solid years.  Eventually it spread to her brain and she had radiation.  She had(yes, I am sorry 'had')a great life from her initial battle in 1990 until cancer finally took her from us in 2003.  She saw both her daughters marry and met one grandson.  She and my dad traveled and were together.  Just give her the best you can.  Be there for her, talk to her.  I know it hurts, believe me, I know.  My mom was only 53 when she passed.  I believe she always handled it better than we did.  I never once saw her be scared.  I wish you and your friend all the best.  Good luck!
489976
First of all, let me say that I am very sorry for both you and your husband. My Mother is 5 years into treatment for Lymphoma and I know how hard it can be. I am concerned about the fact that you think God has healed him, yet he is obviously very ill. I understand that you want to turn to faith in this situation. You need to grasp the fact that faith is not a plan. Neither is cutting back your paycheck if you cannot afford to do so. Is he on chemo? Any treatment? There are many medications he can be given with chemo that will help him enormously to feel well enough to manage himself while you are at work. He can try many of the different blood cell booster shots. He also may want to look into anti-depressants. Depression will inhibit his immune system and cause his energy to fall lower that it would be from the cancer itself. His oncologist needs to be aware of your concerns immediately. Your families should also be involved. Most often family members want to help but don't know what to do. Please feel free to contact me through my Q&A page if I can help more with specific questions for your doctor or medications to ask about. Good luck.
1114551
Bless your heart, my friend, I don't know why your mother got cancer.  I didn't know her.  Maybe it was her lifestyle, maybe it was exposure to a carcinogen, maybe it was just rotten luck and unfortunate genes.   I am truly sorry it happened.  We can't cure cancer yet but if it's caught in time we can kill it or remove it.   I'm a nurse and I've dedicated my life to dealing with disease, the living and the dying.  Perhaps you'll want to dedicate your life to finding a real cure for cancer.  That would be worthwhile.
822484
Hi. I am an oncology nurse experienced with breast cancer. Congratulate your mother on catching her breast cancer. It sounds like she caught it early. It is ok to be scared. The best way to deal with this is to find out all you can about your mom's diagnosis and what her plan of care is. Many of the treatments can have some side effects, which are normal. Your mom should find out about them and be prepared for what to expect. Half the battle of cancer is in the mind. She needs you and your dad to be concerned but also keep a positive attitude. Your mom will be tired during her treatment. You and your dad can help by doing little things like the laundry, cooking and helping around the house so she won't be stressed about that. Also many patients who get chemo like to have a friend or family member there during their transfusion. Offer to be there. Cancer is not easy but what it can do is really remind you how much you love each other. Just be there, tell your mom you love her and ask her what she needs. Also be nice to your dad. This is sometimes harder for the guys even if they don't show it. Good luck and God bless <><
1100832
My mother died from a cancer that had started on her right kidney a few years ago. It spread from her kidney and went up her spine and expanded out from there very fast. It will on the enzyne forulation that is present in the cancer he has, as to how fast the cancer will grow. My mother would not let the do a biopsy from the cancer. Let me first say that she or the doctors were not aware of what was present on her right kidney. They told her to let it grow a little more before they tried to do anything about it. They were not sure it was cancer. When the time came to do a biopsy, they told her they didn't know if they could get any fluid from the mass that was present. they told her they were afraid it would bust and spread quickly if they tried to extract fluid from it. So she didn't let them do a biopsy and it did spread quickly and killed her within 3 months. So it sounds like your husband has a much better chance at living a fuller life than what my mother did. I pray that things go good for him. If they had took her right kidney when they found it at the time, she'd probably be alive today. I wish the best for him and you.
944241
From what you wrote it sounds like a lymphoma type cancer or breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes and to the soft tissues which attach to the sternum but not inside the bone itself which is a good thing.  \n\nI can't give you the odds of living because I don't know her full history with cancer, family history, health issues she might have, how long since she noticed this, if it's the first test, etc.  But I can tell you that people are living with cancer like people live with asthma or diabetes.  \n\nIt sounds like she would need chemo and radiation to shrink the masses, then surgery to remove what they can, then more chemo and radiation, then physical therapy.  If they remove the lymph nodes which it sounds like they would be thinking of that, she probably would have a good chance to develop lymphedema, which in that case, I can help you with those issues but the first issue is cancer treatments.  What does her doctor suggest?\n\nI'm a cancer survivor and believe me if I got the diagnosis she did, I would opt for heavy duty chemo, radiation prior to surgery, then surgery for them to take out what they can, then more chemo and radiation and kill the stuff off, then you have to monitor things.  Has she had a PET scan?  I would say with the involvement of soft tissues, lymph nodes, she needs one to be sure it hasn't spread anywhere else unnoticed.\n\nHer odds aren't lost with the right treatment, she needs to keep a positive attitude and you need to show her alot of support because I imagine she is afraid, depressed, and worried about the odds and treatments and how she is gonna feel.
1139420
i am very sorry to here about your family member. i have worked as a cancer nurse for over two years now and unfortunately, it sounds as if she is near the end. sometimes thats the hardest part of cancer (worse than all the treatments combined) if morphine is not helping her i would ask the docs for some type of continuous medication to keep her pain free. they offer those medications for at home use as well (not sure if she's home or where she is) but most meds can be given continuously at home. try the very best you can to keep her comfortable, let her know you are there for her, and just be a family. there are nurses who come to your home to help during these times as well. i hope things go well
1075523
It is up to her oncologist. Get a good one. Maybe she will be given radiotherapy. She should stop eating too much meat, do alot of deep breathing cos it seems cancer cells don't like and can't survive on oxygen but thrive on carbon dioxide. Take alot of fresh fruit juice (buy a juicer and start juicing). Take wheatgrass and more vegetables.  Read up on ovarian cancer on the internet.
1088776
Well, the short answer is that it depends to a large degree on which stage it is caught in.  \n\nI found a link with a ton of information on the subject, including prognosis, symptoms, and treatments.  Here's an excerpt from the prognosis section:\n\nIn recent series, the 5-year patient survival rate varies from 50-80%, with most studies indicating patient survival rates of higher than 70%. Whether the Kadish classification system has a definitive prognostic value is unknown, but stages A and B seem to have a 5-year survival rate of 86% versus 72% for stage C.\n\nhttp://www.emedicine.com/med/topic748.htm
2077
I get migraines and have actually had a hemmorage in my pituitiary and that kind of headache and a migraine are totally different.  As for having an episode where she lost abilities it sounds like she had some sort of loss that caused a lack of oxygen to the brain which would explain the "visions" of seeing relatives that are already passed.  Lack of oxygen can cause damage to the brain where the affected are can be speech and motor skills that would have to be relearned.  Your mother is in my prayers.  I have son with Cerebral Palsy so motor disorders and delays are well understood by me.  I know the strain it can have on the family members.  God bless!!  \nMegan
463144
The 5-year-survival rate is a statistical way of looking at the death rate in a cancer. You can look it up online (I have to say, it is a rather depressingly low number) but please keep this in mind: It cannot tell you anything about your daughter's individual chances since statistics only deal with groups.\nSome people can die from othe stage 2 cancer in 6 months, others will live with a stage 4 cancer for 10 years. \nYour best bet is an honest discussion with the oncologist but always keep in mind, noone can give you an absolute number. They just don't know. How you react to treatment, how fast the cancer grows - it is different for different woman.\nMy mother died last year of ovarian cancer, between diagnosis stage IV and death were only 9 months. In this time we just did our best to be there for her, helped her with everyday work as much as possible, talked to her when and about what she wanted - including death. Towards the end  we all put our lifes on hold while hers ran out, just to be there for her. Most people aren't lucky enough to be able to do this. But she was very grateful to have her family to rely on. I don't believe this is much of a comfort for you. \nI wish you and your daughter the very best of luck.
374033
The most advanced form is Stage IV which has a very low survival rate—only about 5 percent of those diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer will survive for five years. The overall five­year survival of all patients with ovarian cancer, regardless of stage, is about 30 percent.
618517
I was diagnosed with a stage four ovarian cancer 2 years ago when I was 17.  I was supposed to only have 6 rounds of chemo, but I had the option of two more rounds, which I did.  I also had a surgery which took 5 hours.  I havent had any reoccurences.  It hasnt been five years, but I have had been cancer free.  I would just go with any additional treatments that the oncologists offer.  I hope everything goes well with your wife.  If she needs anyone to talk to she can email me, because I have been through it all.
611700
yes my mother died of breast cancer\nSHE WAS 30 WAS SHE DIAGNOSED\nPLEASE GO GET CHECKED OUT AND DO SELF EXAMINATIONS
778964
Tell her that there are over 100 alternative cures for cancer, which her doctor is not allowed to talk about, even if he knows about them.\nThen do some research, find the right one for your mother, and help her to get the cure that she deserves.\n\nYou can start your research on my web page at\n\nCancer\nhttp://dgwa1.fortunecity.com/body/cancer.html
978445
Oh dear\nI'm so sorry for your mother\nwhen a cancer has reached a site far from the original site (i mean when there is no direct contact between the two sites) it's then called a distant metastasis and in oncology classifications it's known as M1 in TNM classification and grade IV in WHO classification\nin such cases the treatment is very difficult because this means that the cancer cells have managed to escape from the original site and escape from the protective mechanisms circulating in the blood and present in different tissues to reach another distant site\nNo one can say how long would a patient with metastatic bone cancer live and it's dependent on many factors one of them is what type of bone cancer\nIn most cases the treatment such a patient will recieve is to help her continue her life without suffering or pain\nI wish you and your family the best