My dearest uncle has been diagnosed with primary liver cancer over the last 2 weeks . He has been unwell for some time for over a year or 2 and drs haven’t really been helpful in working out the problem. They said the medication he was taking was causing him to have black outs but never referred for further tests. This was about a year ago.
About 2 weeks ago he became very unwell with a cough and general weakness and we were tired of the lack of help we were getting from the GP so we took him to A&E. After concerns from the blood test he was sent for a CT scan whilst in A&e to then be told he potentially could have liver cancer. We had no other info and sent home. We chased it up a few times ringing drs secretaries and the GP and they just said his case is being discussed and no further tests are required at this stage. It has been the most horrific emotional waiting process anyone can imagine.
A week later we were told Leeds would discuss his case and learnt it was a MDT meeting that would be reviewing his case and discuss the next steps. The same afternoon after the MDT meeting we were contacted to ask to come in for a meeting in the hospital . They’ve given us the heartbreaking news he has stage 4 primary liver cancer which has now spread through the lymph nodes to other organs . This was just about a week ago.
He is 70 never smoked never touched alcohol. the size of the tumour on his liver has grown rapidly. The consultant has said due to his bilirubin levels which are currently at 65 he is heavily jaundice and they are unable to offer any treatment apart from palliative care and pain relief to help with symptoms.
Prognosis is 3-6 months however within the last 2 weeks he has deteriorated and he is never one to complain about pain. He is just so caught up in his thoughts at the moment. He has all the symptoms from pain in his stomach sickness, extreme tiredness, increased jaundice and just not eating much and itchiness all over
i Wanted to ask if anyone else has had similar experiences and in terms of life expectancy can deterioration be very fast? It does seem that he is on a downward spiral I’ve read in some forums it can be extremely unpredictable. He is now struggling to eat at all and in the last two days all he wants to do is lie in bed and he is very tired and is really struggling to get himself up and walk about. I just don’t know how much time he has left I feel like we will be blessed if he even reaches a 3 month survival mark. As a family we’re keeping him at home at the moment but hearing from a lot of people that deterioration can be quite intense and to consider a care home facility as we want him to be able to have his dignity in his final stages. I just don’t know what deterioration he will experience next and hoping if people can share some experiences they have been through. Any experiences will be helpful thank you
