Cancer Treatment?

[Terrierman]

My best friend came to my house to die with liver cancer.  No one no how no way will ever convince me to do chemotherapy.  What a miserable way to live if you want to call it that and then to die.

[fishinwrench]

46 minutes ago, Terrierman said:

My best friend came to my house to die with liver cancer.  No one no how no way will ever convince me to do chemotherapy.  What a miserable way to live if you want to call it that and then to die.

Amen brother!  🤟 

My will to live is 100% dependent on what I have to live for.  

[snagged in outlet 3]

I’ve witnessed both ways multiple times.  Tell your loved ones what you want.  

[Terrierman]

1 hour ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I’ve witnessed both ways multiple times.  Tell your loved ones what you want.  

Got it in writing.  Lovey was here for it too.  Not pretty, and I learned all I ever need to know about hospice.

[ness]

4 hours ago, Quillback said:

I would advise anyone facing cancer treatments to research the type of cancer you have and the treatment options.  There's a lot of info out there on the web.  You'll at least know what you're dealing with and be in a position to understand what the MD's are telling you.  

And be your own advocate. Do not be passive or intimidated. Learn, ask questions and get answers. 

[fishinwrench]

10 minutes ago, ness said:

And be your own advocate. Do not be passive or intimidated. Learn, ask questions and get answers. 

And fact check the answers you are given. 

[jdmidwest]

Internet can come up BS based on drug co advertisements and people that don't realize how the body really works..

Trust your doctor if they are good at what they do.  Weigh your options and listen to what they have to say.

Chemo is destructive to the whole body.  Radiation is pinpoint and normally damages only the tissues around the target.

If the cancer is spread thru the body, the only way to attack the whole body is with chemo.  It seeks out and kills the cancer taking alot of other good cells along the course of treatment.

[tjm]

Not all chemo is the same, so the chemo you get is probably a result of some of that ongoing research that you have read about. Sometimes it's just a crappy way to die and then again, baby brother is 68 now and pretty active -still cuts fire wood to sell, he's been in treatment for ~20+ years and had (I think) 11 rounds of chemo over that time. Much of that time he was skiing, snowboarding, guiding elk hunts, rowing drift boats and doing stunts in movies out west.  He tells me "you just never know, it's an adventure".

[oneshot]

1 hour ago, jdmidwest said:

Internet can come up BS based on drug co advertisements and people that don't realize how the body really works..

Trust your doctor if they are good at what they do.  Weigh your options and listen to what they have to say.

Chemo is destructive to the whole body.  Radiation is pinpoint and normally damages only the tissues around the target.

If the cancer is spread thru the body, the only way to attack the whole body is with chemo.  It seeks out and kills the cancer taking alot of other good cells along the course of treatment.

Ok so Chemo is taking a bath in stuff to kill all Cancer but it will probably take out some good but oh well!

My Sister went into the Hospital, thinking they would treat her and she would go home. She passed few hours later.

oneshot

[MOPanfisher]

Cacer is one of those weird things in which all types are similar and completely different.  Some types are very treatable and others are not.  Sometimes the treatment works for many years aka remission and then one day it spreads through the whole body.  Lots of clinical research going on as to how much chemo/radiation for how long etc., rotating treatments to keep it from learning (for lack of a better word) how to beat the treatment regime.  I lie it to spray for weeds, eventually weeds and grass develop a certain amount of immunity to things like roundup, but hit them with a different chemical and bam kaput.  Likewise radiation is similar to spot spraying, you target a very small place, chemo is more of a boom spray approach whn it is wide spread in the body.  All of them have some effects on the human body and are similar in that the attempt is to kill cancer cells faster than you kill the host (person).   If chemo, Bone Marrow Transplant, etc. gain me 5 years or 15 years of usable life life to spend with my wife, kids, grandkids, fishing, and enjoying life, even if at a reduced level then I will happily sign up.  I can still do most of the things I used to, maybe not as well and certainly not as energetically but can still do them.  Last Dr. Visit at KU basically confirmed Mercy Dr, said we could either continue current meds which are working and should for another year, or go through another BMT now, with no real medical evidence to suggest one is better than the other, I opted to continue current treatment and delay the inevitable 2nd BMT for as long as I can, because it sucked, doable but not something to put on a bucket list to accomplish.  Waiting for one of those medical breakthroughs that change the game.