When to stop treatment

yamster34 said:

If the tumors are still

If the tumors are still growing and the disease is still progressing, it would make me wonder if the chemo and radition are really doing anything to help.

Well I have started my next round of chemo, three on and one week off, I'm getting Taxotere this time, doc wants to do three or four complete cycles before doing another PET scan. Much will depend on how my blood counts cooperate . So far I'm tolerating treatment well, but I do know it is accumulative. All the same I take it one day at a time. i had treatment yesterday and today I felt so good and so energetic, I walked a mile and ran errands! Then spent over hour on phone with a friend going in for more testing on abnormal mammogram, she's flipping out completely, which is opposite of how I handle things, I need to be compassionate to her personal way of handling things but I do hope to help her try to tone down the emotion and constant crying, she doesn't even have a diagnosis yet. She says she can't be strong like me...well who of us here would have ever believed about themselves that they could be strong through such a hellish process? No one I'm guessing. It evolves and you learn how to do,it by watching how others handle it, and digging deep into yourself and pulling out that determined warrior! So I was mentally exhausted from the phone call, but glad she called me. Then I took chicken soup to my sick mother and visited with her from a long distance, I don't need to pick up something bad now. Now I will collapse into my comfy pillow and sleep well, and hopefully have another good day tomorrow...actually I see everyday as good, even if I'm a little sick from chemo, every day of life is good.

looks like my cycles will take me through July, then scan, then more chemo, either continue with Taxotere or move to something else, my doc admitted to me they are just guessing at this point, but they have to try something. I'm okay with that, so far I've been kept alive for nearly 7 years and having a pretty good life at that! i expect more to come. Whatever it takes I will do. There will always be progression of disease but if the chemo keeps it from overtaking vital organs that's a good thing, right?

in June I'm doing a walk for my ortho oncologist doc team, I did it last year and got 45 friends to sign up with me, this year my goal is 60, it's for Lombardi foundation, very good cause for cancer and it all goes to patients in local area. Gives me something to look forward to. I will do it.

Thanks all for your support and encouragement, I'm doing great, I just needed that break and now I'm fighting again. I'm not depressed or sad, I'm determined and strong.

funbeadgirl said:

Well I have started my next

Well I have started my next round of chemo, three on and one week off, I'm getting Taxotere this time, doc wants to do three or four complete cycles before doing another PET scan. Much will depend on how my blood counts cooperate . So far I'm tolerating treatment well, but I do know it is accumulative. All the same I take it one day at a time. i had treatment yesterday and today I felt so good and so energetic, I walked a mile and ran errands! Then spent over hour on phone with a friend going in for more testing on abnormal mammogram, she's flipping out completely, which is opposite of how I handle things, I need to be compassionate to her personal way of handling things but I do hope to help her try to tone down the emotion and constant crying, she doesn't even have a diagnosis yet. She says she can't be strong like me...well who of us here would have ever believed about themselves that they could be strong through such a hellish process? No one I'm guessing. It evolves and you learn how to do,it by watching how others handle it, and digging deep into yourself and pulling out that determined warrior! So I was mentally exhausted from the phone call, but glad she called me. Then I took chicken soup to my sick mother and visited with her from a long distance, I don't need to pick up something bad now. Now I will collapse into my comfy pillow and sleep well, and hopefully have another good day tomorrow...actually I see everyday as good, even if I'm a little sick from chemo, every day of life is good.

looks like my cycles will take me through July, then scan, then more chemo, either continue with Taxotere or move to something else, my doc admitted to me they are just guessing at this point, but they have to try something. I'm okay with that, so far I've been kept alive for nearly 7 years and having a pretty good life at that! i expect more to come. Whatever it takes I will do. There will always be progression of disease but if the chemo keeps it from overtaking vital organs that's a good thing, right?

in June I'm doing a walk for my ortho oncologist doc team, I did it last year and got 45 friends to sign up with me, this year my goal is 60, it's for Lombardi foundation, very good cause for cancer and it all goes to patients in local area. Gives me something to look forward to. I will do it.

Thanks all for your support and encouragement, I'm doing great, I just needed that break and now I'm fighting again. I'm not depressed or sad, I'm determined and strong.

I just finished first cycle of Taxotere, three weeks on, one week off. I am desperately sick, nausea, intestinal distress, neuropathy on tongue and face, so I have no ability to taste anything and food tastes very bad. Even water tastes like soap to me, I've tried lemon, mint, cucumber, Apple, strawberry, etc. to no avail. I have no appetite and force myself to eat which usually ends up gagging  me and then I can't eat. Neuropathy has now moved up to my forearms and fingertips are worse. The weird thing is that I can still smell food and it seems appealing but when I try to eat, I have an aversion. I'm subsisting on peanut butter, only thing I can taste.

I have made the decision to stop treatments. Oncologist scheduled three more cycles...so through summer, I know I cant do it, I don't want to do it. I want some quality of life now. My decision to stop is no less educated than their  educated 'guessing' which chemo will work, he admitted that this is all just a guess because they don't know  which chemo will be effective. He said if this one doesn't work, we can try others, then he named 5-6 other chemo drugs...I just don't want to be a guinea pig anymore.

I am resolved and at peace with my decision, I will recover from this, gain some strength back and then move on and live my life by my terms, whatever that means for my future.