What does it mean?

Hi Camiela,

I'm so very sorry to read that your mother's cancer had the chance to spread. Chemo can help keep things at bay, perhaps gain some disease free time but no guarantees. Depending on your mother's general health she could well get more than the 5 months the doctor quoted, we know of folks who respond well and get some quality time. I hope it for you and your family.

I'm moving your post to the 'metastatic bladder cancer' section. Others are going through similar situations and perhaps can lend more support.

All the best to you,
Wendy

My mom is 47 years old and was diagnosed with bladder cancer about 14 months ago. She has undergone 4 outpatient procedures to scrape and remove her cancer but in February of this year they decided to remove her bladder completely and perform a full hysterectomy. Her surgery was March 5th, 2008. She has had a full recovery from her surgery but her pathology reports came back that her cancer is extremely aggressive. It has invaded her kidneys and her chest and she has started chemo. I have been researching it online and the only treatments they list other than chemo is said to relieve her symptoms and improve quality of life. What does that mean? It does not sound at all optimistic. I don't know if I really want the answer to that question as much as I would wanted to find someone I could talk to. I believe the way in which her doctor handled her was ruthless, told my dad she would have 5 months to live and so we are all scared....