Mom has PPC, bowel obstruction, vomiting, what next?

I am so sorry to hear about your mom.  I lost my mom a year ago to PPC which she fought for 7 years.  When my mom started having more bowel obstructions and pleural effusion, her oncologist said at this point chemo would be ineffective.  And she's had just about every chemo out there.  For us, it became a quality of life issue.  She decided to enter a hospice facility (Calvary Hospital in the Bronx) where she received great care and compassion.  She understood the value of such a place when one night she was in so much pain, they were able to alleviate it on the spot.  My sister and I were there for her and spent precious time with her.  As sad as it was to know I was going to lose her, I knew that she was going to heaven to be with my dad who lost his battle to cancer 10 years earlier.  

Good luck with your mom.  

When developed pleural effusion the first time, she was on a break from chemo.  She was on chemo and it resolved.  Then she had it again a few months later.  During the 7 year period, she was on remission for 3 years, then less than a year the 2nd time and then a few months and then it became a chronic condition.  I had to explain to my mom that chronic was basically managing it like hypertension and you just live with cancer.  And she did just that, long enough to see my sister finally get married.  Once she started having bowel obstructions, we were saddened.  I remember meeting her oncologist and we asked what the course of this cancer was and he said it was the obstructions since peritoneal is more of a localized cancer.  I don't know how much or if it metastasized elsewhere because she was always monitored by abdominal CT scans w/o contrast (she was allergic to the dye).  

This was her second battle with cancer.  Her first was uterine stage1a (contained in a polyp) and had a hysterectomy, no chemo required.  Imagine the shock we had when we found out about this.  Even her surgeon was surprised.  Just shows how fickle cancer is.  

rabbitcarrots, maybe I missed it but I can't tell from your post how much chemo your mom had previously. If she has gone thru multiple cycles of chemo, maybe the doctors are saying that chemo is no longer effective for her. I've had only a few different types of chemo since my diagnosis almost 2 years ago. But I'm always asking my docs, "what next?" They have assured me there are many different chemo options for future recurrences.

After remission of about 6 months, I'm about to restart chemo on 1 of the same drugs I had before. I've been told to wait until at least the 2nd infusion to see any results. But I've also been told to expect that each future remission will be shorter & each future recurrence will perhaps be less responsive to treatment. Obviously I don't look forward to those days.

Wish I had some meaningful advice to offer. Best wishes to your mom & you.