Hi my uncle was diagnosed with cancer in the lymph nodes in the neck area last Nov.It went to one lung,so he did chemo and radiation until this past march,he had a pet-scan done after his treatments were done.but he recently has what we thought was a stroke,so we took him to the er,they kept him overnight and observed him,his mouth kinda dropped,and had some trouble talking,well the good news was he did not have a stroke,but the cancer went to his brain,he will be have radiation for 10 days which he had his first one today,is he going to be ok,will he live or basically my aunt and uncle are both around 74 yrs old,the rest of us need to know what to expect,will he pass even with treatment,just need to know the longest he can survive,just worried family members,thanks
Hi, Thanks for writing in. Cancer is a difficult condition to treat, and often it spreads to other organs before we come to know. In your uncle the cancer might have first appeared in the lungs and lymph nodes. It can go from there through the blood in to the brain. This is what has happened and what you thought of like a stroke was a cancer in the brain. If cancer has spread to brain then it is stage 4 disease and the survival in such cases can be extended up to 2 years with recommended treatment and supportive care. In the brain we cannot do surgery and therefore chemotherapy or radiation is the treatment. He should be given good nutrition, and then he can stay healthy for longer and tolerate the treatment. Pain relief is also to be maintained. Please do not worry.