Chemo is it worth it?

[Bill M]

CANCER changes lives. Not only for the one going through it but also for those close to them.

I had chemo and surgery two years ago. While going through chemo I took many different meds as well. I wasn't enjoying life then I can assure you. It was worth it to me once I recovered from it all. I watched my mother wither away taking chemo for three years. They told her it wouldn't cure her and simply buy her time. She could do that, I couldn't.

I had a small spot show up this year about the size of a dime and have been in radiation since Halloween. Radiation has it's challenges but isn't as bad as chemo. I should be good after my last one on Tuesday.

These treatments have given me more life to live.

CANCER treats every person different. Every person has to make the decision. There are certain cancers I would not treat at all due to the survival stats.

I hope the best for your wife.

My 2 cents.

[Ruark]

You can't predict how chemo will work. You can take two people with the exact same stage of cancer and give them the exact same chemo routines. One will have horrible side effects - "worse than the cancer!" - and the other will have absolutely no side effects at all.

One will be symptom-free in a few weeks or months, the other will have no response whatsoever and the cancer will keep spreading. There are NO predictors of chemo response, or of the severity of side effects, if any. Further, the presence or absence of side effects is not predictive of the effectiveness of the chemo.

You've probably heard of people who went through chemo, were joyously symptom-free, in "remission" and later the cancer returned and killed them. This is caused by resistance. In their bodies, there were a few cells that were able to resist the chemo. After the chemo stops, these "survivor cells" start multiplying and, since they can resist the chemo, there's nothing to stop them, eventually causing the patient to die weeks, months or even years later. It's really not that difficult, in most cases, to reduce or eliminate malignancy. The problem is keeping it from recurring.

The least you can say is that they were able to at least live a little longer and enjoy life a little more before the end.

So you can't say "chemo doesn't work." It's just not that simple.

Breast cancer is notorious for long-term recurrence. Some breast cancer patients have been completely symptom-free after treatment, only to have it recur after as long as 15 years.

May God watch over your wife, and God help us in finding a cure or prevention for this horrible disease some day.

[brokeno]

Do the chemo and pray a lot.

[Chew]

My colon cancer came back 3 times while on chemo. They finaslly just removed my colon. Not a fan of chemo

[Mike D]

Only you and your wife can make that decision. However all I can say is I would do ANYTHING for her that would potentially save her life.


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[Deers & Beers]

My wife had stage 4 cancer and is now cancer free and has been for 5 years due to Chemo. Doesn't always work and is horrible to go through, but it does save lives which I have witnessed 1st hand.. There are side effects that will last forever..

As a preventative measure, that's a tough choice.. Very situational.. I would get multiple opinions and do what the doctors recommend.. I would trust them more than TBH

[Easttxhunterr]

Thought I would update you all since everyone was so kind to give me their thoughts. She ended up doing the chemo (well not all of it). She did the first 4 rnds of AC which was every other week and according to her doctor the hardest part. She did really good. She never got real sick other than no energy for about 48hrs after each treatment. Then she only did 3 of what was supposed to be 12 of the T treatments. She told her doctor that she wanted to be back to work by June, which would have ended them prematurely anyway and, he told her he would be ok if she stopped at 3 treatments and that the first 4 were the most important ones. They said that she would lose a bunch of weight but she actually gained weight during the process. She had a little bout with depression but it did not last long. She is now back to work and working on losing the weight that she put on. Her hair is starting to grow back and things are getting back to normal for us. Just one more cosmetic surgery in a couple months and we will be done. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

[TXHUNT3R]

Thought I would update you all since everyone was so kind to give me their thoughts. She ended up doing the chemo (well not all of it). She did the first 4 rnds of AC which was every other week and according to her doctor the hardest part. She did really good. She never got real sick other than no energy for about 48hrs after each treatment. Then she only did 3 of what was supposed to be 12 of the T treatments. She told her doctor that she wanted to be back to work by June, which would have ended them prematurely anyway and, he told her he would be ok if she stopped at 3 treatments and that the first 4 were the most important ones. They said that she would lose a bunch of weight but she actually gained weight during the process. She had a little bout with depression but it did not last long. She is now back to work and working on losing the weight that she put on. Her hair is starting to grow back and things are getting back to normal for us. Just one more cosmetic surgery in a couple months and we will be done. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

Very glad to see this update! More prayers on the way.

[Tony Pic]

Prayers up for you guys.

[LWC]

Good to hear. God bless!

[kruppa24]

Good deal, another prayer up for you guys

[quarterback]

Great to hear about the positive results from her treatment. Prayers sent for your good wife to be completely healed and to live a long and happy and healthy life.

[Burnadell]

Wonderful news! I’m glad she handled the chemo as well as she did.

[Cooper]

Good news....Continuing prayers!!

[Kurdawg]

Prayers sent