What are best options for cancer treatment?
one of my friend's spouse is diagnized with stage 4 colon cancer which spread to liver and lungs. the doctor proposed chemo therapy and gave 3 options: one with 2 day iv treatment (once every 2 weeks), one 2 hour iv+ daily pills, one 4 hr ivy treatment every week. doctor said option 1,3 are covered by insurance but 2 might not be and the pills cost about 2000$ a month. the patient prefers option 2 but is hesitant about those costs. what is the best option for treatment: iv or pills. help with ideas.
Cancer - 3 Answers
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1 :
No one here can answer that it is up to the patient and their doctor. If what you are saying is the patient wants potion 2, but is concerned about the cost that is a different question. They should first call their insurance company to see if it is covered. If it is not, they should ask the doctor if there is a generic version they can take and they can call the manufacture to see if they have a program to help supplement the cost.
2 :
at stage IV the patient should consider what will give him the best quality of life for the time he has left. the doctor's office should be able to contact the insurance company to check the patient's coverage. if the pills are not covered then it is not a good idea to burden the family with the substantial cost. stage IV cancer means the disease has spread dramatically to the point of being incurable. i am not sure why the oncologist would encourage further treatment; perhaps this was the patient's decision. at this point, it would seem hospice should be called and a plan for palliative care be put in place.
3 :
For metastatic cancer at stage four - get your affairs in order and go to hospice care. Sorry, there is not a stage 5. Sadly some people keep chasing after a cure and hoping for a miracle only to make their last months on this planet miserable from chemo and radiation. Your friend, the spouse and the doctor have to sit down and talk about realistic outcomes and quality of life issues.
4 :
Like one answer said no one here can say. I know what I would do but that may not be right for someone else. I would refuse all conventional treatment and seek proven alternative ways of dealing with it. I recommend the book Cancer Step Outside the box by Ty Bollinger. Also eating an anti-cancer diet would be a big step in the right direction. But you can't convince people of these things when all they know is conventional medicine and what their doctors tell them. the best defense against cancer is eating an anti-cancer diet. i also believe that doing that can sometimes slow the progression of the disease. One thing I am sure of is that it won't do any harm. Read the link below it is from a medical doctor and includes 45 scientific references.
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Title : What are best options for cancer treatment
Description : What are best options for cancer treatment? one of my friend's spouse is diagnized with stage 4 colon cancer which spread to liver an...