Hello all,

My 57 year old mother, living abroad, was diagnosed with SCC in her right cheek in October 2009. Since then I have been following this board through her surgeries, recurrences, and radiation treatments. Your stories have been a huge help and comfort. Many thanks.

In December, we were told of another recurrence in her right and left cheeks, as well as the spread of cancer to her lower jawbone. Due to the unavailability of immediate surgical options (reconstructive surgery), she started chemo in January, and has made it through 3 rounds. At the moment she's pretty weak and battling severe pneumonia.

Today we received some bad news. After reviewing her latest CT scan, the doctors are saying that the chemo hasn't been effective and that the tumours have grown. They are recommending that treatment be stopped altogether, and she be put on morphine. It's hardly been over a year since the initial diagnosis of a very small tumour, with a very optimistic prognosis from the doctor. I would appreciate any advice on where we should go from here. We don't want to give up like this...