Good luck - 33 is so young my heart breaks for your sister and your entire family. So many folks wait till the very end to bring hospice in. If not, patients remain at risk for overhearing the bad news from strangers.”. Im looking for some thoughts and help following our latest onc. However, the oncologist will not entertain afatinib as she says side effects are significantly more severe than chemo, also tagrisso not approved in Ireland. visit. They are ready and able to help now. Oncologist says “No More Chemo” Discussion Board › Forums › Chemotherapy & More › Oncologist says “No More Chemo” This topic has 4 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 10 months ago by highsmith . I also found bringing in another person with the doctors from family or friends at these conversations is really helpful. You may need to be more explicit in voicing your concerns to your oncologist and staff. So hormone therapy only for me. Further exacerbating the initiation of honest discussion about end-of-life issues is a semantic dilemma, choosing the proper terms and language oftentimes becomes an emotional chess game of avoidance. Chemotherapy is among the treatment options available. Conclusion: The availability of new chemotherapeutic agents has caused a subsequent increase in the length of time patients are receiving chemotherapy with advanced NSCLC. After you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, your oncologist may recommend many different treatments. The content on this site is for informational purposes only. Mel O'Neill from Penketh was diagnosed with breast cancer a decade ago and writes a regular blog for the Warrington Guardian “Your oncologist says … Lisha. Second-line therapy was given to 56% of patients; 26% of patients received third-line therapy, while 10% received fourth-line therapy and 5% received fifth-line therapy or greater. Studies also suggest that the struggle to engage in honest, goal-oriented conversation when curative or maintenance therapy is no longer clinically feasible, is partly driven by the patient’s wish to ‘try anything at all’ in order to extend life. To some, hospice also suggests giving up. If anyone in my family ever needs hospice again, they will be the ones I call. Understandably, oncologists are reluctant to tell patients that there is no longer any benefit for them to continue chemotherapy. For my mother in law last year and then for my dear mom this year. THE ONCOLOGIST SAYS NO MORE CHEMO. -talk to the radiotologist directly She was ready to give chemo ten days back and today even when her vitals were matching the standards of chemo she decided not to go ahead with chemo. Even though you’re happy to leave chemo side effects behind, you strangely felt safe and cocooned while undergoing treatment. Our family has used them for two family members. Also, you might want to take a look at an article on our new site from the Mayo Clinic it may give you some helpful background - http://www.esophagealcancerfighters.com/?page_id=41 "When enough is enough - Stoping Cancer Treatment when the time is right" - it really talks about the process of deciding on treatment and what to do if you want to stop treatment and your doctor doesn't or if you want to continue treatment and your doctor doesn't. The patient wants their physician to deliver positive news and, by turns, the physician wants to delay what might be a hope-crushing discussion of prognosis. Instead, the study published online Thursday, in the medical journal JAMA Oncology, focuses on chemotherapy given to people with solid tumors … There are also some links to the NIH and clinical trials. However, all practitioners who refer many patients to hospice do so in the belief that these programs provide the best, highest quality, and most efficient and effective means of supporting the palliative and end-of-life needs for dying patients.”, In a corresponding commentary to Dr. Helft’s editorial, Lidia Schapira, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, said, “Hospice by any other name remains a venue for delivery of nursing and social services for dying patients. However, he can offer NO data on if more chemo will help or not. A study by Murillo and Koeller in The Oncologist [2006; 11:1095–1099] looked at chemotherapy given near the end of life to advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated in the community oncology setting. Forty % of patients were >69 years of age and 35% had an ECOG PS of ≥2. So when your oncologist says it’s “up to you” whether or not to undergo more treatment for cancer, say no. Veterinary cancer specialists help pet families make hard decisions every day. As a medial culture, we shy away from mortality issues. As a conversation starter, such a change may be useful. Your heart is breaking and it can be hard to keep a clear head, and nice to have another listening as well. Just my opinion, If you feel like chemo isn’t working for you, you might have other options. Now we really do not know where to go from here...whether to take a second opinion, what shall we do? It is a conversation that alters the doctor/patient relationship, an acknowledgement by the doctor that, despite all the advances of modern medicine, “I can do nothing more to extend your life.” However, according to ongoing research, this difficult conversation is not being had enough, and patients, clinging to false hope, are being given chemotherapy when it should have been discontinued in favor of palliative care. The results are telling: The researchers reported data from 10 community practices including 417 patients treated for advanced NSCLC in 2000–2003. However he wrote to him and for a while he made more effort when I saw him. No More Chemo. The dilemma is increasing and the oncologist from Stanford has refused chemo for my sister, 33, with EC stage four. When my husband learned he had advanced lung cancer, he didn’t even want to speak to an oncologist about chemotherapy.He saw no point in treatment that could not cure him and might make him feel worse. And a study presented at the most recent meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology showed for the first time that a chemotherapy-free … If changing the name to a more inclusive term, such as hospice home nursing program, makes it easier to introduce the topic, I am in favor of such a modification. Choosing the more time option does run the risk of ruining the quality of life during any remaining time, and this is an aspect I've had many internal battles with. Your sister is always free to have a second opinion, but it can only help her and all of you to have hospice on board now. What's more, they want you to ask everything you want and need to know because that way they can help you start chemo and learn a lot about it. Cancer Survivors Network - Comments for "THE ONCOLOGIST SAYS NO MORE CHEMO" In reply to THE ONCOLOGIST SAYS NO MORE CHEMO. This word conjures various images in patients’ minds, many of them inaccurate. Patients received a mean of 6.1 cycles of chemotherapy. From Rons description of his symptoms the onc. Not all cancers respond to these therapies, so they may not be a good fit for you. However, the ‘hospice’ word is still a word used tentatively among oncologists. As you can see on this board some doctors are doing all chemo stage 4, some all radiation, some a mix. First-line chemotherapy included combination therapy in 84% of patients. It's a leap of faith. © 2021 MJH Life Sciences and Cancer Network. Chemotherapy was given within 1 month and 2 weeks of death to 43% and 20% of patients, respectively. Just my opinion, If fighting is what your sister really wants to do at this point, it should be the patient's decision to continue chemo. Tenacity and positivity in the face of desperate clinical scenarios are vital qualities in an oncologist treating people with cancer. For patients receiving chemotherapy at the time of death, the mean line of therapy being given was second line. The reason for switching to Taxol is my tumor only shrank from 5.5 cm to 4.2 cm after chemo… Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions about our experience with hospice. Hes not been eating well, feels weak and is complaining of an intermittent pain in his right hip. Given how much chemo batters your body around and I was stage 1 with no nodes involved I was more than comfortable with her recommendation. There are many other hospice in the bay area, but I truly believe that this is one of the best, in my opinion, the Best!. Dr. Moss confirms this and claims that the greatest breakthrough in the objective study of chemotherapy came from a biostatistician at the University of Heidelberg, Dr. Ulrich Abel. Use of this online service is subject to the disclaimer and the terms and conditions. If the cancer stays as it is he does not give you more ( poison). ... Join the Healthcare Professionals Network to read more pieces like this. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Every Oncologist knows this, ... (which indicates no chemo needed) but because my tumor was 1.8 cm my ONC is advising chemo. Although we did use them for mom before this year. They also have a website. I'm an oncologist who got breast cancer. The hospice is: VITAS Innovative Hospice care of california 1-866-418-4827 You’re a person with a full life. I'm not familiar with Sanford, but first you might want to try where you are. My oncologist recommended NOT having chemo given the less than 1% difference it made to survival rate. We used VITAS in Pittsburgh and they were amazing as well. Read more No More Chemo: Doctors Say It’s Not So Far-Fetched. Unfortunately, oncologist does not take any alternative opinions from me as my Mum’s advocate. The mean age was 67 years (median, 62 years) and 54% were male. Understandably, oncologists are reluctant to tell patients that there is no longer any benefit for them to continue chemotherapy. 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