My husband, who has a reoccurrence of his small bowel cancer has been told that the chemotherapy he had did not reduce the cancer and it has, in fact, spread around his bowel abdomen and no further treatment is available for him. He has now been referred to the local MacMillan services for palliative care. The cancer is rare and extremely aggressive, although at the time of the appointment had not spread to his liver or lungs.
We don’t know how much time we have but the oncologist suggested about 3 months. I don’t know what to do, I feel lost. My husband says he can feel it spreading through him. He has started on pain relief and dexamethasone which has really perked him up. He had been spending a lot of time tired and had no appetite but is now up and eating again. I am worried however because they have said he can only have 4mgs of dexamethosone for a few days then he will need to reduce the dose to 2mgs. The difference between the two doses is remarkable. He has really gone down hill with the reduction of the steroid. My question/comment is …why can’t he have 4 mgs if it makes the time he has left much more enjoyable and given him the chance to see all his friends? He isn’t going to be taking it long term so why cannot he not have the 4 mgs? Surely quality of life is preferable to quantity. Please can someone explain this to me? Thank you.
