Your loved one may still refuse treatment, in which case the conversation needs to shift from conventional treatment to supportive care. Talk with the oncologist sooner, not later, about hospice and palliative care. Also, talk to your love one about his or her values and wishes.
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.
What can I do to help my body during treatment for cancer?
Drinking plenty of fluids also is key to helping your body during treatment. Try to drink at least 64 ounces (2 liters) of fluid a day, unless your doctor has directed you to limit your fluid intake. Try to choose drinks that contain calories. If sweetened beverages are too sweet, try flavored water or fruit juices diluted with water.
Why is it important to talk to your doctor about cancer?
Talking with your doctor and cancer care team, and trusting them to be honest, open, and supportive, is very important. You will have more confidence in treatment decisions if you trust the doctors making recommendations. This means communication is a key part of your care, from diagnosis throughout treatment and beyond.
What questions should I avoid asking my doctor and cancer care team?
This means communication is a key part of your care, from diagnosis throughout treatment and beyond. Try to avoid asking your doctor and cancer care team questions like, "What would you do?" or "If you were in my place, would you try another treatment?" Instead, try asking questions like, "Can you tell me all of my options, please?"
Can a person refuse cancer treatment?
Treatment decision making is an ongoing process; thus, patients who initially refuse treatment may later choose to undergo conventional cancer treatment if given the adequate support, information, and time necessary to make the decision.
What will happen if cancer is not treated?
The bottom line. Cancer can kill when tumors affect the function of major organs. Life threatening complications can also occur due to malnutrition, a weakened immune system, and lack of oxygen. Cancer treatments can prevent some of these complications, as well as disease progression.
Can you live with cancer without treatment?
Doctor's Response. More than half of lung cancer patients will die within one year of diagnosis even with treatment. Without treatment, patients may die even sooner. For any hope of survival, medical or surgical treatment is necessary.
Why do people refuse cancer treatments?
Cognitive aspects—where my cancer is, what my odds are—are only part of patients' decision-making, so we need to understand their emotions.” Emotions that drive refusal for treatment may stem from exhaustion, depression, or a desire not to be a burden to loved ones.
Can you survive cancer without chemo?
It found that low-risk patients did well without chemotherapy. That study showed the test could select a cohort of patients with a 99 percent chance of five-year survival without distant metastasis. For those women, the risks of chemotherapy aren't justifiable.
Is untreated cancer painful?
Pain can be caused by cancer or by cancer treatment, though not all cancer is painful. Medications and other approaches can effectively treat cancer-related pain. Fatigue. Fatigue in people with cancer has many causes, but it can often be managed.
Is Stage 4 cancer a death sentence?
All these cases reflect that Stage 4 cancer is not a death sentence and a normal life can be achieved with personalized cancer treatment just like any other chronic illness.
Does cancer spread quickly?
The short answer is it varies from tumour to tumour. But overall, it's slower than you might expect. According to Professor Trevor Graham, a Cancer Research UK-funded cancer evolution expert, the best evidence for the fact that most cancers grow slowly comes from screening.
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.
Is it better not to have chemotherapy?
Because of chemotherapy's possible risks and side effects, it is not always recommended. Your oncologist may recommend avoiding chemotherapy if your body is not healthy enough to withstand chemotherapy or if there is a more effective treatment available.
What are the last stages of cancer?
Signs that death has occurredBreathing stops.Blood pressure cannot be heard.Pulse stops.Eyes stop moving and may stay open.Pupils of the eyes stay large, even in bright light.Control of bowels or bladder may be lost as the muscles relax.
Can cancer spread while on chemo?
While chemotherapy is one of the oldest and most successful ways of treating cancer, it doesn't always work. So, yes, cancer can spread during chemotherapy. Spreading could mean the tumor keeps growing, or that the original tumor shrinks, but cancer metastasizes, forming tumors in other areas of the body.
How to trust your doctor about cancer?
Trusting your cancer care team. Talking with your doctor and cancer care team, and trusting them to be honest, open, and supportive, is very important. You will have more confidence in treatment decisions if you trust the doctors making recommendations. This means communication is a key part of your care, from diagnosis throughout treatment ...
How to talk to your loved ones about cancer?
Talking with your loved ones. Be open with your loved ones about your cancer and the news you've been given. Explore their thoughts, feelings, and suggestions. Talk to them about the options you have been given, along with the decisions you have made or are thinking of making. If you feel you need their input, ask.
What happens if cancer stops working?
Or maybe one type of cancer treatment has stopped working and the cancer has kept growing. If this happens, your doctor might say your cancer has advanced or progressed. There may or may not be other treatment options. But when many different treatments have been tried and are no longer controlling the cancer, it could be time to weigh ...
Is there hope for a life without cancer?
Staying hopeful. Your hope for a life without cancer might not be as bright, but there is still hope for good times with family and friends – times that are filled with happiness and meaning. Pausing at this time in your cancer treatment gives you a chance to refocus on the most important things in your life.
Can cancer shrink?
If you have cancer that keeps growing or comes back after one kind of treatment, it’s possible that another treatment might still help shrink the cancer, or at least keep it in check enough to help you live longer and feel better. Clinical trials also might offer chances to try newer treatments that could be helpful.
Can you get a second opinion on cancer?
When faced with deciding whether to continue cancer treatment, some patients or their loved ones may want to get a second opinion. Even when you place full trust in your doctor and cancer care team, you might wonder if another doctor could offer something else or more information. It's normal to think about talking to someone else, and your doctor should support you if you decide to get another opinion. Remember that your cancer care team wants you to be sure about the decisions you make. You can read more in Seeking a Second Opinion.
Does cancer stop working?
If Cancer Treatments Stop Working. Cancer treatments can help stop cancer from growing or spreading. But sometimes treatment does not work well or stops working. Maybe treatment ended a while ago and was successful at first, but cancer has come back. Or maybe one type of cancer treatment has stopped working and the cancer has kept growing.
What is low grade prostate cancer?
Low grade prostate cancer falls into that group. With small volume Gleason 6 or less, active surveillance with monitoring of PSA and periodic biopsies to establish stability have similar survival rates as surgery or radiation without the well known side effects.
Does prostate cancer require treatment?
Not every cancer requires treatment. Some cancers have a very long natural history and for people who are older (and I don't mean elderly) treatment may not be necessary, although careful monitoring is. Low grade prostate cancer falls into that group.
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.
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.".
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.
Why do people refuse breast cancer treatment?
Among some of the more common reasons for the refusal of breast cancer treatment: A period of adjustment: No one really knows how they will respond to a cancer diagnosis until they get one. Some people will panic, others will become resolute, and others still will need time to come to terms with the diagnosis before moving forward.
What religions discourage cancer treatment?
Matters of faith: Some religions, like Christian Science, discourage certain medical interventions necessary for cancer treatment. Even if this is not the case, a woman may feel comforted by entrusting her fate to nature or a higher power.
Why do women choose hospice?
Likewise, some women with advanced cancer will choose hospice care for its emphasis on emotional support and pain control, rather than aggressive therapeutic interventions that cause pain. According to research from Canada, the majority of women who refused breast cancer therapy were over 50 (53%), married (44%), and had metastatic disease (61%).
What is informed consent?
It involves discussing the potentials risks and benefits of a recommended treatment, as well as the risks and benefits of receiving no treatment.
What is the role of a doctor?
Within this context, the role of your doctor is to provide you full disclosure of your condition and treatment options in a language you understand. The disclosure should be made without prejudice and coercion.
Why do doctors dismiss complementary therapies?
They might even dismiss complementary or integrative therapies because they either don't believe in them or assert (reasonably) that certain approaches are not evidence-based .
Do medical caretakers have to advocate for the best interests of a child?
In fact, medical caretakers have an ethical and legal obligation to advocate for the best interests of a child when parental decisions are potentially dangerous. The same interventions do not apply to adults. Even a spouse cannot override a partner's refusal of treatment without an extraordinary court action.
7 Answers
My 80 year-old mom and I went to the ER when she became suddenly very confused. Two days later, we left with a diagnosis of stage iv renal carcinoma meta'd to adrenals, spine, and lungs.
Recent Questions
How do you adjust to the decline of a spouse? Husband has terminal cancer and is currently on hospice. I’m finding myself more sad each day.
Related Questions
How long do you have to live if you have stage 4 prostate cancer, that has metastasized to the skeletal bones?
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.
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.
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, ...
Making Treatment Decisions
Find out how your cancer care team determines treatment options and schedules, and what you should consider when making decisions about treatment.
Managing Your Treatment
Some people may manage parts of their cancer treatment at home. Learn about the special equipment you might need, and find out what you need to know about safely getting treatments at home. You'll also find resources to help you track side effects and medications.
Personal Health Manager
It can be hard to keep track of all the information that you get about your diagnosis and treatment. But keeping this information organized can help you feel less stressed and more prepared to talk with your doctor. The American Cancer Society Personal Health Manager can help.