New to this.....

Hey everyone I am new to this. My dear mother-in-law has recently been diagnosed with bronchial alveolar carcinoma. She starts Chemo today. We have so far been given no real answers to the big question we all have - how long has she got and how sick is she gonna get with Chemo???? She seems so well (apart from a cough) so it is hard to get my head around it. I lost my own mum 3yrs ago to cancer of the endometrium and she was well too but had passed away within three months of diagnosis. My biggest worry about this, is whether it is heriditary (no-one seems able to tell me). If anyone has any experience of either - the good and the bad - I would love to hear from you. Sally x