I’ll start by admitting that I’m going to try and give the full picture here, but some of the facts are a little confusing with my limited knowledge. My stepmom was originally diagnosed with bladder cancer and they operated and removed the mass immediately upon finding it. However after further testing they discovered that the cancer had spread to other areas and she was given the diagnosis of stage 4 small cell carcinoma and the cancer had metastasized in her bones. This is where my confusion comes from as traditionally small cell is in relation to the lungs and bladder but her diagnosis was less specific and we can’t definitively state that the small cell is specific to the bladder. If anyone has had a similar diagnosis and can provide insight or clarity it would be much appreciated.

Further, we were told that she had 10 months and the cancer would likely become resistant to chemo and that could happen as early as after 4-5 rounds of chemo. However, she was at her lowest health wise before starting chemo and during the first two rounds. After several rounds of chemo she is doing incredible, she’s able to get around, cook, clean, go shopping on her own, etc. Months prior she was hardly about to get out of bed, so it’s hard to believe she is terminal and that time is running out.

My questions are, is it possible that there is more hope than we had with the original prognosis? Are there people with similar diagnoses that beat the system? Second, outside of the standard treatments of chemo is there any more we can do to extend these highlights and good moments for her?

Thank you for taking the time to read and providing any suggestions or feedback or clarity you may have.

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