had lung resection, all cancer gone, given choice of chemo to be safe. may or may not benefit. any advice?

Question

if the size of the cancer is between 0 - 3cm chemo is not regarded as viable, between 3 - 5cm it is left to the patient to weigh up the benefits v side effects, over 5 cm chemo is recommended. my own cancer was 3 cm so must decide by nov 1st. personally i,d rather be told by an expert what to do,. does everyone get side effects, im a builder so will i be to weak to work, are there any help groups in s.e essex ( benfleet) i could contact. thanks for your help

Answer 1

What does your first gut instinct tell you? Have you weighed the pro's vs. con's or your particular situation? Both have risks. Which, however is the greater risk? Do you want to take the chance that "all" cells are gone? Does this particular cancer have a high re-occurrence rate? What are your options as far as treatment? The risks of not doing anything seem to outweigh the risks of doing something. Check out some web-sites-get informed-talk to others who might be able to relate and help you. May you make the right decision. Enjoy life.

Answer 2

Chemo definitely has side-effects including nausea, diarrhoea and fatigue. Also, depending on the type of chemo, your hair may fall off. Chemo is commonly given for 4 weeks but expect to have side effects up to 3 - 6 weeks after you finish chemo. The majority of chemo patients have side-effects, but if I was in your situation, i'd definitely go for chemo just to be on the safe side and prevent the cancer from spreading. I don't know about any help groups coz i don't live in britain but I'd search d net or else, ask an oncology nurse for that. Good luck.

Answer 3

You poor dear. I hope you have already told your Oncologist you are having trouble with nausea. Keep drinking the boost. Also, usually cold foods are more pallitable than warm foods when your suffering from nausea. You can put a big glob of ice cream in with the boost and make a milk shake in a blender. Sometimes the physician will prescribe some metoclopramide (reglan) to speed up gi motility, so you feel better about eating. They also can give you a couple days worth of dexamethazone to boost your ability to eat. A drug called megace stimulates your appetite. Try eating small meals 6-8 times a day. Many times it helps if someone does the cooking for you. Fill your freezer full of high calorie ice cream treats and junk foods, so you can graze and eat from many different choices. If you are taking morphine or other narcotic pain relievers, it will make you nauseated. Usually the doctor doesnt stop the pain medicine, but instead gives something like Zofran or Anzemet to take the nausea away. You should start to see downy hair coming in about any day now. Dont be surprised if it comes in a different texture or a different color. Everyone is different and sometimes nausea is hard to overcome. Its almost like a learned response after big doses of chemotherapy. Patience and good luck. Cancer RN x 12 yrs and have given a bunch of chemotherapy for lung cancer.

Answer 4

cant believe they didn't give their professional opinion! They are the experts, not people on a yahoo chat site. They can tell you one way or the other if the chemo will benefit. It depends on the type of chemo on whether you get bad side effects like extreme weakness and hair loss. THEY can tell you this info. Ask the doc. what he would do if it were himself or family member.

Answer 5

If it were me, I'd go for the chemotherapy! Anything that would help me have a longer life free from lung cancer.The chemo would try to get rid of any cancer cells that even a microscope can not pick up at this time. Good Luck!

Answer 6

basically ur oncologist is the best person to ask he/she can tell u ur best options. if ur worried about lose of earnings u can also b referred onto a social worker who can advise u on the benefits u can recieve always remember ur health comes first. u want to give urself the best oppurtunity in life an life is worth a chance every thing we do has side effects but if it saves ur life then it must be worth a chance and chemo does have some nasty side effects but i do hope that u listen to the professionals and that everything goes well for u

Answer 7

Chemo

Do the chemo

You want to make sure every little cell of that blighter is out of your system.

Oh - and stop smoking

Well - actually it is ultimatly your choice. I would do the chemo if I was in your circumstances. I would put up with feeling like crap and puking my guts up and losing my hair for a period of time ... 6 months or whatever ... just to be rid of the cancer.

Answer 8

Firstly I am glad that the surgery appears to be a success...I feel that with cancer...zap it with all you can...its a demon...just one cell could cause a relapse in your health...there are many different types of chemo...my dad had one..not in a bid to try a cure him cos he was terminally ill, but to halt the rapid process and try and make him more comfortable...sadly he was too ill to continue with treatment but the side effects of the particular chemo he had were minimal...there are many different types of chemo..you need to discuss this matter further with your oncologist...oh and try
www.cancerbackup.org.uk
for further help, support and information of groups in your area....all the very best

Answer 9

Look up MD Anderson in Houston,Tx on the web and Cancer Centers Of America on the web they have people to talk too.

Answer 10

Submit your self to which or whom or what you do believe is best for you, either it is chemo or talking food suplement or any. Pray and have faith to god, there are still miracles like what had happened to my niece. now she's a leukemia survivour. Live your life to the fullest and remember god's love you with all the people arounds you. You may live for them.