My friend has "Stage IV" lung cancer and his only option is chemotherapy. Why bother?

My friend has "Stage IV" lung cancer and his only option is chemotherapy. Why bother? S chances of an extension of life are less than 10%.

Asked by tfrance7 50 months ago Similar questions: friend Stage IV lung cancer option chemotherapy bother Health > Conditions & Diseases.

Similar questions: friend Stage IV lung cancer option chemotherapy bother.

I will share a personal experience Ultimately it's your friend's choice, but here are my thoughts. My mother had metastisized small cell lung cancer, which is actually more virulent than the more common variety, called oddly non-small cell lung cancer. The doctors said she would be dead within two weeks if she did nothing.

They made no longevity predictions if she decided to treat it aggressively with chemo and radiation. Four of my mother's siblings had already died of cancer so her first thought was why bother. But after much soul searching, she chose to treat it.

The survival rate is somewhere in the 10-15% range, but if you don't treat it, your survival rate is 0%. After about 5 months, the primary lung cancer was completely gone, and of the sites it had metastisized to (liver and bones), the liver was also clear. There were still some spots on her bones, but the doctor was not concerned with those.In fact, the doctor said at one point, "Looks like you're not going to be leaving us after all.

" Well, this story does not have a happy ending. While working to clear up the few remaining spots on her bones, they found it had spread to her brain. She died a month later.

The point is, chemo does sometimes work. Depending on your faith, miracles can happen.So I would say if your friend is up to dealing with the challenges of the treatment, go for it. You never know if you'll be one of the lucky 10% if you don't, and your family will be left agonizing about what might have been.

For me, I think that would have been harder than helping my mother for the last seven months of her life..

Maybe it is not the choice you would make, but the most important thing now, if you are truly a friend, is simply to support his decision and then stick by him emotionally. He is evidently making the last bid he can for life and ten percent is better than nothing. Give him support and love and your time.

He probably doesn't have much of his own time left. You will not regret standing by him..

You might suggest some complimentary therapies too. Some people have recovered from Stage IV.In China a cancer patient, supposedly stage 4 was sent home to get her things in order. One of the things she found was a series of Qigong forms from her grandfather.

She didn't die and with the doctor's permission began treating mostly stage 4 patients from the Beijing hospital she had been in. Her name was Guo Lin. Her standing and walking Qigong can be found at yuliqigong.com No charge.

Seal out a OMD / Chinese herbalist. Acupuncture and herbs can help with the side effects of chemo and make it more effective. With cancer, those who fight have a better chance of winning.

Sometimes chemo is given for palliation, to help control pain and other symptoms related to the diagnosis .

He's alive, that's why you should bother Tfrance7: First, that's a crock. Who told him this, ONE doctor? He needs a second opinion.

Secondly, chemotherapy is harsh, but even very weak people can survive it and come out better for it. So don't assume that there is no hope just because he's given a 10% chance to live by some quack. My basic advice is, while there's life, there's hope.

Start here: cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therap... .

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.