"Chemotherapy is a racket"

[TZ]

Had this said to my face by a coworkers spouse the other day. Claims his fathers bone cancer is getting better (tumors shrinking, has to be on less pain meds) because of herbal supplements..some kind of electro stimulation band, colloidal silver ingestion ect...and a healthy organic diet.
Sounds to me like good nutrition and good care are helping and there is a lot of placebo effect going on. Boy did he look shocked when I mentioned I had been on chemotherapeutic agents and they had done what they are supposed to do. Was hard for me to keep my mouth shut on the other stuff. But hey if his father is doing okay (not cured though) and maybe it extends his life a couple of months I guess I shouldn't argue but having all that nonsense put in front of me suuure was a test of patience.
I think what the "chemo is a racket" group seems to miss is that therapy is usually done on serious cancer, with higher mortality rates and that its usually done because there is no other choice.
Whats the best way to comment on something like this without being a rude jackass?

[madinmaryland]

1. Other than to say that it worked for you, nothing.

They are your co-workers, and better to have them as friendly colleagues than to be pissed at you.

:shrug:

[Deep13]

2. I've know folks who had "radiation," but not chemo.

They all survived. I guess their cancers were not advanced enough to need chemo, which I understand is pretty goddamn unpleasant.

[Warpy]

3. The choice of treatment depends on the type of cancer

and on its location. Some cancers, especially those of the central nervous system, are treated only with radiation because chemo drugs don't penetrate the blood/brain barrier. Some inoperable tumors are shrunk with radiation to extend life and improve comfort. Still others are treated with combination chemo and radiation.

Most cancer patients die of starvation, not the cancer, itself. Anything that gets one to eat properly is great.

I also can't fault people who try the new age junk for bone cancers. The treatment of choice for bone cancer is still amputation or removal of the affected bone. Some people would rather risk death than face being maimed.

[Deep13]

5. "Anything that gets one to eat properly is great."

If only there were a nontoxic drug that could fight nausea, create a pleasant feeling and increase ones appetite.

:smoke:

Oh well. Maybe they will think of something.

[Warpy]

6. It was used quite often in one chemo unit I worked in

and we'd direct patients to a stairwell that had a window opened a crack to toke up while we looked the other way.

[Deep13]

7. I'm a criminal prosecutor and I can't blame you at all. nt

[Warpy]

8. Hey, they could have been going out there for fresh air

and how am I supposed to know what it smells like?

Heh heh heh.

[LeftishBrit]

9. I know people who were able to withstand chemo only with the help of such a drug...

and thus owed their survival to it.

Strangely, doctors who were able to prescribe all sorts of powerful drugs, from chemo drugs themselves to morphine and heroin, were unable to officially prescribe this drug.

[rexcat]

10. The newer anti-nausea drugs are great...

but they cost so much the insurance companies won't pay for them in the out-patient setting but they will pay for the older drugs that aren't has effective (Compazine, etc.). One IV dose of Kytril costs around 40-60 per dose and the oral form is just as costly. Aloxi and several other newer drugs really do a good job on the nausea. I worked on an early 5HT3 agonists years ago with SKB and everyone thought this class of drug was miraculous. The newer drugs are a lot better at con tolling the nausea.

As others have stated the biggest problem is nutrition and hydration of the patients. More admissions for patients on chemotherapy result from dehydration which can result in acute kidney failure and some of the chemotherapy drugs don't help much with the kidney function anyway. I see a lot of Merinol (synthetic THC) used for anorexia but it is not as effective as smoking a joint and you get the benefit of nausea relief from toking a joint also!

[LeftishBrit]

4. It's a difficult situation.

I think that you should only interfere in such a case if it's going to make a real difference; not just to make a point for modern medicine, unless asked directly. Thus, if your colleague's father is essentially already terminally ill (as sadly sounds likely from the description), then chemo will not cure him; and may make him live a few months longer, but with worse side-effects, than the woo treatment.

A healthy organic diet might not be a bad idea in fact, though not curative, as many patients with cancer become malnourished. The other treatments mentioned are doubtless placebos at best.

On the other hand, if your colleague's father may still be curable, and the woo treatment is likely to delay his seeking help till too late, then I think you should push the case even if it annoys your colleague!

[rexcat]

11. Most of the "bone" cancers that I have seen...

tend to be metastatic disease. Primary bone cancer is fairly rare as compared to metastatic disease with a primary lesion elsewhere. By the time you see someone with mets, radiation and chemo are given to extend life or for palliative care to alleviate the pain. If the cancer has reached the bone one will also see liver or sometimes brain mets. The whole thing really sucks.

I am currently working on a non-resectable pancreatic cancer study and just spend the entire week in Indianapolis. Of the patients who entered the study since last September at this site 30% are dead, 10% are in hospice, 30% are off study because of disease and side-effects of the drug under study with very poor prognosis, and 30% are still on study with a third of the patients likely to stop treatment soon. These poor patients have a life expectancy of 6 months, only about 5% of then will last out one year and only about 1% will live five years. Sorry for the rant but it was a tough week.

[sudopod]

12. Damn, bro

that's rough. :(

Thanks for doing that work for the good of all of us. :patriot: