FIL was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year. Started, as far as we know, with hormone therapy, then progressed to chemo.
On a visit last week, he dropped into the conversation that, after 6 sessions, chemo was ceasing, as the doctors had said it was no longer working. They are switching him to 'another drug' whose name he could not recall.
When asked about how the cancer is progressing, he's very vague - 'the doctors say it's stable' sort of thing. We can't get anything out of him in terms of e.g. what scan result are showing, how his PSA levels are, etc.
However, FIL has a long history of not really facing up to things, and hiding/lying about uncomfortable truths....his domestic situation is really complex, and he doesn't have contact with many members of his family.
We aren't cancer specialists, but I cannot imagine that 'chemo not working' can be a good thing. I also can't understand what this 'other drug' might be that he has apparently been switched to. But I do know that cancer treatment has moved on a lot in the last few years.
Does anyone with experience of these things have any insight? Mostly, how worried should we be? DH is going to find it massively traumatic if FIL does turn out to be in a bad way, and it will be a dreadful shock. For this reason, I would prefer to be forewarned. But, I also don't want to pre-empt anything, or to interfere with FIL's choices about how much he divulges. I suppose I'd just like to be prepared a bit, so that if things are worse than we are being told, I can get ready to support DH as needed.
Grateful for any thoughts - will be back online tonight. thanks massively in advance.