Should I refuse cancer treatment?
Refusing treatment is a personal decision that involves not just the medical facts of the case, but the values of the person afflicted with cancer. Although it can be hard to accept, sometimes refusing treatment is the right decision to make.
What happens when you stop being treated for cancer?
Just because you’re discontinuing treatment for cancer doesn’t mean you’re giving up. Some people with advanced cancer survive for years. These patients can turn to palliative, hospice, and home care designed to help maximize quality of life and minimize symptoms.
How can I help a friend with cancer?
Using humor can be an important way of coping. It can also be another approach to support and encouragement. Let the person with cancer take the lead; it’s healthy if they find something funny about a side effect, like hair loss or increased appetite, and you can certainly join them in a good laugh.
Should we be worried about fake cancer cures?
This approach is particularly frustrating in situations where patients face very serious illnesses that are potentially curable. This week is the World Cancer Congress in Montreal and on Monday there were calls for patients to beware of fake cancer cures, ranging from laetrile, to coffee enemas, to juicing, and mistletoe.
What do you do if someone refuses treatment for cancer?
If you feel your loved one is refusing treatment because of denial, or because of fear of undergoing treatment, talk to the oncologist. You may want to visit a counselor or support group together.
What happens when a cancer patient stops treatment?
If the decision to stop treatment is made, at some point, you might benefit from hospice care. At the end of life, hospice care focuses on your quality of life and helping you manage your symptoms. Hospice care treats the person rather than the disease; it focuses on the quality of your life rather than its length.
Why do cancer patients get so mean?
Cancer patients simply want to be their old selves, Spiegel says, so they often can fail to make their new needs clear to their loved ones and caregivers, which can lead to frustration and anger.
What do you do if you love someone with terminal cancer?
Here are a few ways to support your loved one through their terminal illness.Ask your loved one what they want. ... Create a wish list. ... Respect your loved one's sense of dignity. ... Share memories. ... Get their affairs in order. ... Ask for or offer additional help. ... Simply be there.
What are the signs of imminent death in a cancer patient?
Possible changes in consciousnessMore sleeping during the day.Hard to wake or rouse from sleep.Confusion about time, place, or people.Restless, might pick or pull at bed linen.May talk about things unrelated to the events or people present.May have more anxiety, restlessness, fear, and loneliness at night.More items...•
How do doctors know how long a cancer patient will live?
Ask your doctor about the stage of your cancer and how much it has spread. Ask about your prognosis, or how long you have to live. No one can know exactly, but your doctor should be able to tell you a range of months or years. And you need to know if more treatment for cancer will help you live longer.
Why do cancer patients push loved ones away?
At times patients may pull away because they feel overwhelmed by the care they receive. For example, even when caregivers have the best of intentions when they encourage patients to eat properly, the patient may feel pressured and sense a loss of independence.
Why do cancer patients want to be alone?
7) Cancer patients need time alone too. They need to take time for themselves; time where they do not need to pretend to be brave and when they do not have to think about what others are thinking or feeling. This time alone can be soothing and calming.
What do cancer patients want to hear?
“Let me help you with…” Instead of hearing “What can I do?” cancer patients want to hear that you already have a specific task in mind. Many cancer patients will decline needing help when they are asked the broad question “What can I help with?” Choose something specific and get started on it.
How do you emotionally support someone with terminal cancer?
Although each person with cancer is different, here are some general suggestions for showing support:Ask permission. Before visiting, giving advice, and asking questions, ask if it is welcome. ... Make plans. ... Be flexible. ... Laugh together. ... Allow for sadness. ... Check in. ... Offer to help. ... Follow through.More items...
What are the emotional stages of cancer?
The Five Stages of Dealing with a Cancer DiagnosisState 1: Denial. ... Stage 2: Anger. ... Stage 3: Bargaining. ... Stage 4: Sadness and depression. ... Stage 5: Acceptance.
How do you give an emotional support to a cancer patient?
Here are 7 tips to maintain or improve emotional well-being for cancer patients and caregivers:Talk to someone who is not a family member. ... Continue with daily activities, but modify if necessary. ... Plan ahead. ... Find support that works for you. ... Balance in-person and online support. ... Tap your community. ... Reach out.
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.
How long does breast cancer last?
(An old study of untreated breast cancer suggest the 5 year survival rates are 18% at 5 years and 3.6% at 10 years.)
How many people use alternative medicine?
In the population that did not use conventional care, one-quarter (24.8%) used some form of alternative medicine. And 12% (approximately 4.6 million Americans) were estimated to be using alternative medicine, and not conventional medicine, to treat one or more health issues.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 ...
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, ...
Why do people with slow growing tumors feel the need to act?
This is because the word “cancer” makes the diagnosis feel urgent, and it is hard to feel like one is "doing nothing.".
Why is it important to hear the word "cancer"?
This is important because cancer treatment poses many risks for individuals, not the least of which are treatment-related side effects and long-term effects.
Can prostate cancer cause shortening of life?
In addition, we know that some cancers, such as prostate cancer, may not cause a person any serious harm or even shorten their lives if they are left untreated. The researchers in this study presented an imaginary scenario to volunteers using a web-based survey.
Can cancer be treated?
The researchers found that using the "cancer" label led many people to choose surgery. This tells us that the perceptions and fears associated with a cancer diagnosis may lead reasonable people to opt for more treatment, even if they are reassu red that it is possible to watch and wait and that they may never need treatment.
How to keep patients from being a cancer patient?
(Remember, they might not want others to know about their diagnosis.) Keep cancer-related questions to a minimum. Avoid commenting on the patient’s appearance. How a patient looks often doesn’t match how they’re feeling.
Why do patients pull away from their caregivers?
At times patients may pull away because they feel overwhelmed by the care they receive. For example, even when caregivers have the best of intentions when they encourage patients to eat properly, the patient may feel pressured and sense a loss of independence. If you're a caregiver, be sure you're respectful of the emotions and boundaries ...
What happens when someone becomes ill?
When someone becomes ill, their usual role in the family is likely to change during treatment. Discuss how to handle those role changes, both when they begin treatment and when treatment comes to an end. At times patients may pull away because they feel overwhelmed by the care they receive.
What does it mean to hope for cancer?
Hope means different things to different people. And people can hope for many things while facing cancer. You might assume that someone who is positive and optimistic must be denying the fact that they have cancer. If the person with cancer seems upbeat and unaffected by having cancer, don’t assume they’re in denial.
Why is humor important in cancer?
Using humor can be an important way of coping. It can also be another approach to support and encouragement. This can be a great way to relieve stress and take a break from the more serious nature of the situation. But you never want to joke unless you know the person with cancer can handle it and appreciate the humor.
What is stigma in cancer?
This is called stigma and can sometimes make a person with cancer blame themselves for their illness or feel left out, isolated, depressed, and as if they don’t have much support. It can even affect how they approach their treatment, affect their quality of life, and might make them avoid follow-up care.
Do you have to respond to cancer patients?
You don’t always have to respond but be ready to hear their pain or the unpleasant thoughts they might want to share. If you are asked your opinion about their illness, treatment, or other parts of their cancer journey, be open and honest, but don’t try to answer questions that you don’t know the answers to. You’re not alone if you don ’t know ...
Can you listen to someone with cancer?
You can offer to listen whenever they’re ready. There may be times when the uncertainty and fear make the person with cancer seem angry, depressed, or withdrawn. This is normal and is a part of the process of grieving what was lost to the cancer (things like health, energy, time).
Can cancer come back?
In some cases, a person’s cancer will come back (recur or recurrence) and treatment might begin again or a new treatment might be needed. The person with cancer may or may not react the same way they did the first time. Again, communication is key. Most people are quite upset if they learn their cancer is back.
What does it mean when someone you love is being treated for cancer?
When Someone You Love is Being Treated for Cancer is for friends or family members giving care to a person with cancer. Being a caregiver to someone you care about may mean helping with daily activities such as going to doctor’s visits or preparing food.
How to talk to kids about cancer?
How to talk with your kids about cancer. Communicating with your loved one who has cancer. Dealing with other family members and friends . This booklet is not about how to take care of a patient. Instead, it provides ways for a friend or family member to take care of themselves while caring for someone with cancer.
Who Uses Cam Instead of Medicine?
Effectiveness Evaluations
- The data show that avoiding or delaying conventional cancer care is associated with negative outcomes, and CAM used does not seem to modify this risk. But have any specific CAM interventions shown any benefit? Probably the most comprehensive single review is asystematic review by Gerber et al, published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment in 2006, which looke…
Conclusion: Alternative Medicine Isn’T Real Medicine
- Despite widespread claims, there is no evidence to support the use of any CAM treatment as a replacement for conventional cancer care. As the studies in breast cancer show, delaying treatment or substituting CAM for conventional cancer care dramatically worsens outcomes.The results of these studies will hopefully provide patients and health providers with a better underst…
References
- 1. Verkooijen HM, Fioretta GM, Rapiti E, Bonnefoi H, Vlastos G, Kurtz J, Schaefer P, Sappino AP, Schubert H, & Bouchardy C (2005). Patients’ refusal of surgery strongly impairs breast cancer survival. Annals of surgery, 242 (2), 276-80 PMID: 16041219 2. Chang EY, Glissmeyer M, Tonnes S, Hudson T, & Johnson N (2006). Outcomes of breast cancer in patients who use alternative thera…