Advice on life expectancy

Dear NH1983,

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the Online Community. I’m Heidi one of the Cancer Information Nurses here on the Macmillan Support Line.

I am sorry to hear about your mum’s diagnosis and it is understandable that she is feeling lost.

As you mentioned, it is difficult to have an understanding of how mum’s cancer might progress because we are not part of the NHS and do not have access to medical records. This is why we would advise speaking with her specialist team as they are always best placed to give individual information.

If your mum has a specialist nurse they can help support her with this.

Your mum’s doctors may not be certain what will happen or how long she might live without treatment. As cancer affects people differently it can be hard to say how it might progress.

Different things will affect how long you might live. This means your mum’s doctors may not be able to answer your questions fully. But they can usually give you an idea based on the type of cancer and mum’s individual situation.

Usually mum’s team of health professionals will work together, and with her, to plan what is best for her. This is called a multidisciplinary team (MDT). Your mum’s MDT will consider the risks and benefits of treatment options, the aim of any treatment offered and the impact on quality of life. They will also respect a decision not to have treatment, particularly if the side effects may be difficult to cope with.

Your mum’s cancer doctor can tell you about the factors that will affect her prognosis and what they mean for her. These are sometimes called prognostic factors. They include:

• the type of cancer you have and where it is in the body
• the stage of the cancer – the size of the cancer and whether it has spread
• the grade of the cancer – how quickly the cancer may grow
• if the cancer cells have certain proteins or genetic changes that mean certain treatments will work well for you
• how the cancer responds to treatment
• Her age and general health.

You could ask her specialist team or nurse if her other health conditions, particularly as they affect her lungs, may be significant in terms of her life expectancy.

It can be difficult to find statistics regarding survival without treatment, this is because this kind of information gathering may be unethical and will vary considerably due to individual factors.  

The most important thing is that mum has the right support to make an informed decision that is right for her.

If mum decides not to have treatment we would suggest that she should be referred to a community palliative care team. The GP can do this.

The palliative care team includes a range of professionals who can support your loved one and the family. This is the support people are usually looking for when they refer to ‘Macmillan Nurses,’ as Macmillan nurses are often part of this larger team. Marie Curie may also be able to offer some additional hands on help and support at home; often they can help during some evenings and night-time. The GP, specialist nurse or district nurse can refer to them, if it is appropriate. 

Although we cannot signpost to any individual personal experiences we do have a very welcoming online community, friends and family forum, and lung cancer forum.  Sometimes talking to others that understand can be supportive.

You sound like a wonderful support to your mum but we can appreciate this is a difficult time and supporting a loved one with cancer can cause a wide range of fears and emotions. Please remember to look after yourself too.

 Please don’t hesitate to get in touch again if we can support you further.

With best wishes

Heidi

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or email us. 

Ref/ HeP/HC