Liver Cancer Incurable Question?

Mу fatherinlaw wаѕ јυѕt diagnosed wіth Liver Cancer, nο cure. Hе іѕ іn late 60′s. Poor health. Hе hаѕ bееn іn hospital fοr 20 days now. Hе hаѕ turned yellow, breathing problems. Wе аrе coming up frοm doctor tο tеll υѕ hοw long hе hаѕ tο live. I саn’t stand thе coming up. A name tοld υѕ уου οnlу hаνе days once уουr jaundice. Iѕ thіѕ rіght? A name please hеlр.
Thanks аll fοr уουr аnѕwеrѕ.
Wе wеrе tοld hе hаѕ days tο live. Thеу released hіm frοm thе hospital today аnd hospice hаѕ bееn called.

8 Comments

  • jennifer says:

    Not sure .But sorry for your pain.

  • Timmay says:

    yes. his passing sooner will hopefully make it simpler since you know he’s interminable and in a lot of pain. he is in the advanced stages of liver failure with the jaundice he probably only has several weeks left tops. sorry about your soon to be loss.

  • Crumbs says:

    oh i’m so sorry to hear.. but seeing as how he has all the pretty late symptoms, i reckon he has a small while more to live.. again, very sorry.. but he’ll be in a better place where he won’t hurt any more.

  • J B says:

    No one has this answer – every person has his own time frame on when he/she is vacant to die. He could be this way for several more days up to a couple of months. Doctors can only make guesses on how long a name has left to live. Spend each day talking about excellent memories, bring him whatever foods he might like (although he may not have any appetite). Ice cream goes down well for most people with this condition. Expect his breathing to get worse. He should be deciding now whether they will place him on a ventilator or not and he should be being paid his will and legal documents in order before he becomes unconscious – your husband can help him with this and there are people in the hospital that can also help. Enlist the services of hospice – they can help all get through this trying time.

  • Raven Eyes says:

    I’m sorry to hear your sad news. No doctor can say how long a person has left to live. They can only give an estimate.
    Jaundice can occur from the very early stages of liver cancer, so it’s not right that it is an imminent sign of death.
    Are you in the UK? If so, has he been referred to the Hospital Macmillan nurses? If he hasn’t, you need to go and question to see them. They are far more qualified to give you advice about this kind of thing. They will also be able to advise on palliative symptom control.
    You and your family are in my thoughts.

  • puppysyndrome says:

    You really can’t predict how long a person has to live. Jaundice is very common with liver or other gastrointestinal cancers. They can go very very yellow…..even the whites of their eyes can eventually turn yellow.
    You’re better not to know how long they have left…….just like him and make the most of every minute he has left. Treat each day as his last and reassure him that although all will really miss him when he’s gone, that you will all look after each other and be ok. Sometimes people hold on coming up for their family to release them and say it’s ok to go………..it doesn’t automatically mean they will die straight away……..just that when they are tired and can’t struggle it anymore, they can go with a sense of peace.
    The days ahead of you will be long and trying and I will pray your entire family will feel peace and a sense of cool.

  • baby12860 says:

    I’m sorry to hear that, but my mother had cancer and once jaundice set in she only lived about three weeks. I’m so sorry to hear this.

  • abijann says:

    Jaundice is the yellowing of the whites of
    the eyes and skin that appears because
    the liver isn’t able to handle a substance,
    known as bilirubin, and convert it into a
    soluble form to flow with the bile out of
    the liver and into the intestines to help
    in the digestion of fats we eat. This usually
    occurs as a first sign of a liver problem.

    There is so much involved in how a liver
    patient progresses in this disease. It
    depends on how aggressive the cancer is,
    how much of the liver is being affected
    by the cancers to cause death of the
    liver cells, whether the cancer has gone
    to other areas, if the patient has other
    health problems or diseases, and a number
    of other things. No one here can tell
    you, for certain, how long a patient has.
    Considering the doctor has all the tests
    results, his medical background, and
    knows what treatments might help…it is
    best to speak with him. They can give
    you the best Guess as to how long he may
    live….he even might suggest having him
    evaluated for liver transplant if the cancer
    is only in his liver. So in answer to your
    question>>>it isn’t always right that you
    have only days to live once you become
    jaundice…there are other things that may
    take place after that….like developing
    fluid in the abdomen because the liver
    doesn’t make a protein sufficiently,
    known as albumin, anymore. Then toxins
    can build up in the body and thwart the
    blood brain barrier and go into the brain
    causing the patient to become easily
    confused. If fluid does develop in the
    abdomen, the doctors can do a procedure
    known as a paracentesis, to drain it and
    help the patient breathe better.
    Here is a site on cirrhosis that is simple
    to know:
    http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis/

    I hope this information helps you in
    understanding more of what is vacant on
    with your father in law. This is a very
    hard time and it is excellent to spend as
    much time with him as you can.
    It would be excellent, now, for a name in
    the family to have an advanced directive
    or potential of attorney signed by him so
    that your family doesn’t have problems
    with the privacy laws and speaking
    with his doctors and handling his affairs.

    Best wishes to you and your family.