My mom (63 y/o as we speak) was diagnosed in October of 2023 with what turned out to be metastases on her liver from primary pan can (we found out about the pan can in maybe November or December that year I dont quite remember).
She did chemo (both folfirinox and the other one, gem/abrax in different stretches) and initially due to the advancement oncologists said that a surgery was out of the picture, but they eventually decided to go on with one. She responded exceptionally well to treatment and a surgery was planned. It was maybe 13 months ago. After the surgery, she was clean and recovered so well. She was up and moving and driving and barely even had to take Creon. But last summer there was a recurrence. Chemo again and in November the oncologists basically said "we can't do anything more". We got a second opinion who basically said everything been done by the books and we looked into clinical trails but there weren't any matches.
I moved home after new years and have been living with her since. Seeing the decline, not day by day, not necessarily week by week either but sorta up and down has been so tough. Symptoms coming, symptoms going, then coming back but with less time in-between. Pain increasing, blood clots, internal bleeding, nausea, fatigue etc. The past month she got two blood transfusions and IV-drip on several occasions and now she needs IV-drip almost daily. After the bleeding she was given radiation treatment but it was after that that it feels like her energy levels really started declining. She went from being up most of the time, walking, talking, to sometimes having a day here and there that she'd spend mostly in bed to now barely getting out of bed for more than 15 minutes at a time and not eating anything at all for days on end. The only reason she gets up now is basically to go to the bathroom or to smoke a cigarette 2/3 times per day.. She's incredibly thin and frail and feels kinda doped up from all the painkillers she's getting. There are still moments where she sounds totally normal and where she'll be up and move around but the most of the time you can sorta tell she's not 100% there.
We're now discussing with her when/if it is time to go to the advanced disease ward (it's like hospice esentially) because she needs some kind of nutrients in her. The medical team (who have been just phenomenal in the palliative unit) said that people sometimes get a spot there for a few days if they need extra care and so we are and she's thinking it could be an idea to go there just for a day or two while she's getting food. But yeah I just have this feeling that if she goes tomorrow or the day after then she won't be coming back home.
It's horrific but as my mom also says, we should be very lucky that we've gotten so much time as we have with this disease. My mother is very religious and she seems to have found peace in all of this. But man it doesn't make it any easier. It really does feel like we're at the front door of the end right now so to say.