Treatments for terminal cancer

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Wednesday, October 26. 2022

Treatments for terminal cancer

I have seen people treated for cancer until the day they died with the poisons still dripping into their veins. I disapprove, although I am not an oncologist. There is a time to be born, and a time to die. Hospice care is a blessing with opioid meds as needed.

Oncology therapy at the end-of-life: Have we missed the mark?

Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss in Medical at 14:56 | Comments (9) | Trackbacks (0)

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For some of us, it's always worth trying to live longer, no matter how unlikely it is to work. What if two days after your death, they find a cure?

#1 jdgalt1 on 2022-10-26 16:34 (Reply)

Quality of life, dignity and the opportunity to die at home surrounded by loved ones are powerful factors. One of those cases where you gain perspective if you have seen it happen.

#2 Freddo on 2022-10-26 17:06 (Reply)

As a RN who has worked ICU, PACU, Hospice and recently Covid, I am not looking to waste away in an ICU. I would much prefer a dilaudid / ativan drip to the poison.
It is ultimately the most personal decision and YOU have to figure out what is best for you.

#3 Hayden Goseek on 2022-10-26 19:00 (Reply)

I have cancer, diagnosed in 2004. Two operations since then but I still have it. My first oncologist was ready to retire in 2004 and in 2008 he got a bad cancer (sorry I cannot remember which one) and he told me that he was simply going to live his remaining days without treatment and when it got too difficult to live with it he would take a medication to end his life. He thought that the treatment was just too gruesome to endure especially since it wouldn't cure him.

#4 OneGuy on 2022-10-26 19:21 (Reply)

I’m a pediatrician. I always tell my family and friends that there are far worse things than death. I’m an advocate of going to a beach with your family and a pocket of pain pills and letting go there. I’ve seen people rot on chemo-literally

#5 Doc g on 2022-10-26 19:24 (Reply)

My mom passed away from pancreatic cancer a few years ago. With the way things are going, I don't think that the economy and world at large will last until I'm in my sixties, but if for some reason I were to be diagnosed with some serious illness, that sounds like a good idea. Marconi Beach is one of my favorite spots.

#5.1 Maniac on 2022-10-27 08:01 (Reply)

To you and to OneGuy (#4): I wish I knew that I could take a handful of pills when it was time to end it all. Those in the medical world can probably do that. I had some major surgery in 2007 and was prescribed about a week's worth(?) of opioids, which made it possible for me to be at home, eat, sleep, get out of bed, use the bathroom, etc. I was determined to use only what I needed of them. My memory is that they took the pain away so I could function, but did not "drug" me. Recently I needed some short-term pain pills after a procedure (3-4 days?). Apparently doctors are deathly afraid of prescribing opioids anymore. All I was given were synthetic(?) ketolorac pills. I took one about midday and was a zombie for essentially the rest of the day. Finally just went to bed. No pain, but that is because you are drugged into a stupor. I will never take another one unless I can be unconscious for several hours. Living alone, I find that rather scary. My point is that now you have to either be unconscious or a drug addict if you want legitimate pain relief. (I doubt that this is true for the medical community.)

#5.2 CT on 2022-10-28 11:00 (Reply)

My good friend has been fighting cancer for 6 years. He's lost a good portion of his face to the cancer. Currently his prognosis is good, as is his attitude, though the challenges of having no upper palate and teeth present problems daily. He sent me this link, which is titled "Dear Every Cancer Patient I Ever Took Care Of, I'm Sorry. I Didn't Get It." I think it is pertinent to this discussion.

https://herecomesthesun927.com/2016/11/14/dear-every-cancer-patient-i-ever-took-care-of-im-sorry-i-didnt-get-it/

#6 John Venlet (Link) on 2022-10-27 07:42 (Reply)

There's no good way to go, but ultimate it's up to each one of us how we face death. I have two nightmare scenarios about my end: First, that I'll die wasting away in some nursing home unaware of who or where I am; Second, that I'll die tied to a bed, doped to the gills and stuck full of tubes. I don't intend to let either of those things happen.

#7 RebeccaH on 2022-10-27 12:28 (Reply)

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Wednesday, October 26. 2022

Treatments for terminal cancer