In June 2008, my mom was diagnosed with bile duct cancer, and the whipple surgery was performed.  Things were fine for a few years and in June 2011, they detected a tumor in her lung and since they could not determine if it was a metastasis with 100% certainty, they removed her lung.  We received confirmation afterwards that it was in fact a metastasis.  Then this past november, they detected a spot in her pancreas.  They sent her for a pet scan and it was detected that she also had a spot in her jaw and shoulder (all less than 2cm).  Right now, she is receiving chemotherapy once per week.  In reading, I can see that this would likely be considered Stage 4 (which I know is bad), but I would really like to know what this means in terms of time (i know there is not sure thing, but even an approximate amount of time could help us deal with the situation better).
Welcome to Chat Doctor .  Cancer of bile duct with metastases like what your mother usually has a life span of about 1 to 2 years. But it also depends on the particular type of cancer.  She seems to have a relatively good type because she had lung metastases 3 years back and is still fit enough to have chemo... Let's pray for the best... If you would like to know further please send me pathology reports of previous surgery so that I can help you out... Hope this answered your query.