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SMRiver 
Well, Mom is in her 3rd week of a chemo/radiation treatment plan for Stage 4 metastatic bladder cancer, and we all have many questions. For one thing, she is 77-years old, not in the best of health, has A-fib and neurally-mediated hypotension, and started out in a weakened state pre-diagnosis. The biggest question we have is: what are her chances of a full recovery? The second biggest question: how long will she have to go through chemo/radiation? She has to have a 6-hour long chemo session (Cisplatin) every Monday, and a portable infuser Monday-Friday that serves up 5FU 24/7. In addition, she has to have radiation Monday-Friday. She has already stated that she does not want her bladder removed and does not want to have a stoma. In all honestly, our family is not sure she can withstand a long surgical procedure and recovery, anyway. Also, the docs have told her she would still have to have chemo even if she had the surgery, since the cancer had spread to her pelvic nodes. All of our lives have been absolutely turned upside down. My 80-year-old father does nothing but hover over his wife of almost 60 years, and my sister and I have put our lives on hold...indefinitely. We adore our mother, and would do anything for her. But, we want to be absolutely honest with her about her prognosis so that she can make educated decisions about her treatment and quality of life issues. Will she spend the next year or so having chemo/radiation, only to have her already compromised kidneys permanently damaged from the Cisplatin? Has anyone else out there had a similar experience? Be honest...
