What is to come next with a brain cancer diagnosis?

Question:

Back in June we found out that my father has brain cancer. He originally had melanoma which then spread to the rest of his body, but the brain is the doctors' main focus. In July he had a Grand Mal seizure and was hospitalized for some time, then went to a nursing home for about 6 weeks while he underwent radiation therapy. He is now at home with me and I am caring for him 24/7. He's also currently taking Temodar (chemo) but the doctors are not very optimistic. I am just wondering what is to come, what do I need to be thinking about? What will happen mentally and physically to him? How do I know when things are really getting bad? I have a little bit, but not much of an idea of what will happen, as he already is having short term memory loss, vision loss, etc. I am interested in hearing from people who have been through this before with their own families. Thanks!

Answers:
I'm sorry for your situation, very sorry. He's probably dying. Mets to the brain are usually the terminal stage for people with cancer. Melanoma in particular is very dangerous because it metasticizes to the brain easily compared to other cancers. The chemo may help, but brain mets are usally a very bad sign, and show that the cancer is very advanced.

Depending on where it is in the brain, he may lose much of his cognitive function, he may forget things, he may not be able to do simple tasks. It's very hard to tell you what to expect, but you could be looking at him getting what looks like dementia. And then again, you may not--brain tumors can be very strange. He most likely will deteriorate though, and as the tumors spread and grow, whatever you're seeing in his behavior or inability to function will get worse.

I recommend you look into hospice or a visiting nurse program eventually, as caring for someone 24/7 is so much for one person to handle--you need to have a life of your own, consider hospice.

Sorry to be a downer, but you are very lucky he is still living now! My dad was diagnosed 12/1, and dead on 1/13. Once it hits the brain, it's very fast usually.

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What is to come next with a brain cancer diagnosis?

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