What happens to men who say 'no' to prostate cancer treatment
- Feeling frightened. While strong enough to make independent decisions and challenge the medical advice they were given, many felt threatened and frightened by their impending death and began to finalise ...
- Side effects. ...
- Uncertainty and angst. ...
- Questioning decisions. ...
- Changing practices. ...
What happens if you don't treat prostate cancer?
Jul 13, 2018 · At this stage, surgery and radiation are most likely to be curative and completely kill or remove whatever cancer cells are present. But let's take a look at the natural history of …
Do cancer patients refuse surgery for metastatic tumors?
Apr 08, 2021 · If prostate cancer is left untreated, it may grow and possibly spread out of the prostate gland to the local tissues or distant sites such as liver and lungs. Unchecked prostate …
What to do if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer?
March 2011. in Prostate Cancer. #1. My father in law is 88 years old and was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in January. He has just told his children of his diagnosis. He refuses …
Should you automatically opt for treatment for low-risk prostate cancer?
Under this assumption, the models projected that treatment reduced the risk of prostate cancer death by approximately 13–28% for men with Gleason score 2–7 and by approximately …
Can you live without treating prostate cancer?
In the United States, one man in six will receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer during his lifetime, but a much smaller percentage -- one in 35 -- will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.Mar 19, 2009
How long can you live with prostate cancer that has spread?
What are the signs that prostate cancer has spread?
How do you know if prostate cancer has spread to bones?
Should I treat prostate cancer alone?
Should I treat my prostate cancer or leave it alone? The disease is easiest to treat while it is confined to the prostate. At this stage, surgery and radiation are most likely to be curative and completely kill or remove whatever cancer cells are present.
What is the best treatment for prostate cancer?
Once the cancer has spread distantly from the prostate, it becomes far harder to effectively treat and completely cure. Chemotherapy and hormone therapy become the most feasible options because they treat cancer throughout the body.
Can radiation kill prostate cancer?
The disease is easiest to treat while it is confined to the prostate. At this stage, surgery and radiation are most likely to be curative and completely kill or remove whatever cancer cells are present. But let's take a look at the natural history of prostate cancer if it is not treated...
Can a doctor monitor prostate cancer?
Instead, they may choose to have their doctors monitor their cancer, especially if it's expected to grow slowly based on biopsy results, confined to the prostate, not causing any symptoms, and/or small. This is called active surveillance, meaning doctors will initiate cancer treatment only if the cancer starts growing.
Why do some people choose no cancer treatment?
Others choose no cancer treatment because of a short life expectancy or other serious medical problems.
Is prostate cancer confined to the prostate?
With regard to prostate cancer, most cases of the disease are discovered while the cancer is still confined to the prostate itself. This is called "local disease" or "localized disease.". The disease is easiest to treat while it is confined to the prostate.
What is localized prostate cancer?
This is called "local disease" or "localized disease.". The disease is easiest to treat while it is confined to the prostate. At this stage, surgery and radiation are most likely to be curative and completely kill or remove whatever cancer cells are present.
What to do if prostate cancer is nonaggressive?
Surveillance: If the prostate cancer is nonaggressive, the physician might recommend surveillance, which means that your physician will delay treatment but conduct regular check-ups or symptom monitoring to detect any progression.
What is the treatment for prostate cancer?
Surgery involves prostatectomy (the removal of the prostate gland). Radiation therapy treats cancer by using high-energy waves to kill tumor cells. Cryotherapy is the use of extreme cold temperatures to freeze and kill the cancerous cell.
What happens if you leave prostate cancer untreated?
If prostate cancer is left untreated, it may grow and possibly spread out of the prostate gland to the local tissues or distant sites such as liver and lungs. If prostate cancer is left untreated, it may grow and possibly spread out of the prostate gland to the local tissues or distant sites such as liver and lungs.
Can prostate cancer spread to the liver?
If prostate cancer is left untreated, it may grow and possibly spread out of the prostate gland to the local tissues or distant sites such as liver and lungs. Unchecked prostate cancer may spread to: ONLY if the cancer is in its initial stage, the physician might recommend active surveillance or watchful waiting.
Where does prostate cancer spread?
If prostate cancer is left untreated, it may grow and possibly spread out of the prostate gland to the local tissues or distant sites such as liver and lungs. Unchecked prostate cancer may spread to: Seminal vesicles. Bladder or rectum. Bones.
Can lung cancer be treated with surveillance?
Lungs. ONLY if the cancer is in its initial stage, the physician might recommend active surveillance or watchful waiting. In this process, they will delay the treatment but will closely monitor you for any disease progression. In these cases, regular follow-ups and blood tests are extremely crucial.
What is the function of the prostate gland?
In men, the size of the prostate increases with increasing age. Its primary function is to make fluid to nourish and lubricate the semen. Growth in the prostate can be of two types:
What happens if you say no to prostate cancer?
When men say “no” to treatment for prostate cancer, they don’t walk away feeling unburdened and free of concern. They’ve made a difficult decision and, as the diagnosis stays with them, ...
How old was Jim when he was diagnosed with urology?
Advertisement. In one case study a man called Jim, who was diagnosed at 54 , said it took him ages to get his head around it. His encounter with the urologist was off-putting, especially as he was booked for immediate surgery without discussing alternatives.
Can you opt out of follow up on cancer?
Most patients who decide to opt-out of cancer treatment, also opt-out of any follow-up evaluation. So tracking down patients, and their outcomes, is essential. The effects of treatment refusals and delay, and the effectiveness of CAM as a substitute, has been evaluated in several groups of patients with breast cancer.
How many women refused breast cancer surgery?
It compared patients who refused breast cancer with those that those that accepted surgery. Only 1.3% of women (70) refused surgery. Of that group, 37 had no treatment, 25 had hormone-therapy only, and 8 had other types of treatments.
Is treatment without risk?
No treatment is without some sort of risk. And a decision to decline treatment has its own risks. One of the challenges that I confront regularly as a pharmacist is helping patients understand a medication’s expected long-term benefits against the risks and side effects of treatment.
Is it reasonable to say no to palliative care?
Saying “ no” may also be reasonable where the benefits from treatment are expected to be modest, yet the adverse effects from treatments are substantial. These scenarios are not uncommon in the palliative care setting.
Is breast cancer curable?
Breast cancer is well studied, frequently diagnosed, and if detected early, potentially curable. Conventional treatment for early (localized) breast cancer is surgical resection of the tumor, followed by radiation and chemotherapy to reduce the risk of disease recurrence, by killing any residual cancer cells that remain.
Is CAM a substitute for medicine?
Surveys suggest the vast majority of consumers with medical conditions use CAM in addition to, rather than as a substitute for medicine – that is, it is truly “complementary”. But there is a smaller population that uses CAM as a true “alternative” to medicine.
Is watchful waiting good for prostate cancer?
The goal of watchful waiting isn’t to cure or even treat the disease. It’s not a good option for men with low-risk cancer. It’s generally for men who, because of advanced age or a medical condition, are likely to die from something else before prostate cancer becomes a mortal threat. If the disease causes symptoms such as pain, these are managed, ...
What is considered low risk prostate cancer?
A Gleason score ranges from one to 10, and a score of six or less is considered low risk.
How to do a PSA test?
HOW TO DO ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE RIGHT 1 Get a PSA test every six months. 2 Have an office visit that includes a digital exam every six months. 3 Within the first two years after diagnosis, get at least one follow-up biopsy as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and precision medicine tests (which may include genetic analysis) to reduce the risk of missing more aggressive cancer.
Is cancer low risk?
Even better news: Your cancer is classified as “low risk,” which means your risk of dying from it over the next 15 years is less than 1%. Now you have to decide what to do. Treatment such as surgery, hormones or radiation entails side effect risks such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.
Can men with low risk cancer be treated?
In many cases, these cancers don’t even progress, so they don’t really need treatment—and may never need treatment.
Do you need to cure cancer?
The goal here is to cure the cancer—if it needs treatment at all. In many cases, these cancers don’t even progress, so they don’t really need treatment—and may never need treatment. With active surveillance, Dr. Hu explained, treatment is deferred until the time that there is evidence that the disease is progressing.
Can prostate cancer be aggressive?
Considering the slow progress of most prostate cancer, active surveillance is a reasonable choice for many men. Even if you live a long time after your diagnosis, your cancer may never become aggressive and cause harm.
Can cancer be treated with radiation?
Cancers metastatic to bone are often painful but in some cases the discomfort is mild or more severe pain can be relieved with radiation therapy. There are specialists who assist in managing ...
Why do people decline chemotherapy?
Many patients decline chemotherapy for low odds of benefit especially if they have gotten very weak or have other symptoms that make their quality of life very poor. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Is pancreatic cancer bad for you?
Some cancers are more associated with pain than others. Pancreatic cancer can be particularly bad when it grows into nerves near the back of the pancreas. But I’ve had many patients with pancreatic cancer where pain wasn’t a problem. Instead, like many other patients with advanced cancers, they became weaker and more frail as their cancer worsened, ...
What happens when you die from cancer?
The most frequent outcome when cancer patients die is that whatever pain they have is controlled with narcotics and or sedatives. There often comes a point in poorly treatable cancer situations that the treatment is as bad or worse than the disease.
What happens when cancer patients die?
The most frequent outcome when cancer patients die is that whatever pain they have is controlled with narcotics and or sedatives. There often comes a point in poorly treatable cancer situations that the treatment is as bad or worse than the disease.
Can you get chemotherapy if you are weak?
Almost everyone is willing to try chemotherapy if there is a meaningful chance for cure. Many patients decline chemotherapy for low odds of benefit especially if they have gotten very weak or have other symptoms that make their quality of life very poor.
Is pancreatic cancer pain a problem?
But I’ve had many patients with pancreatic cancer where pain wasn’t a problem. Instead, like many other patients with advanced cancers, they became weaker and more frail as their cancer worsened, then became wheelchair and then bed bound. Cancers metastatic to bone are often painful but in some cases the discomfort is mild or more severe pain can ...
Feeling Frightened
Side Effects
- Some men were more focused on the side effects of treatment rather than death. As one put it, “I was very worried about the possibility of long-term incontinence. The idea of having to wear pads in my underpants for possibly the rest of my life was not attractive.” The study, which included men from around the country, was led by Professor Kirsten McCaffery, director of Sydney Healt…
Uncertainty and Angst
- Of the 11 men, two went on to have surgery and one progressed to radiation treatment. In their interviews, these men described significant uncertainty and angst about their decision to delay. They had a sophisticated understanding and recognised they would never know if they had made the right decision. Their guilt, questioning and uncertainty was significant and unresolvable. On…
Questioning Decisions
- One of the men who decided on surgery was a medical doctor and fully informed of his options. He made the decision after receiving a blood result showing a high level of the marker for prostate cancer. Using frank language, he described how he couldn’t really tell if he had been over-diagnosed or whether the diagnosis and surgery saved his life. “There’s a part of me that wonder…
Changing Practices
- At the time of the interviews, eight of the men were suffering no related physical problems. Several reflected on their increasing awareness that their cancer had not progressed, may never do so and might not be the life-threatening scenario that had been presented to them. Some questioned whether alternative healing had helped or whether the outcome would have been th…