Wait and See

djchaves
djchaves Member Posts: 20
in Lung Cancer #1
Hi all,

I wanted to get some opinions on the wait and see approach that my father is now in. He is 70 yrs old with stage IV NSCLC in his left lung with mets to the pleura. He has undergone 6 rounds of chemo with alimta/carboplatin every three weeks. At first the 2 larger tumors shurnk a tiny bit but has since remained stable. We went to the dr yesterday and he wants to wait another 5 weeks with no chemo/maintenance therapy to see if the chemo was keeping the cancer stable or if it is a slow growing cancer. My dad is excited to not have chemo for a total of 8 weeks, he's calling it a 'vacation' and is excited to get some engergy back. However, this approach scares me. Why wait to see if the tumors will grow? I get that they don't want to keep giving him chemo if it's not necessary but is that the best thing to do? I'm not so sure. I just wanted to get a feel of what everyone else thinks of the 'wait and see' approach. Many thanks!

Comments

  • Ex_Rock_n_Roller
    Ex_Rock_n_Roller Member Posts: 281
    #2
    When you get right down to cases ...
    ... we're all in "wait and see" mode to some degree. I certainly have been since my last treatment in July of 2010.

    The alternative to "wait and see" (i.e. observe and collect data) is guesswork: guess if the chemo is working. That de-facto guesswork takes a toll on the person receiving the treatment, and the logical conclusion of it is chemo forever, when in fact a less aggressive approach may work just as well.

    Given the situation (stage 4; things look pretty stable; quality of life may be as important as anything else) I'm with Dad on this, and would be opting for the "vacation" myself.

    Please send him my best wishes!
  • djchaves
    djchaves Member Posts: 20
    #3
    Ex_Rock_n_Roller said:

    When you get right down to cases ...
    ... we're all in "wait and see" mode to some degree. I certainly have been since my last treatment in July of 2010.

    The alternative to "wait and see" (i.e. observe and collect data) is guesswork: guess if the chemo is working. That de-facto guesswork takes a toll on the person receiving the treatment, and the logical conclusion of it is chemo forever, when in fact a less aggressive approach may work just as well.

    Given the situation (stage 4; things look pretty stable; quality of life may be as important as anything else) I'm with Dad on this, and would be opting for the "vacation" myself.

    Please send him my best wishes!

    Thank you!

    Thank you!

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