Serious answers only please, friends cancer.?!
Question: a friend has cancer outside the lung ,also bone cancer in her thigh also cancer is in her bodily fluids if i am understanding what she is telling me. is there anybody[doctor]etc who can give some advice she has been told by her doctor[gp] that she needs kemo, but the hospital specialist has told her just to take a certain tablet to strengthen her bones.. im afraid i don't know the name of the tablet but it seems to me they have just given up on her.any advice would be appreciated. thanks. [ie] can she demand to see a different specialist,hospital administrators or clinical dean. thanks any help would be appreciated.
Answers: a friend has cancer outside the lung ,also bone cancer in her thigh also cancer is in her bodily fluids if i am understanding what she is telling me. is there anybody[doctor]etc who can give some advice she has been told by her doctor[gp] that she needs kemo, but the hospital specialist has told her just to take a certain tablet to strengthen her bones.. im afraid i don't know the name of the tablet but it seems to me they have just given up on her.any advice would be appreciated. thanks. [ie] can she demand to see a different specialist,hospital administrators or clinical dean. thanks any help would be appreciated.
The oncologist (specialist in cancer treatment) is right, not all kinds of cancer, especially when so extended, react favorably to chemotherapy, which by itself often make patients very sick, even kills them, too. This the GP don't know, and he/she is just trying to do his/her best. Cure is impossible, so all there is is palliative treatment, which means it is only prescribed if the perspective of having a better quallity of life through a response is worthwhile (al least 20% chance: for each one who has a response to the chemo, 4 people take the same toxic drugs without any benefit, just the unpleasant side effects, think about it, you never know who will respond!). The american perspective of taking the chemo anyway even if the chance of response is only 2% is absurd, and not practised in Western Europe. Better concentrate on having as comfortable time left as possible without suffering needless chemotherapy. I know this is hard to accept, but this is also part of the grieving proces (First stage: denial; second stage: rage; third stage: acceptance). The pills you meant to strengthen the bone is not calcium, which contrary to popular believe doesn't do any good as long as you have a normal calcium intake in your diet, but is some form of bisphosphonate, perhaps clodronate (Bonefos), since preventing cancerous bone from fracturing is important for the patient's comfort. So all you well meaning people who would go for a second, third etc. opinion, this is just denial, don't do it, it won't help, just prolongs the agony before getting to grips with reality and do the things you want to finish/do before leaving this life.
i cant give you any advice but i wish your friend all the best. keep you chin up - we are all thinking of you
If she has that much cancer it's really only a matter of time. I don't know what tablets you're referring to. You're usually only put through chemo if it's going to make an appreciable difference because it makes you so weak. My dad just got radiotherapy to help ease his last weeks. She should be able to see a specially trained nurse for help and advice and interpretation of treatment.
definatly tell her 2 get a second ,third or as many different opinions as possible there must be something that they can do for her.
good luck with everything hope things turn out o.k xx
Its very sad to hear all this. It must be terrible for u to watch her go through this. Yes she could take advice from somewhere else. Look at the links they might help
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/
http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/
However, although it may not seem like it I am sure all is being done that can be done. Sometimes there is only so much that can be done.
I hope the above links help.
Take care!
get 2nd opin
contact the Mc millian nurses there great in help and support
wish your friend well she loves you and you love her and wish you the best for the future
dont give up
Ask for other options on how to treat it. Other than that, tell her to keep a positive attitude. Mind over matter.
I give her the BEST of luck! <333
Definitely, it is her right to see another specialist. It is outrageous that they have given up on her. She should see as many people in the hospital as possible. I wish her the best of luck.
My ex is in a similar position. When his breast cancer spread to his lungs and bones, he was given 6 months but is still going three years later. Before they started his chemo he had to go on a course of extra calcium to try and strengthen his bones, so maybe it is calcium tablets that your friend has to take. The MacMillan support programme is really great, they give you all the advice you need, visit you at home etc. and help you through all the nasty effects of the chemo. Please tell your friend not to give up, try and be strong mentally as her body will need that to keep strong physically and I hope that her treatment goes well for her. Look up http://www.macmillan.org.uk/ for more information.
As a patient your friend has every right to demand a second opinion by another oncologist (cancer specialist). If one doctor is telling her that she needs chemotherapy and another one is telling her to just take a pill to help her bones, there's definitely an issue there. Her family doctor could have been incorrect in the diagnosis, or overly optimistic in the diagnosis. By the sounds of it someone has their wires cross with 3 totally different forms of cancer. Outside her lung sounds like a tumor, bodily fluids sounds like blood cancer (leukemia?) and bone cancer... depending on her age, this seems very unlikely and another opinion or even travelling to a large city hospital would be recommended.
Someone very close to me is in a similar situation Rob. It's a terrible disease, and I am very sorry to hear this about your friend. Yes, she most certainly can demand other opinions, Doctors, anything she wants. It's her health, and she has the option of being treated by who-ever she wants, with what-ever treatment she and her Doctor decide on. I pray that she pulls through this okay. I know it is hard on you as well. Try and be strong for the both of you is about the best and only advice I can offer friend. That, and know your options are not limited at all. She can go anywhere she wants, and get any treatments she wants from as many Doctors she desires. You will both be in our prayers. Take care, and God-Bless to You and Yours. 1st Sgt., 7th Special Forces, (Ret.) Vietnam 67-70
By all means, GET HER TO GO TO ANOTHER DOCTOR...A SPECIALIST IN CANCER IS WHAT SHE NEEDS....
It is her right to want and get a second opinion....nothing and no one can stop her from doing that....
Most likely she does need chemo...and her doctor should have discussed all of this with her...
Your friend might be telling only what she wants to tell you...she might not want to talk about it...and she might be giving up...knowing all of the time what kind of cancer she has and how far along it is...I would think this would be a devastating blow to ANYONE...I mean, one day, you walk into a doctor's office and he gives you this horrible, bad news...and there goes your life as you know it...right out the window...
Stick by your friend...and do a lot of the footwork for her...she may not have the drive in her mind to do it herself...
Well cancer is hard to get rid of when you have one cancerous cell and It always divides the chances of getting rid of them all is low epsecaily when you have cancer in more than one place but it has been known to happen even in the last stages I know a man who was a week from dieing of cancer and now he is in remission the best thing you can probably do for her is pray and try to raise her spirits cheer her up when she is down and depressed.
The cancer appears to have spread in multiple organs/systems of your friend.
You have not indicated age of your friend. If she is young, one need to give a try even in this situation. However, if she is not young, then treating her with modern medicine concept would mean putting her in more trouble.
If your friends believes in either alternative therapies or holistic methods, then she may explore couple of good option.