Should I continue with chemotherapy even though there is evidence of further spread of my cancer?
479013
Your HUSBAND is bothered about the idea of 'wasting' money on your treatment because it just may not work!!?? He IS a practical thinker isnt he!! Im sure his attutude is REALLY instilling a fighting spirit in you - NOT!!!!! You need strength from supportive positive people around you. Show that man this answer and get him to explain himself!!!! So the cancer has recurred. Does that mean you give up??? Do you KNOW that the spot on your lung is cancer?? I can see why you would think it probably is. Dont climb in the coffin and let him nail it down before you really ARE dead though! WAKE UP MAN and support this dear woman - the mother of your children. Fight till the end! Dont let that cancer beat you! Work on natural ways to fight it too - get rid of sugar, eat organic (that will cost money too) get chemicals out of your life as much as you can. Search the net for natural therapies and put into practice as many as you can. DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!!! You are worth EVERY penny!! You are precious. Your children need you more than they need a costly education!!
345567
I doubt it but at the same time talk to a specialist and explain your case to them because it might be something to be concerned of but I really doubt it. But it doesn't hurt to check. Please take this advise.
511680
Yes I do. They tell everyone that when you have skin cancer you will live longer if you get surgery and chemotherapy. I have not found that to be true. My aunt, uncle and a friend all had it and all died not long after getting those treatments. My dad has it too. He refused to get the treatments and is still living this very day and gets around just as good as he did back then. He has had it for 33 years.
567766
Dear sam5935,\nYou've certainly brought your medical concerns to the right place! The Y!A community members are fully aware of and do appreciate the intimate conditions involving your prognosis.\nMost recognized doctors in the field of medicine would employ a holistic approach to your contagion. sam5935, please begin your day with a well balanced breakfast to include an ample portion of fruits and grains. After your morning routines are finished, enjoy a brisk walk around the block. If you happen to meet any stray dogs along the way, it would be a good idea to antagonize the creatures in order to add some vigor to your workout.\nNow sam5935, the remaining portions of your day should be filled with interesting activities and new studies to keep your mind active and in balance, complimentary to what you have done with the physical side of yourself.\nAfter loitering around at the public library all afternoon with a bunch of smelly hobos, you can appreciate a warm bath and time to be good to yourself. Begin to collect an archive of various music genres that you can resolve one day to enjoy after you get the rest of your chores done.\nsam5935, if after following my advice, simply take two aspirin and forget we ever had this little discussion.\nThank you, sam5935. Have a great day!\n-viqueur
719369
I dont want to alarm you.  But my mother had breast cancer and it spread into her bones after being told 4 years earlier that she was cancer free.  After her dignosis in May of 2003, sadly it took intill Dec of 2004 to kill her.  She was only 49.  They tried everything from chemo to radiation.  They even had her on a hormone pill but the cancer had just spread so much.  I am really sorry about your friend my heart goes out to her.  I would find out what stage she is in.  My mother was in stage four so there was really not much they could do.  Through the treatments they provided it did prolong her life for a year and half after given a timeline of 6 months.  And again I am truly sorry about your friend.
136430
There is the possiblity that radiation and/or chemotherapy might slow down the progression, maybe even surgery if the tumor can be reached and is small enough to make the surgery worth while.  Much depends on how invasive the cancer is in the brain and elsewhere in the body.  Sometimes a known metastatic tumor may not have spread elsewhere in it's early detection.  \n\nThere are several different factors to consider.  Can the brain tumor be treated for cure or to prolong quality life?  What other areas has the cancer spread to if any?  The oncologist can give you the best answers of how invasive the cancer is and if there is anything to be done.  The person with the cancer has to make the decision to accept or deny possible treatment based on the information and the prognosis.  The people who love and care about this person should abide by the decisions made.  If the cancer is prognosed terminal in weeks or months, then Hospice at home or in a hospice facility is a wonderful choice for patient and family support.
23484
To be honest, chemotherapy is not a cancer treatment.  Here is the situation.  Chemo can take care of the problem right away, but the doctor always says that, some can live an extended 2 years, or 3 years.  And some die right away from the chemicals.  This is with late stages of cancer.  Now, for early stages, it helps the problem but your health is deteriorated. They say that chemo affects the cancer and your normal body cells.  How many people you know, who have had late stages of cancer, and lived through it pass 5 yours with chemo therapy?  I bet you that you have never even heard of it.  Even if someone has, how many people is that compared to that masses?  The problem with other medicines is that the pharmaceautical companies cannot control that product.  What if it was tree bark say for instance.  How many people do you know will buy the pills if they can just walk up to any tree and bite a piece off to save themselves?  See?  So, USA doctors are familiar with these remedies, but they do not talk about it.  Try asking your doctor about green algae, or cesium chloride, or paw paw, etc etc.  Then they start to talk.  Otherwise, they wont say a word.  And if you dont know, how can you ask?  So, the doctors lips are sealed tight.  The individual doctors on the other hand are sometimes scared to talk about it.  It is because, if they open their mouths, they would be facing the whole medical community.  Alot of them go into the medical field to help people, and some go in it for money.  But, the top ranking ones in control are all in it for money.  If not, they would have never gotten their position.  I do not suggest you go with chemo therapy.  You can look up some alternative medicine to cancer and they are all over the place on the net.  The best ranked one is cesium chloride, paw paw, and along with others.  Some health websites even have a place where you can go and tell them your stage of cancer and which type of cancer, and they will sell you a package based on your individual problem.  There are also some doctors scattered all over the USA who specialize in cancer.  You never hear about them right?  Well, they wont be bothered by the medical community if they do a small operation without much advertising.  But, they all report about 90% survival rates on cancers that regular cancer doctors give up on.  And if that doctor didnt give up, do you expect to live anyways?  No.  I speak out to you because I dont want you to die like the two of my friends who have already died.  Certain doctors even said that they could cure it with 80% survival rate.  But, I didnt have the money to help them.  So, I am speaking out in hopes that nothing happens to you and you survive.  Regardless of your stage of cancer.  Cesium chloride is what works best.  Look it up, its everywhere.  Even oxygen drops help.  You can use them both at the same time.  The thing is with these alternatives is that, some of them make you feel extremely bad at the beginning, but after a while you get used to it, and then you are gone with the cancer before you know it.  So dont feel discouraged.  Oxygen drops keep cancer from growing because your body can live with more oxygen.  As a matter of fact, it helps circulate your blood.  Cancer cannot live at the sight of oxygen.  It has been said that not enough oxygen is what causes cancer. I dont know what the cause is, because there are many causes.  But, cesium chloride and oxygen drops will take care of it.  And one more thing, some of these remedies cannot be sold as a cancer treatment.  So, they are sold as vitamins.  But, in their website, they are allowed to say what it cures.  But, their labels cannot say a word about cancer.  So, you should start in the vitamin section of the internet.  Good luck my friend.
933177
go see the doc , don't worry he sees this stuff all the time , if it's cancer - the sooner the better the worst that can happen now is you be 1 stone lighter , if you  leave it there could be really intense chemo & all that fun stuff & it could even kill you \n\nGO TO THE DOC ASAP\ncheers:\npaul  :-}
810498
go and see what the doctor has to say. there may be a way of pacifying the symptoms or some new medicine that is in trial.
991188
See the book "Surviving 'Terminal' Cancer". The author survived a brain tumor the size of an orange. One thing he used was a "cocktail" of drugs that his is confident helped his chemotherapy. The book also discusses clinical trials and other brain tumor treatments your oncologist may not tell you about.
1126268
You would really have to discuss this with your mothers doctor.  But if you've already had radiation therapy, that leaves more, more aggressive chemotherapy or surgery.  Cortico steriods can also be of some use, but usually only for symptomatic control.
119579
It would depend on the stage of cancer/if it has spread and to where.  Also complications can arise.  Depends on patient's response to treatment also.  There are many things to consider and sometimes even the doctors don't even know for sure.
125151
First of all, as a cancer survivor myself, I want to offer you a warm hug and my best wishes.  I know making treatment decisions is not easy at all, and the worst thing is having people who don't know your situation tell you what to do.  Plus different cancers have different prognosises and treatments, so what worked for one may not work for another.\n\nStill, the fact that you said you are opting for NO treatment concerns me, especially because you said you have an early stage.  I do believe that the choice of treatment is up to you, but at least try something.  Even if it is an all natural treatment with no side effects you will at least be doing something to make yourself less tired and live a fuller life!  There are all kinds of natural remedies (herbs, change in diet) research them!  Even if they don't cure you, they could at least give you more energy.\n\nPersonally, when I was diagnosed with cancer at 23, I chose conventional treatment (chemo plus radiation).  That was my choice and I am not pushing it on you, but I will say I am glad I went through it.  I am now 24 and in remission.  Have you researched treatments to see how "bad" they really are?  There are so many horror stories, but treatment may not be near as bad as you think it is.  Some cancers, like mine, have really high cure rates and early stages usually require less treatments.  Please thoughtfully consider all options with your mother.  Like I said, this is a personal decision for you and your mom.  Still, be prepared that your symptoms are going to get worse without any treatment at all.
345658
I know that cancer can spread, but breast cancer is one of the most successfully treated cancers there are so there is good reason for hope.\n\nMy wife had breast cancer 6 years ago.  Her are some things that were most encouraging for her and the things that were not encouraging.\n\nNot encouraging:\nThe endless suggestions that people gave us for natural medicine alternatives.  My wife is a nurse, she wanted to use things that were proven, not an experiment.\n\nPeople who tried to convince her that they could identify with her but really had never experienced anything like what she was going through.\n\nPeople who offered the "cosmic answer" to why she was going through this.\n\nWhat helped:\nWe had a lady who offered to bring meals over the day after she went though chemo.  This was very appriciated.\n\nWe had a family who gave my wife a cleaning service that came in once a week and cleaned.  This was appriciated.\n\nI made a commitment never to leave the house in the morning unless everything was cleaned up and put away.  My wife can't rest in a messy house and I think this made a difference.\n\nLot's of listening, but also lot's of initiating conversation about normal everyday circumstances.  When you have cancer, lot's of people ask how's it going.  Answering this question a thousand times is very exhausting emotionally.  My wife loved it when someone came along and talked exclusively about what was happening with them and she didn't have to answer questions about herself.\n\nCards that express that you are thinking of this person without lines of optimizin from "rose colored glasses".  Simply "I'm thinking of you."  Is much more real and benificial than, "I know it'll all work out in the end."\n\nAlso, we have 3 kids.  My wife appreciated families who reached out to our children and gave them a place to talk about their emotional ups and downs through the process. Our son was a teenager at the time.  He rarely talked to us about what was going on and only asked one question.  What we found is that he was talking to the parents of a friend of his and getting support there.  Sure, we felt a little like we were out of the loop.  But the important thing is he found a safe place to process his emotions.  My wife found comfort in this.\n\nBest wishes
920417
How much time elapsed? What else was going on during this time period? What proof do you have that the cancer spread during this time period? These are some questions to consider. \n\nA delay in treatment in the order of a few weeks to even a month is not out of the ordinary. You say "suspected Stage III", perhaps staging was going on during this time including scans. You need to know what stage the cancer is before you can determine what chemo regimen to use on someone. Also, I don't know how old the patient is, but was the doctor trying to get testing done on the heart and lungs to be sure they were strong enough to take the chemo? All of this info is quite necessary to safely treat someone or else the physician could be found negligent if something bad happened to the patient.
805881
unless he was sure you had an infection there was no need for an antibiotic.  The lymphoma test results are important.  Stay on top of the results and if you find yourself showing signs of an infection, usually fever is the best indicator, or if you see an obvious area where fluid is building up within a limb, then call your doctor ASAP and get an appointment.  \n\nKeep your body well hydrated and eat a healthy diet with exercise to keep things moving.\n\nhttp://www.lymphomainfo.net/lymphoma/symptoms.html
944241
From what you wrote it sounds like a lymphoma type cancer or breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes and to the soft tissues which attach to the sternum but not inside the bone itself which is a good thing.  \n\nI can't give you the odds of living because I don't know her full history with cancer, family history, health issues she might have, how long since she noticed this, if it's the first test, etc.  But I can tell you that people are living with cancer like people live with asthma or diabetes.  \n\nIt sounds like she would need chemo and radiation to shrink the masses, then surgery to remove what they can, then more chemo and radiation, then physical therapy.  If they remove the lymph nodes which it sounds like they would be thinking of that, she probably would have a good chance to develop lymphedema, which in that case, I can help you with those issues but the first issue is cancer treatments.  What does her doctor suggest?\n\nI'm a cancer survivor and believe me if I got the diagnosis she did, I would opt for heavy duty chemo, radiation prior to surgery, then surgery for them to take out what they can, then more chemo and radiation and kill the stuff off, then you have to monitor things.  Has she had a PET scan?  I would say with the involvement of soft tissues, lymph nodes, she needs one to be sure it hasn't spread anywhere else unnoticed.\n\nHer odds aren't lost with the right treatment, she needs to keep a positive attitude and you need to show her alot of support because I imagine she is afraid, depressed, and worried about the odds and treatments and how she is gonna feel.