About how long does my grandma have left??

Question

My grandma had cancer that has metastisized (sp?) to her brain. She just found this out Thursday. She is refusing the rest of her radiation because she just wants to be put on hospice. How long does this usually take until she becomes comatose?? After she IS comatose, how long before she dies??

I know it's a morbid question, but it's just something I need to know.

Answer 1

We never know for sure. In this case, we don't know what type of cancer or the amount of tumor involvement in the brain.  In most cases you are looking at weeks to a couple of months - but please don't say the doctors "gave her" x amount of time.  We cannot know this exactly.

The doctor(s) who know all the details of her case could give you the best estimate - but it will be a guess.  It is always an educated guess based on experience with many other people who have gone before.  Your grandma is one of a kind.  She could do better or worse than the average.

Usually when you get to the coma stage you are in the last week or two with metastatic malignancies to the brain, but this is not set in stone either.  The smartest, most experienced doctor in the world can't know exactly what to tell you here.  

Answer 2

I agree with the answer above me; however, it is also the amount of energy she wishes to use to keep on living.  It sounds like she has fought a hard fight with cancer and does not want to do anything else like radiation to combat it anymore.

Nobody knows when anyone will die, but it happens faster if the will to live is gone.  The key is for you to really get to know your grandma and spend time with her because these days will be the rest you will remember for the rest of your life.

Make the most of them.  Usually when a person resigns living, it happens fast.  My grandfather had one more chemo treatment to go and he said to me the night before that he was ready to go to heaven.  He died at home that night.

Answer 3

I am so sorry to hear that. No one really knows but if your grandma wants to live she can last longer. Once you go in the hospice and comatose stage, than you're not gonna come out of the hospital. Support her, and visit her with a kind heart and she could stay around longer. But I am not a doctor and I will not try to give you the wrong idea. Have a great day :)