Long term on pain management for back -felt new type pain around tailbone late June 2008 . Diagnosed in Late August -started radiation mid Sept. Shourl he do CXhemo? Pain is tremendous
Cancer - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Pain control is paramount in this situation. This is a possible Hospice situation - if the malignant disease is as advanced as described. I have not seen this person. I don't know the tumor burden in the lungs, brain and liver. His doctors know his case FAR BETTER than we can know it over the internet. Hospice situations involve people with expected survivals of less than six months. Usually liver involvement means less than six months, BUT each person is different and this person could do better than the averages suggest. Spleen is an unusual place for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Are you certain the spleen is involved? Chemotherapy is never a cure in these situations. In some cases it may do more harm than good for this type of cancer at this stage in my experience over 20 years as a cancer specialist MD. It will be up to the patient and his doctors to decide whether to try chemotherapy for palliation to perhaps buy some extra months of survival time. The pros and cons are very close to canceling each other out in this situation.
2 :
chemo is not the easiest time spent. spreedog has excellent answer. it is always a difficult but individual decision.
3 :
My sister passed last June from NSCLC that spread to the brain and spinal fluid. She was diagnosed in 2002, and had a good long run. Once it got to the brain and into the spinal fluid, she went quickly. She tried a chemo drip for the spinal fluid and radiation for her brain tumors, but both treatments didn't do any good and left her feeling weak and tired. Depending on how the patient is feeling, from my personal take on this, I wouldn't do chemo. I think it accelerates the passing. Try palliative medication for the pain. I know this is a difficult time....
4 :
It's not great but there's always hope. I'd definitely work on getting on top of his pain. Chemo will be up to him and his doctors. I have a different cancer with mets and when we decided on quality rather than quantity of time I stayed on an oral chemo I could do from home. It'll never cure me but it will hopefully slow things, and it helps mentally for me to know that I'm doing something to actually fight it. I've also had radiotherapy in a palliative sense to try and reduce pain. Is he on dilaudid and or oxy? One other pain killer that's been great for me is fentanyl in a duragesic skin patch - is that an option? Feel free to send an email if you/he ever want to talk.
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