My 78 year old mother had surgery for Stage 3C ovarian cancer 3 weeks ago. She developed pneumonia which is finally getting better. She has severe abdominal ascites/fluid buildup (about 2L) drained every few days - has happened 3 times already. Her feet are also swollen. I am unable to get any real answers from the doctor about what, realistically, we are looking at -- days? weeks? months? years? I don't intend to hold anyone to this - I realize that it is an inexact science - but as we make decisions about whether to bring her home or have her in rehab for a while, this becomes important - if we're talking weeks, I'd rather have her be comfortable at home, eating the ethnic food that she craves, with her grandkids and the dog she loves. If we're talking months, perhaps a week or two in rehab would be helpful and enable her to go through chemo later on (no schedule about when she will be ready for chemo). She lives with my family - I wish that someone would talk honestly to me about this based on their experience of other patients at this stage and the symptoms. I don't intend to tell her or to hold the doctor responsible if she lives a shorter or longer time. I really, really want to hear from someone who can tell me what I'm looking at here.

Thanks a lot.