Why is stage 4 cancer incurable when it is just cancer on other areas?

Answer 1

Stage 4 cancer CAN be quite cureable! Stage 4 is classified several ways: the cancer is known to be a highly aggressive/lethal type of cancer, the cancer has spread to different organ systems within the body, cancer is believed to have been present for a long time, etc....Just because it is in stage 4 though, DOES NOT mean that it cannot be cured, although in some people w/ certain cancers the cancer may be too far advanced for treatment to be very effective. W/ stage 4 cancer, it is likely that a person will have to weigh the benefits of more aggressive therapy techniques versus possibly letting the cancer progress.

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

While stage 4 cancer is often incurable, this is not always the case. Take Lance Armstrong for example - metastasis to lungs and brain yet he makes a complete recovery. Some stage 4 cancers are curable if you are willing to roll the dice with aggressive treatments like those of LA or have a stem cell or bone marrow transplant.

Answer 3

It's not as truly uncurable as it is untreatable. Stage 4 describes the extent to which the cancer has spread and infiltrated vital tissue. Stage 4 represents the worst extent, and means the cancerous tissue is so spread into organs and body tissues that chemotherapy and other treatments will not be able to kill off the caner without harming vital tissue and killing the patient.

That is why early detection is so key, as cancer is often easy to treat in stage 1, while it gets tougher to deal with one orders of magnitude for each subsequent level, with stage 4 being terminal.

I am very sorry if you are asking this because someone you know is in stage 4 cancer. Most of what can be done is in the form of emotional support, pain management, and prayer. I'll help out with that last one, if you like.

If this is for a research paper, or idle informative purposes, take it as another reason to monitor one's health, so you never have to deal with stage 4.

Answer 4

My goodness, what a grim bunch of answers!! Stage 4 is definitely curable . . what is often difficult is the treatment! Stage 4 is NOT a death sentence, most people on here think that it is because years ago there were few options for treatment. But times they are a changing. That is not the case anymore. Stage 4 can be treatable and curable . . although harder to treat because it is widespred. And harder to beat for reasons that have more to do with the individual patients health than the available treatment. There is no doubt that stage 3 and 4 are harder than stage 1 or 2 but that is far different than saying it is incurable.

A stage 4 cancer is approached by using a multi-modality of treatment. If the tumors are large, numerous and widespred than a combination of systemic (system wide) chemotherapy will be given. Children who are stage 4 can often withstand higher dosages of chemotherapy, adults on the other hand because of age and secondary health problems often need lower doses over an extended period of time. Chemotherapy can literally melt the tumors away on some patients . . but usually the aim is to shrink the tumors, kill off any stray microscopic cancer cells before going to the next modality. The next phase of stage IV cancer treatment can either be surgery or radiation or a combination of any of the three modalities. Much depends on the locations of the tumor and how the patient is responding. Once chemo has shrunk the tumors than surgery can be performed to remove all visible signs of cancer. This may take more than one operation, depending again on the health of the patient and how much of a tumor burden he carries. There are surgeons who are extremely capable and able to remove almost any cancer in any location . . if a doctor says your tumors are 'inoperable' . . than find another doctor with the skill to do it.

Other options during surgery include using pinpoint radiation to get rid of tumors that can't normally be reached and hyperthermic chemoperfusion. Hyperthermic chemoperfusion is used during surgery to address microscopic cells lodged in tissue. A chemo is heated and than applied directly into the tumor bed. This treatment has the added benefit of stopping any type of 'accidentally' tumor spillage that might occur during surgery, it will also treat any microscopic cells that might have tried to take up residence along the incision. For people with abdominal cancers, colon cancer, appendix cancer, and uterine cancer these treatments can be life saving.

Radiation is also another modality that is used to treat microscopic cells, shrink tumors, and literally make cancer disappear. Radiation, however, is best used on single tumors so it is used in conjunction with the other modalities in cases of stage 4.

And, many cancers can also now be treated with stem cell rescue or bone marrow transplant. The stem cell rescue allows the doctor to give the patient extremely high doses of chemotherapy and then give the patients own stem cells back to rescue the immune system. All the current survivors of my sons disease have had stem cell rescue, all were stage 4 at the time of diagnosis, and many are doing fine with minimal or no evidence of disease.

Other modalities that can be used include RadioFrequency Ablation which can used to address tumors within the liver. Little wires are threaded through the lung into the liver, and than 'microwaves' are used to 'blast' and 'fry' the tumors. I know one young man who had 8 tumors 'fried' in this way, he is now cancer free (and, yes, he was a stage 4 at diagnosis with multiple tumors).

There are other treatments available too. It is critical for patients to be aware of all treatment options. Patients need to be pro-active and be a part of the treatment 'team'. Any doctor that will not spend the time with a patient that may be required when searching for a cure, should be replaced.

That all said, please understand that stage 4 is far more difficult to treat . . but hardly impossible . . and some stage 4 disease is 'easier' to treat than others.

There is always hope.

Answer 5

Stage four means that you possibly had the cancer for a long time before it was diagnosed.As a result of this it Will have spread into various other organs where it is impossible to be treated because of their position in the body. Also when a certain per-cent-age of the body is affected the cancer will have taken control, so that it would be an impossible task to get rid of it .

Answer 6

Stage 4 means that the disease has spread to remote areas. Some stage 4 cancers are curable by therapy. Some are not sufficiently responsive. It depends on the type of cancer.

Answer 7

Chemotherapy alone is often used when the cancer has spread (stage IV). Chemotherapy has been shown to prolong the life and improve the quality of life in some stage IV patients. Patients with stage IV disease are almost never cured, and the goals of therapy are to extend and improve the quality of their life. Unfortunately, the treatment options currently available are rarely able to cure the patient.
Please see the web pages for more details on Cancer and Metastasis.

Answer 8

The problem is that is has not spread which makes treating it that much harder. It is like trying to cut down a vine that grows 12 inches an hour by the time you have it cleared from one spot it has poped up in 10 more.

Answer 9

it is a low blood count and serious,only the medical authorities are doing their best to treat it but not it seems succesfully

Answer 10

because its spread it must have gone to far advanced to cure