Your doctor presents what he or she feels are the most appropriate treatment options for your specific cancer type and stage while also considering your overall health, but you have the right to make final decisions regarding your care.
To help you make an informed decision about the benefits and risks of chemotherapy, this article addresses:. How chemotherapy is used in treatment depends on the type and stage of the cancer and how aggressive it is. Some cancers, such as an indolent lymphoma or prostate cancer , may not need immediate treatment, but chemotherapy may eventually be recommended if the cancer progresses.
Other cancers require immediate treatment. Chemotherapy may be used alone as the primary treatment for a cancer, or it may be used in combination with other treatments, such as surgery , radiation therapy , targeted therapy or immunotherapy. For example, in a patient with breast cancer, chemotherapy may be used before surgery, to try to shrink the tumor. The same patient may benefit from chemotherapy after surgery to try to destroy remaining cancer cells.
Some of these patients may be able to take occasional breaks from treatment. Chemotherapy drugs are often delivered by infusion—a process that may take several hours. Oral drugs, however, are now an option for many patients, which allows some patients the convenience of chemotherapy treatment at home. Other delivery options may include injections, topical creams and drugs that are injected directly in the abdominal cavity or the central nervous system.
The main benefit of chemotherapy is its potential to destroy cancer cells. It remains one of the most potent tools we have to fight cancer. The potential benefit to each patient depends on treatment goals, which depend on the type of cancer, how advanced it is and what the patient hopes to get out of treatment.
Or the goal might be to control disease progression as much as possible. In these cases, the benefit is obvious. Some patients say they actually feel better and have more energy soon after starting chemotherapy because the symptoms of their cancer regress. Is chemotherapy worth it?
The first discussion with your doctor needs to be: What are we trying to accomplish with treatment? You can then decide whether to proceed or consider other options. Is Chemo Still Working for You? Things to Consider. Chemo timeline Other treatments Questions to ask Stopping all treatment Takeaway Chemotherapy is a powerful cancer treatment that uses drugs to destroy cancer cells.
How long can chemo take to work? What are my other options? How can I bring up my concerns to my doctor? What if I want to stop treatment altogether? The bottom line. Does Talcum Powder Cause Cancer? Read this next. Medically reviewed by Judith Marcin, M. Chemotherapy Stories: Hear from Real Breast Cancer Patients Women who chose to undergo chemotherapy offer their insights and wisdom in hopes of providing clarity to others who are just beginning treatment.
Medically reviewed by Alan Carter, Pharm. The Search Intensifies for Cancer Treatments with Fewer Side Effects Scientists are studying immunotherapies and other cancer treatments to develop effective therapies with less intense side effects.
I appreciate that everyone is different and no-one can give a clear cut vision of the future. My brother, Michael and I discuss how he is at the moment, but don't talk about anything further than the next infusion or event. We still plan things for the future as we would have done had he not had cancer and hope that everything will be OK. Notwithstanding the cancer, if you ignore the hair loss, he seems in good condition and this in itself gives us optimism - I suppose it is a case of looks OK, feels OK, then he's OK Gosh, same question for us too.
My fella has stage 4 stomach cancer, for 6 cycles of EOX, just had 3rd and now waiting of a scan. We only seem talk about the "here and now" although we have sorted out our "affairs" Keep in touch and hope all goes well x. Hi Gemini 23, thanks for your post - Yesterday Michael had his 5th infusion - everything seems to obe going surprisingly well and notwithstanding the possible, even probable outcomes, the mood is one of absolute optimism - lets hope that alls well that ends well and in the meantime, we need to stay supportive and caring - have beautiful wedding - NIck.
I hope that your wedding went well - did you have burgers for the reception.. How is your fella. I hope that things are going well for him. My brother has had his scan after the 6 ECX cycles. He looks better than I have seen him for years, his hair is growing back and he is able to eat anything he wants.
He has stopped the Chemotherapty and there has been a "slight Improvement". Responses may be measured during the chemotherapy, but the number of cycles does not generally change unless the cancer grows. If the cancer grows, the chemotherapy will likely be stopped or changed to different drugs. For a person who has had a recurrence or has advanced disease, a specific number of cycles may not be prescribed.
0コメント