Hi Joe,

I have absolutely no medical qualifications but, in my limited experience, your situation is unusual. It's great news that your Mum is doing well though! 

Would it be possible for you to sit in with your Mum on the next consultation and ask the consultant these questions? In my own case it was the consultant who insisted that I return for a CT scan every six months as a minimum, but I have a different type of cancer so that might not be a valid comparison.

Sometimes the language consultants use isn't easy to understand. Your Mum may have been told the stage but not very clearly. I actually had to ask my consultant what stage I was at before he told me it was Stage 4. I think he assumed that, when he said that it had metastasised to distant parts of my body, I would infer the stage from the information given. My mind was so stunned by the news that little of what he said had sunk in. Luckily I scribbled everything he said down or I wouldn't have remembered half of it.

If you can't attend with your Mum, write down the questions you would like her to ask and suggest she goes through your list with the consultant.  

I hope you get the answers you need and that your Mum continues to do well.

Best wishes

Dave

Just a thought but I think maybe you could ring the consultant and say in view of the fact that mum hasn't had a ctscan for a year and has an appointment in April, could he arrange for one in March so that he can give her (and you hopefully) the results when you see him - will save more appointments being made. He may not realize mum has gone so long without a scan. Sometimes we need to be a little pushy for our own safety. X