IS IT THE BEGINNING OF THE END - 1247866

coping4life
Posts:3

My dad has NSCLC, I believe, diagnosed Dec 2010. He's been on chemo most of that time. This past week scans and tests show cancer growth even with chemo and the doctor recommended to stop chemo to preserve quality of life. He is now going to try holistic approach. Apparently doctors did not give details as to amount of growth or any spreading to prevent him dwelling on the news. Seems odd to me. Does cessation of chemo at this stage indicate aggressive growth? Is it likely to be the "begining of the end"? Is it too late for the holistic approach. (Unfortunately, I am at odds with his sig. other, so I am not 'in the loop' for a lot of information.) Thanks for any information or thoughts. This is a FABULOUS website. I have visited many times.

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Reply # - September 9, 2012, 07:36 PM

JimC
Posts: 2753

Coping4life,

Those are difficult questions to answer based on the information you have provided. If your dad has been treated with a number of different chemo agents and there is significant progression, then his options might be limited, especially if he is having trouble tolerating treatment. In that case the decision to stop chemo would make sense. But if the progression is limited or he has not been exposed to a number of chemo agents and he is tolerating treatment well, then further treatment might make sense. Do you know or can you find out what previous treatments he has received? Did his doctor not share the results of his recent scan? If not, either an inquiry to his doctor or a second opinion would be helpful.

JimC
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Reply # - September 9, 2012, 10:13 PM

Dr West
Posts: 4735

As Jim indicated, I don't think we can infer how much progression there has been. I suspect that the discussion of the "holistic approach" may well have been a shift to focusing more on his symptoms and quality of life, which is very appropriate when there aren't further anti-cancer therapies that have a meaningful chance of shrinking or slowing the cancer.

I don't know that he is experiencing rapid progression. In fact, it's very appropriate for any oncologist to recommend against more anti-cancer treatment if the treatments are no longer effective and there is good reason to believe that future options won't do anything more than confer side effects.

Good luck.

-Dr. West

Reply # - September 10, 2012, 10:26 PM

coping4life
Posts: 3

Thank you so much. I wish I had the detailed information. My dad is also non-smoker for life! I only get bits and pieces from my Dad, and he doesn't always get it right. I know he was on Tarceva last spring and had a bad reaction. I think he mentioned Taxol (?) at some point. He moved to SCCA in May and they did ALK test, which was negative. They had him on something for ALK but that didn't work and then they switched him to something mid-summer, and it was weekly IV until end of Aug. The recent scans showed growth, and he said they didn't go into specifics, just that chemo was no longer an option. He says he has spreading pain, and he's taking some pain medication at this point. We have some family dysfunction that keeps me at a distance, not necessarily his choice. I just want to make sure that I don't miss an opportunity to spend some time with him if his time is very short. My past experience with cancer in my family is that it has gone very fast, but they were advanced cases and out of control when diagnosed.

You are amazing Dr. West. Your posts are outstanding and so insightful and helpful. You give so much to those who are in the dark. THANK YOU.

Thank you for your post also JimC. I'm sorry to see that your wife lost her battle. Thank you for sharing with others. She must have had a great team of oncologists. I am amazed at all the resources available and how it seems to change and advance so quickly.

Take care all and thank you for your insight. It's very helpful... in a somewhat helpless situation.

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