Cancer treatment worse than the disease?
say its not so. Unless it is. Please, if you know any REAL success stories let me know. Like, cases where the person went on to live healthy and normal lives for MANY years after the treatment. Or, cases where the treatment was not so long and tortourous. How often are there REAL sucess stories after one gets diagnosed? (Seems to me they get cured yes then 5 years later they get cancer again and after being tortured with treatment for a few months they die.) Something realistic yet perahaps not as pessimistic as the prognosis seems to me? (Cuz I'm not sure just how bad it is. exactly.) Sure would appreciate any opinion, experiences, facts, etc. at all related to cancer treatment being worth it or not.
Cancer - 13 Answers
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1 :
Life is always worth a fair try. But as far as cancer treatments, it depends on what they are going to do. My father is going through chemo right now and it is brutal. He never had any symptoms from the cancer, but he is losing weight at an incredible rate now and just can't keep any food down. It is really bad and he is suffering. Watching him go through that, I can't imagine ever doing it myself. I might just give everybody a big party and wait to see what happened naturally. My mom on the other hand, she had radiation and it never made her sick or anything. Go figure.
2 :
Several years ago a friend of mine, we were in our 20s, was diagnosed after a work physical with testicular cancer. it looked grim. He went through radiation and chemo and had the testicle removed. It has been almost 20 years and he is not only a live and well but fathered a child. I also have an aunt, a cousin, two neighbors and a co-worker survive breast cancer.
3 :
my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. The chemo wasn't good, she'd have it in the morning then come home and she'd be feeling ill for days, then she'd have the next dose. The radiotherapy was better as it didn't make her feel ill constantly. However, about a year later it had travelled to her liver and was inoperable. She died not long after, so the treatment didn't work for her. But there all sorts of contributing factors, mainly had the cancer been detected earlier the treatments may have been successful. We'll never know,but just as people die from cancer many more are saved too.
4 :
Some people do get better on treatment and then never have a recurrance of the disease. However, it's possible to go through treatment and it doesn't work. And sometimes the cancer recurs. Once you are diagnosed with cancer you need to be checked for recurrences in the future. If you have cancer, you definitely need the treatment, though.
5 :
proton therapy is the best way to go it doesn't damage healthy tisue so cancer doesn't come back
6 :
There was a study done back in the day... Done by Dr. Warburg in 1931. He discovered that cancer cannot suvive in an alkaline environment. So...maybe try eating an alkaline diet. There is also a water ionizer, that produces a high alkaline as well as hexagonal water. Which is amazing for the body. Look up Kangen Water online. I'm no doctor but many people have turned their health around. I don't know what sort of answer you're looking for but, for people with any kind of disease, this water is amazing.
7 :
Cancer can be insidious, almost subtle encroachment upon and within your body, or it can be blatant, almost consumptive disease which very quickly saps your vitality. The variation of types of cancer are reflected in the variation of treatments. It is true that the treatment of choice for many cancers, depending upon when the diagnosis is made, are a combination of drugs, or chemo therapy, radiation, or radiotherapy, and surgical intervention. And, unfortunately, sometimes these are not successful. However, the very best thing one can do is to be informed, get information anywhere you can and do not be afraid, remember the cowardly die a thousand times, the brave, only once. Live your life so that you have no regrets, and have a positive attitude, and remember, nothing succeeds like optimism. And yes some people die from cancer, but more live, and that is the optimism of life.
8 :
All I am going to say here is this: Without treatment, you are promised to die. And when you do die, the end will be just as horrifying as if you were to die during treatment. Quality v quanity is a decision only you can make for yourself.
9 :
My aunt, mother's sister developed cancer ( a sarcoma ) in her leg at age 32. It spread to lungs and she was being treated and responding to the radiation and the chemo. Unfortunately, she died from radiation poisoning when she was 37. So she did not die from the cancer, she died from the treatment. One of my best friends had breast cancer, she had chemo and radiation and she is now cancer free!! It depends on the illness, the location, the stage, the person... all of that. I do know of many folks who go through chemo, radiation and surgery and come out fine. Good luck. I hope all goes well.
10 :
I was diagnosed with breast cancer with node involvement. I'd rather face the temporary agony of treatment rather than wasting away having the cancer slowly suck my life away. However, in my case, the treatment wasn't torturous at all. While it was no picnic I didn't suffer with all the side effects you hear about. I spent 4 months doing chemo and was only sick once and the radiation only caused a minor skin irritation. I'm not bragging but I am trying to tell you that many people go through the treatment just fine. You just never know until you go though it. I don't know where I'll be 5 years from now, if the cancer will come back or not. I certainly hope not but if it does I am willing to go through this all over again in order to keep my life.
11 :
No. Cancer treatment is not worse than dying from the disease. Dying from the spread of cancer tumors is horrific . . nothing can even come close to comparing with this horror. Cancer has the ability to totally consume the body because it will grow indefinitely if left untreated. Tumors can grow to enormous size within the body . . the stomach will bloat . . tumors can burst through the skin and if the patient lives . . continue growing across the skin. How could any type of treatment be worse than that? Have you ever seen someone die from cancer? As for success stories . . they abound . . look around you . . people are surviving cancer more than they ever did before. Some well known people who have survived chemotherapy, radiation and stage IV cancer include Lance Armstrong . . who won the Tour de France and founded LiveStrong . . also Peggy Flemming and Scott Hamilton, both world Olympic figure skaters survived cancer . . as well as Steven Jobs founder of Apple Computers who survived Pancreatic cancer . . the list goes on. Cancer treatment gives you a chance to live . . but there is no guarantee . . none . . and therein lies the biggest problem . . do you take a chance knowing how difficult treatment will be . . knowing there is no guarantee. My son recently died from cancer. He had excellent quality of life for three years . . and was in remission for 8 months before relapsing. However, had he not had any treatment he would have been gone in about a month . . treatment prolonged his life, gave him additional time, and I would not trade that time for anything . . his last few weeks were difficult but hospice kept him comfortable . . . dying from cancer is not preferable over treatment . . . trust me. I also know many, many young people with this sarcoma . . many who have died . . from failure of the treatment working . . but the cancer killed them, not the treatment . . of those who died . .I also know survivors of the disease . . there are some . . and all of them were stage IV with multiple abdominal tumors . . they underwent at least two surgeries, a year of high dose chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, and radiation . . and are now 'no evidence' of disease . . they are alive and most are going to college. Yes. There are survivors of this rotten cancer . . and that makes treatment worth it. You can thumb through some of the websites of children with cancer . . some are fighting, some have relapsed, and some are in remission . . http://www.cancerkids.org/Children/Stories/ You can read the stories of adult survivors: http://www.livestrong.org/site/c.jvKZLbMRIsG/b.787677/k.A014/View_Stories/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp
12 :
Individual stories vary enormously. Yes many people die despite treatment; and treatment often prolongs life rather than saves it. But you only have to read Panda's moving story to see that prolonging life can be worth the treatment. Chemo was awful; I hope I never have to go through it again. But if I had to I would - if the possible improvement in my likely survival statistics was worth it. If it were only 1 - 2%, then I would consider quality of life over longevity. But then, I'm not a young person. I was diagnosed with an aggressive, advanced breast cancer with multiple lymph node involvement four and a half years ago and had surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Without a doubt treatment saved my life, and I'm currently fit and well with no sign of cancer at my last routine check up. In December I will be 5 years from diagnosis, after which recurrence is statistically less likely. Success stories? I have a friend who is 18 years from her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. My father was diagnosed with testicular cancer at 29; he had surgery and radiotherapy, and lived another 47 years - a full life during which he fathered three more children. He died of something unconnected to cancer. There are no guarantees. But without treatment you will surely die; with treatment your life may be prolonged or saved.
13 :
Cancer is a varied disease, so the treatments, side effects, and reccurance rates vary dramatically. In my case, the treatment was definaterly worse than the disease, at the time. That is usually the case, however, left untreated, the cancer will always be worse than the worst treatment. In my case, I had throat cancer and underwent 37 radiation treatments and 8 Chemotheraphy sessions. Towards the end of the treatment, it was Hell on Earth. I cannot imagine anything being worse and being survivable. I suffer from several side effects from the radiation: dry mouth, decaying teeth, (both due to reduced saliva), and have to take Thyroid medicine because the radiation destroyed my thyroid gland. The first 6 months after treatment were the worst and things have gotten better ever since, (excepting my teeth which are now about shot). I am going into my 5th year now in remmission and at least 4 1/2 of them have been pretty normal and worth the price of admission. Should my cancer return, my doctor has guaranteed me he cannot stop it, only slow it down. That is the time that the amount of treatment and kind of treatment can be considered. The first go-round is a no-brainer, unless you are near the end of life in age, or the disease is so far advanced that the prognosis for recovery is very slim, go for the treatment. I had a panel of 8 doctors agree that Chemotherapy was unnesscessary in my case, but I elected to have it anyway, because if I hadn't and the cancer wasn't checked or I came out of remission, I would always wonder if not having it was a mistake.
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