How long does someone die after this kind of cancer? I found out today that it is pallative cancer.....my grandma is running a fever and she said she can't even stay awake. My grandma said she has a lump in her throat now. It has been classified as poorly differentiated.....please, someone be honest with me.....I need to know.

Christy

Hello Christy.

Pallative is really not a kind of cancer. Pallative is the type of treatment your Gramdmother will be receiving. It means the cancer most likely cannot be cured. The treatment for what she has could me worse than if they do nothing. There are so many diffrernt quality of life issuus to deal with. Please remember this is just my opinion and if I errored
in any way please forgive me. There are many members who know more about SSC than I.

The treatment she should receive should allow her the most comfort and as pain free as humanly possible. I am so sorry she has to suffer with such a bastard of a diaease. My prayers go out to both of you and your family.

God Bless, Danny Boy

Hello Danny Boy, I just don't understand why it has to be like this. This thing only became noticeable at the beginning of the month......now she is going to die. How could it have spread that fast? I am sorry for all the questions.....:-((

Christy

Christy,

Danny is correct. Palliative is a type or mode of care rather than a type of disease. I found this definition on the web. I think it's pretty good:

"Palliative care, also called comfort care, is primarily directed at providing relief to a terminally-ill person through symptom management and pain management. The goal is not to cure, but to provide comfort and maintain the highest possible quality of life for as long as life remains."

In answer to your initial question, which is how long? No one can answer that. Not even the docs. It's usually just their best guess, but everyone is different.

My heart goes out to you and your family.

-Brett

Christy,

I'm sorry to hear how quickly this has affected your grandmother. Unfortunately, with many oral cancers, by the time they become noticeable they have already been in the body for years. They can stay at a microscopic level for awhile where they aren't readily detected. My oral surgeon told me that my tumor had probably been there for as many as 5 years before it was diagnosed.

Certain types of cancer cells can grow at abnormally fast rates, and it sounds as though that may be what your grandmother is faced with. As Dan said, if that's the case, the doctors should be doing anything possible to minimize her pain.

Cathy

Hello everyone,

I don't even know what to say.

I meant to say pallative care. I was hoping it was going to be curative, but I guess it is too late for that. I have been on this website day and night reading and reading.

She is having the pre-op today and another biopsy tomorrow. Why would they be doing that? Does anyone know?

If the cancer is not in the lungs why can't they do something? She just felt the lump in her throat yesterday.

Christy

Hi Christy, I very sorry to hear about your heartbreaking news. But for the grace of God any one of us could be in the same circumstances. To answer some of your questions, first about "poorly differentiated". This definition from the NCI dictionary:

"differentiation In cancer, refers to how mature (developed) the cancer cells are in a tumor. Differentiated tumor cells resemble normal cells and tend to grow and spread at a slower rate than undifferentiated or poorly differentiated tumor cells, which lack the structure and function of normal cells and grow uncontrollably."

Is a popular misconception that cancer cells divide at a faster rate than normal cells. What cancer cells do differently from normal cells is that their growth can be "uncontrolled" which means it will spread invasively to many different anatomical structures and tissue types.

I am speculating here but at this point the biopsy will determine what palliative care treatment options she will have.

The lump could a sign lymph node involvement which would be consistent with a "poorly differentiated" cancer. From what you have said in earlier posts it sounds to me like the cancer has been there for quite a while. One of the tragic things about SCC is that it is usually undetected until it is quite advanced. One of Brian's main focus these days is education in the area of early detection, which have proved successful in many other forms of cancer.

How long she will live depends on many factors. General health, attitude, will to live, the palliative care treatment may extend her life as well. Your oncologists should be able to advise you here. Some have been given weeks and lived years, others, months and lived days.

You asked for honesty - I wish I could say something to give you more hope.

I will keep you, your Grandma and family in my prayers,

Christy,

Never be sorry about asking questions on this website. This website was created be Brian Hill to serve that purpose and many others. We (the members) come here to seek answers to many of the same questions you have and will have. We can offer our experience as we know them. Love and support. This is a pretty tight group of people. We don't always agree but thats human nature. Also people react differnetly to the same treatment. Sometimes there are no clear cut answers. Thats one of the nasty parts of this diaease.
God Bless you both, Danny Boy

Hi Everyone,

Grandma is back from the pre-op. I guess everything went okay. Her blood pressure and breathing are fine. She is having a Quadroscopy biopsy tomorrow. I don't know if they plan to try and remove the cancer or not. I keep asking my Grandma's daughters, but they don't have the answers I want. I will be there tomorrow though. I want to talk to her doctor myself. Maybe there is still hope.....:-)) She is 74, but she is very strong. She had breast cancer over 10 years ago......she is still here. There has to be hope......:-))

Christy

Christy,

Keep a positive attitude for yourself and your grandma. You are doing everything you can, and I am encouraged that you will be talking to the doctor tomorrow. You will get done and later realize you didn't ask everything you had intended. That's O.K. You can ask again later. Any procedures are focused on your grandma's well being, both immediate and longer term. I try to focus on "What's next?"

Do whatever you can to show her your love and support. Our prayers are with you!

David