My grama is going to be 78 in october.
Three yrs ago she had a lul resection for
adenocarcinoma. She ended up having
several complications as a result of the
surgery and spent four months in the
hospital/rehab. We found out last week
that she has a recurrence of the
adenocarcinoma and the pet scan shows two
spots in the lung that she had surgery on,
and another spot in the other lung. In
the lung that she had surgery on-it does
involve the pleura. The oncologist is
recommending chemo (taxol/carboplatinum)
he says we'll try two rounds and do a cat
scan to see if the tumor is responding.
He said without chemo she has less than a
year to live, but i'm afraid the chemo
itself will do her in. It takes her 4-6
weeks just to recover from a bout of
bronchitis! He said the chemo could
extend her life an additional six months.
Is that realistic? Would palliative
care be better for her quality of life?
Help please-we're supposed to start the
chemo next week and I don't know if she
should!
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purple333
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 1420 Location: Sydney
Posted: 07-30-04 11:59am
Does your grandmother have all her mental
faculties? If she does then the decision
should be hers, no-one else's - I do
understand what you are saying - & I
am against prolonging life unless there is
also a reasonable quality of life to
prolong etc but at the hers.
I understand that the whole family will
suffer to see her pain but it is her life.
Talk to her about your concerns &
fears - you nay be surprised - maybe she
feels as you do but thinks that she is
expected by the family to do this even
though maybe she would rather not.
Communication(if full open & honest)
often solves problems for everyone.
I agree that it is her decision and i'm
just here to support her, but I think she
needs to make an informed decision. If
chemo lasts for six months and she feels
like crap for six months and the result of
chemo is going to add only an additional
six months to her life expectancy....I
would like to know if the life expectancy
of less than a year (if she doesn't have
chemo) sounds reasonable. Her ldh count
is normal-so couldn't she live longer than
a year??
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purple333
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 1420 Location: Sydney
Posted: 07-31-04 10:02am
Yes she might live longer - she might also
go through all of the chemo etc & die
just as soon as she would have without it
- that's the thing only god knows - we can
only make the choices that we feel are
right for us based on what we know &
what/how we feel at the time about the
issue.
I knew an elderly man who was operated on
& they just closed him up because he
was "riddled" with cancer & wouldn't
live more than a couple of months - no-one
told him that & 3 years later he was
still walkin up & down the hill daily
to the shop!@!@
my mother was given a year (no treatment
options were available in her case) but
dies in only 2 months.
Just an update... She decided to try two
rounds of chemo. At least then there
won't be any regrets. She will see after
the two rounds if she feels like she can
handle the rest of the treatment. I will
keep you posted. We were also told to
contact hospice. The Dr. Said most
people don't get to benefit from all they
have to offer because they wait too long
to contact them. I will keep you posted.
Thank you for the advice.
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purple333
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 1420 Location: Sydney
Posted: 08-04-04 22:57pm
Pray & work for the best but be
prepared for the worst.
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fgennuso
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 9 Location: ontario, canada
Posted: 12-31-04 12:25pm
My mom was diagnosed with 3rd stage lung
cancer 2 years ago. She's 52 and a
non-smoker. She did chemo and radiation.
She was also on iressa. Nothing really
worked. Without a miracle, there is no
more hope. Chemo has made her bed ridden
and she has decided not to under-go any
more treatment's. I'm 28 years old and
come from a very close knit family. I
understand your fear and wish you and your
family all the best.
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Teamgano1
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 30 Jan 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Australia
Help I Hope Posted: 01-30-05 20:50pm
Miracles can happen as with the magic
water from lll, this is a group for
information, and cancer is only one of the
many, that show signs of hope.
Just starting but very worth while joining
to read & look over the links,
the product just starting in australia,
canada, & us, but 2000 years of
history, worth a look
it is good that she went ahead with
chemotherapy. While it can cause
significant complications, the doses are
adjusted for her, and she is monitored
every cycle. If it is too hard on her the
doctors will have to stop it.
