85 years old, Dr wants to do chemo

milf31681
milf31681 Member Posts: 8
edited March 2014 in Prostate Cancer #1
My father is 85 years old... He had prostate cancer over 10 years ago and it is back with a vengence... His PSA is now up to 80... It has spread to 2 different spots in the bone(his back, spine)... He is in no discomfort... However we have tried most options and the only one left is chemo... I have been on the internet for days trying to see the success rate in older people... My fear is that we will put him through the chemo and beat the cancer only for the chemo to destroy his body... As it is now he still drives loves to go out and socialize and plays the guitar... We are so torn... Does anyone have any advise... Is chemo a good move or should we ride it out and keep him comfortable... This is so hard...

Comments

  • 2ndBase
    2ndBase Member Posts: 220
    #2
    Life with cancer
    I am getting close to the same situation as your father at the age of 57 and I am sure this is not easy for him or you. I personally will not end my life taking chemo and dealing with its side effects. I have had enough of the treatments which have given me a few extra years and I have decided that my quality of life is the most important goal from now on. If I was 85 I would be even more sure I would not take chemo. It can not save your life and could well cause you to life fewer days. In the end it is his decision and his alone. He sounds like a great man and I am sure he will make the right decision for his life. Take care of yourself as well.
    Sincerely, Mark
  • milf31681
    milf31681 Member Posts: 8
    #3
    2ndBase said:

    Life with cancer
    I am getting close to the same situation as your father at the age of 57 and I am sure this is not easy for him or you. I personally will not end my life taking chemo and dealing with its side effects. I have had enough of the treatments which have given me a few extra years and I have decided that my quality of life is the most important goal from now on. If I was 85 I would be even more sure I would not take chemo. It can not save your life and could well cause you to life fewer days. In the end it is his decision and his alone. He sounds like a great man and I am sure he will make the right decision for his life. Take care of yourself as well.
    Sincerely, Mark

    Mark, Thank you so much for
    Mark, Thank you so much for your advice... He kinda said from the get go that he didn't want chemo... I have seen many people, too many people go through this and all of their families gave me the same advice... We are a family of five so it is very hard to get everyone in the same page... It is very hard to say that we are going to sit back and do nothing eventhough it may be better off in the end... But it does come down to his decision and we all have to be on board with him... I wish you and your family all the best, and I hope we all live each day to the fullest... Life is not measured by the number of moments but by the number of moments that take our breath away... Take care and feel good... Sincerely, Melissa
  • mono5
    mono5 Member Posts: 94
    #4
    I would say no...
    There is a article on this vary subject about seniors and the deadly effects of chemo on them. I'll try and find it for you. Also there is a so called, non-toxic form of chemotherapy.
    Poly-MVA Go to http://www.polymvasurvivors.com/ It should be taken with Ubiquinol CoQ10
    http://www.iherb.com/ProductsList.aspx?cid=1491&p=1

    Also the medicinal mussrooms with AHCC... Used in Japen successfully. Find a FREE BOOKLET on the medicinal mushrooms at www.iherb.com. Simply search for the booklet AHCC to bring it up. The product is sold their too. Heres an interesting article on AHCC.
    http://form.hsibaltimore.com/reports/mushroom_cancer.pdf
    Research on AHCC:
    http://www.ahccpublishedresearch.com/wwwroot-ahcc/default.htm

    I'll look for that article....
  • milf31681
    milf31681 Member Posts: 8
    #5
    mono5 said:

    I would say no...
    There is a article on this vary subject about seniors and the deadly effects of chemo on them. I'll try and find it for you. Also there is a so called, non-toxic form of chemotherapy.
    Poly-MVA Go to http://www.polymvasurvivors.com/ It should be taken with Ubiquinol CoQ10
    http://www.iherb.com/ProductsList.aspx?cid=1491&p=1

    Also the medicinal mussrooms with AHCC... Used in Japen successfully. Find a FREE BOOKLET on the medicinal mushrooms at www.iherb.com. Simply search for the booklet AHCC to bring it up. The product is sold their too. Heres an interesting article on AHCC.
    http://form.hsibaltimore.com/reports/mushroom_cancer.pdf
    Research on AHCC:
    http://www.ahccpublishedresearch.com/wwwroot-ahcc/default.htm

    I'll look for that article....

    Thank you so much for all of
    Thank you so much for all of your advice... It has been very helpful... These are such hard decisions to make, I am so gald to be getting advice from people who have gone through this... Thanks again and any info you have is greatly appreciated... Melissa
  • JoeMac
    JoeMac Member Posts: 77
    #6
    Other Info on PC
    Aloha milf31681,
    Please check out
    http://www.yananow.net
    Lots of fellows with the experience you are looking for.
    Our prayers are with you.
    Love, peace & hope,
    JoeMac 67 Hamakua Coast
  • dukeskid
    dukeskid Member Posts: 24
    #7
    milf31681 said:

    Thank you so much for all of
    Thank you so much for all of your advice... It has been very helpful... These are such hard decisions to make, I am so gald to be getting advice from people who have gone through this... Thanks again and any info you have is greatly appreciated... Melissa

    Mixed Bag
    My Dad had a very similar history as your father. My Dad was first diagnosed when he was 59, fine for 6 years, then it came back, and he did hormonal treatment. That kept it in check until he was 71. Then, it really roared its ugly head.

    My Dad did radiation, then 2 rounds of chemo. He died 17 months after his first chemo session. For the all damage it did, we don't know how much more time he got. He was okay but the last 6 months were not fun. He became very confused and was really out it most of the time.

    On the other hand, my father wanted to live more than anything. He would have never refused treatment. He was even talking about another course of action right before the docs told him it was all over. He died 2 months later.

    We had no choice. My father was absolutely convinced he would beat it and chemo was it for him.

    Has your Dad tried the hormone treatment? Radiation? For a PSA at 80, I would think there would be other options. 80 is not all that high. I am not a doctor, but boy oh boy, I would get another opinion.

    Duke's Kid
  • milf31681
    milf31681 Member Posts: 8
    #8
    dukeskid said:

    Mixed Bag
    My Dad had a very similar history as your father. My Dad was first diagnosed when he was 59, fine for 6 years, then it came back, and he did hormonal treatment. That kept it in check until he was 71. Then, it really roared its ugly head.

    My Dad did radiation, then 2 rounds of chemo. He died 17 months after his first chemo session. For the all damage it did, we don't know how much more time he got. He was okay but the last 6 months were not fun. He became very confused and was really out it most of the time.

    On the other hand, my father wanted to live more than anything. He would have never refused treatment. He was even talking about another course of action right before the docs told him it was all over. He died 2 months later.

    We had no choice. My father was absolutely convinced he would beat it and chemo was it for him.

    Has your Dad tried the hormone treatment? Radiation? For a PSA at 80, I would think there would be other options. 80 is not all that high. I am not a doctor, but boy oh boy, I would get another opinion.

    Duke's Kid

    I am very sorry to hear
    I am very sorry to hear about your dad... Our hearts truly go out to you... Our dad had tried hormone therapys and radiation... We have also done several freezings... I'm not sure yet what we are going to do... This is actually our fourth doctor that we are trying... We had the original dr who sent us to an oncologist in NJ where we live... Then those 2 Dr's sent us up to NYC to Columbia Presbyterian... The Dr. Katz who we were using was at a loss on what to do so he sent us to his Oncologist Dr. Petrylak... At first the Dr said we had many options... Every option he gave us would interfer with ongoing heart problems that my dad already has... So now they say chemo is the only option... The nurse can't tell me what kind yet... All they can tell me is that we need to come in and talk to the dr about it... Dad says if it is in the pill form he will do it other than that he wants no part of it... I don't really know the difference if one is better than the other... I guess we will find out on Thursday thats when we see the dr again... Thank you so much for sharing all of your dad's story with me... It's so nice to see that people care... Melissa
  • larry59
    larry59 Member Posts: 41
    #9
    chemo
    chemo is tough for anyone any age. Personally I would not go through it at that age but it might help your dad. It's a tough call. %$%$@#%%# cancer.
  • milf31681
    milf31681 Member Posts: 8
    #10
    JoeMac said:

    Other Info on PC
    Aloha milf31681,
    Please check out
    http://www.yananow.net
    Lots of fellows with the experience you are looking for.
    Our prayers are with you.
    Love, peace & hope,
    JoeMac 67 Hamakua Coast

    Thank you so much... All the
    Thank you so much... All the info I can get at this point is soooooooo helpful... My whole family is extremly grateful for all the support... I did take your advice and joined the discussion groups on that site and I recieved advice there... Thanks again... Good Luck to everyone!!!
  • milf31681
    milf31681 Member Posts: 8
    #11
    larry59 said:

    chemo
    chemo is tough for anyone any age. Personally I would not go through it at that age but it might help your dad. It's a tough call. %$%$@#%%# cancer.

    At this point I agree... Too
    At this point I agree... Too bad there isn't a pill that could get rid of cancer with no side effects...

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