Question: My brother in law has surgery to remove 4 lymph nodes in the neck area. They were all malignant. This is the fourth recurrence of nasopharngeal cancer. There is one area which I believe is the primary area where the cancer was diagnosed 10 years ago that is active again but this area is too XXXXXXX to go into to perform any kind of surgery. I have written before to one of your oncologist about this case. My brother in law now has an appt with his oncology dr on Thursday. I guess they will look at the margins of where they operated to see if they did not cut into any cancerous nodes or as I understand if they did there could be cancer formation in the scar of the neck dissection they did to get at the cancerous lymphnodes. I'm not really sure. My question is even with more chemotherapy how much longer can he live. It seems like this cancer gets more aggressive with each recurrence. And to me it seems like even though he fights it with chemotherapy( he cannot have anymore radiation) it still comes back every three years or so. He is now 63 years old and his throat is so damaged they had to Intubate him through his nose this last time. What would you say his chances are now. I mean to say do you think his life could be limited? I know it will depend on certain variables but he seems awfully tired and battle weary now. I think he might be willing to get more chemotherapy. But I know he was on erbitux and had bad reaction. The cisplatin was failing his kidneys and lastly he was on zeloda. Anyway taking his history of the many recurrences, this being his fourth, do you think this cancer might be in it's last stages. Also he did have metastasis when he was first diagnosed 10 years ago
I'll appreciate the opinion of an oncologist on your staff that may have experience with head and neck cancer.........Thank YYYY@YYYY

He has to talk with his oncology Doctor on Thursday. There may be a different Chemotherapy suggested to him. What I want to know do you think it's worth the side effects and the abuse his body will take after 4 recurrences now. It seems to me this will never be cured since the original site of the cancer is too XXXXXXX to operate on. And now the four lymph nodes they took out with a neck dissection were all malignant. I know it depends on him but I feel his quality of life will suffer and if this is the last stages then maybe no treatment would be better.and he did have metastases when diagnosed 10 years ago. But per the Doctors words after the nodes came back malignant, the cancer is back again. How long can this man go on? Do you think his life may be limited now whether he takes the treatment or not?