Asking about how long you might live

You may want to have an idea of how long you might live. This is called a prognosis or life expectancy. Or you may not want or need to know. You may never ask this question.

Will my doctor know how long I might live for?

Your doctors cannot be certain what will happen or how long you might live. Cancer affects people differently and it can be hard to say how it might progress. Different things will affect how long you might live. For example, it may depend on how the cancer responds to treatment and how quickly it grows. This means your doctors may not be able to answer your questions fully. But they can usually give you an idea based on the type of cancer and your situation.

Your healthcare team and your family and friends may wait for you to ask or talk about how long you might live. Or they may talk about it straight away. If you are not comfortable discussing it, it is okay to say so. It is important to do what feels best for you.

What if my family or friends want to know more than I do?

Your family and friends may want more information than you do. If you are happy for them to find out about your situation in more detail, tell your cancer doctor or specialist nurse. Your doctor or nurse needs to know:

• who you are happy for them to talk to about your situation
• that you agree to them talking to your family or friends without you being there.

We have more information about talking about cancer.