NJACT: Not Just Another Cancer Thread

SeoReborn

SeoReborn

New member
Mar 5, 2008
2,216
28
0
London UK
This past year my dad had been coughing on and off. When he went for lung x ray, it revealed some shadows for which could be tumors. Thereafter, he had CT scan, more x rays, and lung fluid examination. Last week, on Wednesday 1st October, it was confirmed he has non-small cell stage 3 lung cancer. The tumor is around 5 cm in his left lung, and there is another small spec tumor (malignant or not) in the right lung. The tumor is agitating the lung, causing inflammation which lead to his lung filling up with fluid. This Wednesday (8th October) just gone, 1650 ml of fluid was drained. Fluid will keep filling up the lung as the tumor will constantly cause the inflammation.

The oncologist said he has between 6 to 12 months to live. More toward 6 months. If he is lucky 12 months and if very lucky over 12 months. He said the tumor is inoperable and we talked about chemotherapy, its side effects, benefits and the risks. He asked him some probing questions. One of them is ‘off the record, if it is your dad who has this lung cancer, would you recommend him chemotherapy’. First the nurse by his side said no, and they opted her grandfather to not take chemotherapy when he had cancer. The oncologist paused. He said it really depends on the mentality and needs of the person. They may really want chemo no matter what, and taking chemo would satisfy that emotional urge. Also the person taking the chemo need to really want it without question because of the side effects, they need to remain strong. In the end, he concluded he would err on the side of taking the chemo but only very slightly. He admitted chemo is not a cure, but may prolong the life by a few months (as well as admitting there is a chance of reducing life), and may reduce the symptoms of cancer if successful.

We decided not to take the chemo for the following reasons:

1. My dad’s only symptom is breathlessness, which can be solved by draining the fluid.
2. He is 83 years old. We don’t think he will be able to cope with the side effects
3. He is scared of the side effects

So we told the oncologist we will put chemo on hold until we find that he does get more symptoms. The oncologist agreed that they can monitor the progress of the tumor with x ray and routinely drain the fluid when required.

Though we are not taking chemo, we are not giving up in helping dad. I have been researching alternative treatments, and have come up with a protocol, which would hopefully prolong his life (if not cure him of cancer).

I will be updating the progress on this thread. In the end, this case can become a successful anecdotal case for alternative cancer treatment or show the fragility of cancer treatments. I hope this thread would be useful for those who may encounter such a dilemma in their life and help them in making an informed decision.
 


So sorry to hear this man. Cancer is a terrible thing.

But, I would tend to agree with his choice as, at 83 chemo is not something I would want either.

But for me age is very much the factor. If he was a younger man I wouldn't agree at all.

I really hope he pulls through dude!
 
Here's an anecdote from my life.

a year ago, my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. The random doctors that were in the vicinity proclaimed it untreatable.

We visited the countries expert who treats nothing but that particular thing all the time. His opinion was more along the lines of "i cure that kind of the thing all the time"

after twelve weeks of radiation and chemo therapy, my dad is cancer free.

If you want modern medicine, stay away from the glorified butchers.


And of course this thread will turn into anecdotal evidence of how one misled affiliate wannabe finds an alternative cure for cancer. We all have our dreams bro.
 
i really hope for him to have relatives who aren't full of shit. Not going to happen though.
 
I'm so sorry to hear your news. For what it's worth, personally, I think it's probably the right decision to make under the circumstances and it sounds like you have a really nice oncology team.

I'm sorry for the slight derail, but has anybody heard of Rick Simpson Oil?

When my Dad was ill it was suggested to me. I watched the 'documentary' and wasn't convinced at all, so didn't even bother to float the idea. Recently I've bumped into the same person, who now claims to have seen it work first hand, twice.

Every part of me is skeptical but this comes from somebody who's judgement I trust over all. Not a random internet stranger and not an alternative medicine type. Do any of you have any experience with this?
 
I feel for ya bro, but the fact that the docs don't give him much time probably doesn't mean much. I would counsel against doing a whole lot of alternative bullshit- it's just going to cost you a left nut, and make him very uncomfortable, with very little hope of any real benefits.

I know, my Mother took everything under the sun, shark cartilage, mexican wonder drugs, even coffee fucking enemas, and they still had to drain her every two weeks, the "therapies" bankrupted my Dad at age 68, and she still DIED.

I'll just leave this here...

According to data compiled by the Social Security Administration:

  • A man reaching age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 84.3.
Get him drained regularly, make him comfy, take him out, spend a lot of time with him, video, pictures, etc., and pepper thyself.


Good luck bro.
 
Not sure how it is in the UK, but here in the states the hospitals will take all your money, so it's best to liquidate assets and put it in a safe.

It's a toss up, my aunt quit chemo because she said she'd rather die than live with the side effects and she's still going 30 years later. On the other hand a family friend died 2 weeks after being diagnosed.

Enjoy the time you have with him, it's more than a lot of people get.
 
SeoReborn said:
This past year my dad had been coughing on and off. When he went for lung x ray, it revealed some shadows for which could be tumors. Thereafter, he had CT scan, more x rays, and lung fluid examination. Last week, on Wednesday 1st October, it was confirmed he has non-small cell stage 3 lung cancer. The tumor is around 5 cm in his left lung, and there is another small spec tumor (malignant or not) in the right lung. The tumor is agitating the lung, causing inflammation which lead to his lung filling up with fluid. This Wednesday (8th October) just gone, 1650 ml of fluid was drained. Fluid will keep filling up the lung as the tumor will constantly cause the inflammation.

The oncologist said he has between 6 to 12 months to live. More toward 6 months. If he is lucky 12 months and if very lucky over 12 months. He said the tumor is inoperable and we talked about chemotherapy, its side effects, benefits and the risks. He asked him some probing questions. One of them is ‘off the record, if it is your dad who has this lung cancer, would you recommend him chemotherapy’. First the nurse by his side said no, and they opted her grandfather to not take chemotherapy when he had cancer. The oncologist paused. He said it really depends on the mentality and needs of the person. They may really want chemo no matter what, and taking chemo would satisfy that emotional urge. Also the person taking the chemo need to really want it without question because of the side effects, they need to remain strong. In the end, he concluded he would err on the side of taking the chemo but only very slightly. He admitted chemo is not a cure, but may prolong the life by a few months (as well as admitting there is a chance of reducing life), and may reduce the symptoms of cancer if successful.

We decided not to take the chemo for the following reasons:

1. My dad’s only symptom is breathlessness, which can be solved by draining the fluid.
2. He is 83 years old. We don’t think he will be able to cope with the side effects
3. He is scared of the side effects

So we told the oncologist we will put chemo on hold until we find that he does get more symptoms. The oncologist agreed that they can monitor the progress of the tumor with x ray and routinely drain the fluid when required.

Though we are not taking chemo, we are not giving up in helping dad. I have been researching alternative treatments, and have come up with a protocol, which would hopefully prolong his life (if not cure him of cancer).

I will be updating the progress on this thread. In the end, this case can become a successful anecdotal case for alternative cancer treatment or show the fragility of cancer treatments. I hope this thread would be useful for those who may encounter such a dilemma in their life and help them in making an informed decision.
Click to expand...


I really hope you succeed and your dad gets better.
 
Thanks for the support bros.

jonbird said:
I think it's probably the right decision to make under the circumstances and it sounds like you have a really nice oncology team.
Click to expand...

From my experience of hospital doctors, I was quite surprised on how nice the oncologist was. I was half expecting him to bulldoze us into chemotherapy, but he came across honestly.

My Dad has moved closer to my elder sister, so he will be transferred to the other hospital. Hope the oncologist there is just as empathic.
 
galacon said:
I feel for ya bro, but the fact that the docs don't give him much time probably doesn't mean much. I would counsel against doing a whole lot of alternative bullshit- it's just going to cost you a left nut, and make him very uncomfortable, with very little hope of any real benefits.

I know, my Mother took everything under the sun, shark cartilage, mexican wonder drugs, even coffee fucking enemas, and they still had to drain her every two weeks, the "therapies" bankrupted my Dad at age 68, and she still DIED.

I'll just leave this here...

According to data compiled by the Social Security Administration:

  • A man reaching age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 84.3.
Get him drained regularly, make him comfy, take him out, spend a lot of time with him, video, pictures, etc., and pepper thyself.


Good luck bro.
Click to expand...

Thanks Galacon.

I'm also sorry to hear about what happened to your mother. I won't be subjecting my dad to any enemas or expensive detox retreats.

My aim is to give him a chance of extending life without much painful change to his present lifestyle. In many alternative treatments, they suggest avoiding meat, dairy, going raw with juicing, and I didn't even think of suggesting it to him.

My Dad places a lot of trust in doctors and modern medicine. You could say he has a alternative treatment adverse mindset. So when I was looking for alternate treatments, I was looking for those that could be used as an adjunct to chemotherapy/radiation. I was able to find a few that worked synergistically with chemotherapy as well as reduce the side effects.

If my Dad's natural life expectancy is 84.3, I am fine with that unless he dies of 84.3 through cancer despite me knowing there maybe a painless way to extend his life. I am well prepared and peppered myself so to speak since my mother passed away in January this year. When someone as close to us as our parent passes away, we see the frailness of life, how it could be taken away at any moment and learn to make the most out of our time together. So I have been taking my Dad out, and regularly phone him whenever I am not physically there.
 
shindig said:
Not sure how it is in the UK, but here in the states the hospitals will take all your money, so it's best to liquidate assets and put it in a safe.

It's a toss up, my aunt quit chemo because she said she'd rather die than live with the side effects and she's still going 30 years later. On the other hand a family friend died 2 weeks after being diagnosed.

Enjoy the time you have with him, it's more than a lot of people get.
Click to expand...

In UK the treatment is free regardless of our financial status.

What cancer does your aunt have and what has she been doing instead of chemo?
 
I'll list what protocol my Dad will be on soon.

Saw the tag 'it worked for Steve Jobs'. Does anyone know what alternative treatment he was on? I only see articles about how his 'special diet' failed but found an article that mentioned he was on the Ornish diet.
 
SeoReborn said:
From my experience of hospital doctors, I was quite surprised on how nice the oncologist was. I was half expecting him to bulldoze us into chemotherapy, but he came across honestly.
Click to expand...
My experience with hospital doctors, oncologists particularly, were positive.

However, my friend Scotty died on August 8. ** [Here's his wikipedia obituary - still don't know who put it in. My only add to it would be that he routinely would broke his claim to only fuck thin American blondes to fuck European and Australian blondes. He was the fucking man.]

He lived hard and didn't take care of himself when he got sick; he always had this "North of England" tough persona going on - which doesn't do jack shit in the face of cancer.

In fact, he wouldn't go to the doctor about it until he was spitting and coughing up blood. By then his lung cancer was stage 4 with 'mets' in his mind.

SO - he had his primary tumor removed from his lung in May - and then that brain op next. He had two more brain ops in two different hospitals. By the time we got him Rolls Royce treatment the doctor remarked he'd been treated like Frankenstein.

For this experience I'd opt for quality of life rather than curative when the odds are stacked against you. He never got much quality of life, just reduced experience and went out after months with no more than a childlike mind. And he was one sharp fellow.

All that said - there's a doctor I got to know, the infamous Dr. Lederman who made George Harrison sign guitars on his death bed.

This guy treats cancer the way bulldog prosectors treat court cases. Does not give a fuck about anything but his innovative radiosurgery techniques, his was yet another surreal chapter within a surreal experience - yet I cannot recommend a doctor more highly. His bedside manner atrocious, work ethic outstanding. Worth crossing an ocean for, plenty have.

I hope the best for you and your family. Spend as much time as possible with him.

I'll just add that while poring through cancer messageboards, I seemed to notice patterns, arcs of experience that desperate patients seemed to go through. The willingness to try anything, the lengths to go to for a cure or coming out the other side - and then ultimately, death.

And looking back, Scotty's was no different. Yet as co-medical proxy (with my cousin) it was very, very difficult to not "go for it" provided treatment wouldn't be too pervasive. Scotty never got more than the very beginning of chemo (oral) because he couldn't get well enough to start and never got Lederman's radiosurgery because the cancer was too pervasive - we had to do whole brain radiation and heavy steroids for symptom relief.
 
OP: My heart genuinely goes out to you - I have two brothers suffering terminal cancer. It literally brings tears to my eyes when I think about it as they're two of the kindest people I have ever known.

Bro #1 - Brain tumor. Treated within days (thanks to knowing Harley street docs) (and being insured). Radiotherapy has changed his 'chances of living' from six months to now - 'probably a long life' (he was given the first diagnosis over 3 years ago and now he's fine... so it would seem to me!)

Bro #2 - Kidney cancer. One day woke up and went for a piss. Pure blood.
Went to the doctor - referred straight to hospital.
Keyhole surgery to get rid of the cancer didn't work. Removed entire kidney. Now lymph nodes have popped up and it's spread to his spine & liver. I don't hold much hope for him having an enjoyable "end-of-life" That really upsets me - massively.

OP: You're in London - Is your dad at The Royal Marsden yet?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back