Can you be on chemo for life?

Sometimes, cancer treatment can go on for an extended period of time. Many people receive cancer treatment for months, years, or even the rest of their lives.

Can you still live life on chemo?

Some people find they can lead an almost normal life during chemotherapy. But others find everyday life more difficult. You may feel unwell during and shortly after each treatment but recover quickly between treatments. You may be able to get back to your usual activities as you begin to feel better.

How many times can you have chemotherapy in a lifetime?

You can have chemo more than once in your lifetime, its Radiation that you can only have once in your lifetime in whichever area was radiated.

When do oncologists stop chemo?

Both the American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Oncology Practice Initiative and the National Safety Forum include the discontinuation of chemotherapy within 2 weeks before death as a quality indicator of poor EOL care.

What is the longest you can take chemo?

Adjuvant chemotherapy (therapy after surgery has removed all visible cancer) may last 4-6 months. Adjuvant chemotherapy is common in cancers of the breast and colon. In cancers of the testis, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and leukemias, length of chemotherapy treatment may be up to a year.

Cancer Doctors Talk About Choosing Life or a Better Death

How long will chemo extend life?

For many metastatic tumors, even if incurable, survival with chemotherapy and best treatment is now well over a year and frequently much more. Colorectal cancer survival often exceeds 24 months with 10% of patients surviving more than five years [10], [11].

What cancers are not treatable?

At what stage does chemo not work?

Signs that a person's cancer is not responding to chemotherapy include: a tumor growing or not shrinking. cancer spreading to other areas of the body, a process called metastasis.

Why do oncologists lie?

Background: Oncologists often do not give honest prognostic and treatment-effect information to patients with advanced disease. One of the primary reasons stated for witholding this information is to “not take away hope.” We could find no study that tested if hope was influenced by honest clinical information.

What is the next treatment after chemotherapy?

Maintenance therapy is the ongoing treatment of cancer with medication after the cancer has responded to the first recommended treatment. Maintenance therapy, sometimes called continuous therapy, is used for the following reasons: To prevent the cancer's return.

Which cancers are most likely to recur?

Some cancers are difficult to treat and have high rates of recurrence. Glioblastoma, for example, recurs in nearly all patients, despite treatment. The rate of recurrence among patients with ovarian cancer is also high at 85%.

Does chemo affect you for the rest of your life?

Long-term effects of cancer treatment

Possible long-term side effects of chemo include damage to your heart and peripheral neuropathy, in which damaged nerves can cause pain, weakness or numbness in the extremities – arms, hands, legs and feet.

Should I refuse chemotherapy?

Can you refuse chemotherapy? Yes. Your doctor presents what he or she feels are the most appropriate treatment options for your specific cancer type and stage while also considering your overall health, but you have the right to make final decisions regarding your care.

What is chemo hands?

Hand-foot syndrome (also called palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia) is a side effect of some chemotherapy drugs that can cause redness, swelling and blistering on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

How sick will chemo make me?

Chemotherapy can cause fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, bowel issues such as constipation or diarrhoea, hair loss, mouth sores, skin and nail problems. You may have trouble concentrating or remembering things. There can also be nerve and muscle effects and hearing changes. You will be at increased risk of infections.

How many rounds of chemo can a person have?

During a course of treatment, you usually have around 4 to 8 cycles of treatment. A cycle is the time between one round of treatment until the start of the next. After each round of treatment you have a break, to allow your body to recover.

Does chemo work for Stage 4?

Systemic drug treatments, such as targeted therapy or chemotherapy, are common for stage 4 cancers. Often, a clinical trial may be an option, offering new treatments to help you fight stage 4 cancer.

Do all cancers respond to chemo?

Some cancers are very sensitive to chemotherapy. So it can work very well for them. But some types of cancer don't tend to respond well to chemotherapy. In that case, your doctor isn't likely to suggest it as a treatment for you.

What are the top 3 deadliest cancers?

Lung and bronchus cancer is responsible for the most deaths with 130,180 people expected to die from this disease. That is nearly three times the 52,580 deaths due to colorectal cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer death. Pancreatic cancer is the third deadliest cancer, causing 49,830 deaths.

What cancers are hardest to cure?

What are the 2 least treatable cancers?

Cancer survival rates by cancer type

The cancers with the lowest five-year survival estimates are mesothelioma (7.2%), pancreatic cancer (7.3%) and brain cancer (12.8%).

How can doctors tell how long you have to live?

There are numerous measures – such as medical tests, physical exams and the patient's history – that can also be used to produce a statistical likelihood of surviving a specific length of time.

Can all cancers go into remission?

Most often, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will go into remission after the initial treatment. But sometimes it doesn't go away completely, or it comes back (relapses) after a period of remission. If this happens, other treatments can be tried, as long as a person is healthy enough for them.