May I ask why you are asking?

My father-in-law had colon cancer, had surgery (39 years ago). Treatment back then was not as good as it is now. He had a colostomy bag, but he was so depressed he committed suicide. That was terrible for the family.

I had a wonderful friend who died at the age of 47 from ovarian cancer that had spread. She had been in remission for 4 years, but when the cancer came back, she chose not to get chemo again and died over a period of about 6 months. With hospice care controlling the pain, she died a relatively pain free death.

There are so many treatments nowadays, there is a lot of optimism when there is a cancer diagnosis. Medical care is much better now, and many more people make it to the 5 year mark cancer free.

Yes, my brother died of colon, liver and lymph cancer. He was final stages of stage IV when he was finally, officially diagnosed in October 2006, and he left this world January 2007, so it was 4 months, pretty fast, but not fast enough. He endured an incredible amount of pain.

Cancer is horribly, agonizingly painful. There's nothing pretty about it. And the traditional medical treatment for it (chemotherapy, radiation) is barbaric, because that stuff kills healthy cells as well as cancer cells. It weakens the heart, screws up the nervous system. Nutrition seems to be the only alternative.

the treatments are hard and painful
cliff because I really need to know the truth
geting, did she do no chemo because how hard it is or because they didn't think it would help?
kool, did he have pallative care? did he have to be in the hospital or at home?

ccool: My brother had three chemo treatments I believe spaced 2-3 weeks apart. He had a port installed in Mt. Sinai Hospital in his rib cage which went directly to his heart. Then he had to go to Mt. Sinai to sit in a treatment chair while the 1.5 liters of chemo was administered, then was free in between chemo treatments to go home and try to relax.

After 2 months, docs felt the chemo had stopped the spread of the cancer, and according to a blood test, his T-cell count was high enough to fight off infection after tumor removal surgery, so they operated and removed the 18" of colon that was 75 percent blocked by tumor, hoping he'd begin to be able to eat again. They kept him in the hospital at this point, should complications arise. And then came the sepsis. The operative site became horribly infected and his entire body began filling up with fluid, which kept needing to be drained.

Graphic enough? Shall I continue?

Did I answer your question? I may have gone off-topic.

I wouldn't want to scare anyone away from chemo if that's what the Doc recommends. My sister didn't make it, but many others have. Chemo is better today than it was years ago, because it is tailored to specific types of cancers. Recovery mostly depends on how far the cancer has progressed.

Kool, I'm sorry if I made you mad. I didn't mean to make anyone upset. sorry

Didn't make me mad, just brought back some rather sickening memories. I don't mind dredging them up, if it helps others, search for alternative treatments, etc.

True, LLB2, chemo is less harmful today than it was 20 years ago, and how far progressed the cancer is is a big factor in side effects and success. My brother was final stages of stage IV, the stage right before death, and docs told him if he did nothing, he had a month to live, so he let them pump a liter-and-a-half of the stuff in him.

The problem with chemo is still it kills healthy cells as well as cancer cells. It weakens the heart, fries the brain and creates myopothy (sensual heightening) of the central nervous system.

Me, after seeing what it does, I wouldn't do it. I'd be snorting massive amounts of garlic and spicy herbs.

Excuse me, the term is neuropophy.

thanks Kool and I'm sorry about your brother
my doctor says if we do nothing I have 7 months. they were guna try another clinical trial but it wont do anything but give me time. they said they can do more bit eventually the body breaks down and things go out and they may not get the ok because its kind of a waste. they didn't say its a waste but thats what it means
you said it hurts lot? was it everything that hurt?

My husband just passed on 3/11/15. We found out he had stage IV cancer on 12/19/14. We never found out what kind but it went into his bone and blood, brain and metastasized everywhere!! I took care of him and I never saw anyone in so much pain before. Once it gets into the bone, it is the worst. My big macho man hurt so bad we couldn't have a conversation together because all of his energy went to dealing with the pain. He started with morphine and ended on a iv drip which he was pretty much drugged all the time and didn't know who I was. I wish I could have told him so many things! Don't think you have all this time, because you don't. It happens soooo fast! It is so painful!

mines ewing sarcoma. started in pelvis.
thats scary. I mean thanks for being honest but.msybe it wont be as bad.

I'm sorry, ccool--I didn't realize YOU have cancer! It's your body, of course, you've been "given" 7 months by doctors, and you can do what you want. The CANCER is what caused my brother pain, but the chemo weakened him terribly too.

If you're not in pain at the moment, I'd seek a second, third, even fourth opinion from dieticians, nutritionists, herbologists. Medical doctors don't know everything. They don't REALLY know how long you've got to live. They don't understand the human spirit. What they know, what they've been trained for, is cutting things out and administering drugs.