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Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

theguardian.com

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Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#121

Post by bigwavedave »

joshgel wrote: post #7

Traditional chemotherapy is toxic to all cells. Cancer cells grow rapidly (part of what makes them dangerous). So the toxic effect gets the cancer cells first, since cells that are growing take up the most chemotherapy. But other cells grow rapidly too, like hair and intestinal cells, which is why cancer patients lose their hair and have terrible nausea/diarrhea. All (almost all?) cells take up some chemo. So, you ar…

Exactly. The goal of chemotherapy is more or less to poison enough of the bad before too much of the good.

Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#122

Post by algaeontoast »

adrianm wrote: post #36
algaeontoast wrote: post #13

If I ever have a cancer diagnosis that would require extreme treatment or a pro-longed period of suffering, i.e. stage 3 or 4, I'd seriously consider shooting myself rather enduring months if not years of agony. In theory I'd have insurance, however why put my family through years of seeing me suffer and become a person they might not recognize?

Because there is hope.

My point wasn't about hope, I "hope" to live a life without years of agony. Living through years of chemo on to live a diminished or slightly less-painful life with a looming chance of the cancer re-occurring isn't a life I "hope" to live.

Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#123

Post by kd3 »

nradov wrote: post #115
kd3 wrote: post #110

Dying from cancer doesn't have to happen anymore. Use hemp oil with at least a 95% THC concentration daily. Search for Rick Simpson oil online for details. You can make the oil at home if you are able to obtain the right hemp leafs. And stay away from chemo!!!

Please don't spread medical misinformation here and give patients false hope.

This is not misinfo. Chemo is misinfo. You can find tons of info online about THC killing cancer. Here is a video: https://youtu.be/1miGzTwK28U

Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#124

Post by nradov »

kd3 wrote: post #123
nradov wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't spread medical misinformation here and give patients false hope.

This is not misinfo. Chemo is misinfo. You can find tons of info online about THC killing cancer. Here is a video: https://youtu.be/1miGzTwK28U

Medical information on Youtube is mostly bullshit. Please cite a large-scale clinical trial in a peer reviewed journal.

Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#125

Post by niketdesai »

jcims wrote: post #34
niketdesai wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You capture the nuance by saying usually. Many people, logically, would arrive to this conclusion. When the treatment starts, one is even energized. Then, in the middle a person regrets being so optimistic at all. They find their assumption of life being better than death more naive than they could have imagined. It's not just the treatment. It is the wider picture of your life stopping. And within that context your…

It's not really clear to me what people are asking for. If cancer pays a visit, you have two main options: 1 - Don't treat the disease and either do nothing or basic palliative care. The cancer is unlikely to go away on its own and will begin to spread to your lungs and liver and brain and mutilate your body until it doesn't function and you die. Less up front pain, possibly less area under the painful waking hours c…

Yup. It's a challenging position for patients, caregivers, and medical professionals alike. Each burdens the quandary in a different way.

Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#126

Post by kd3 »

nradov wrote: post #124
kd3 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not misinfo. Chemo is misinfo. You can find tons of info online about THC killing cancer. Here is a video: https://youtu.be/1miGzTwK28U

Medical information on Youtube is mostly bullshit. Please cite a large-scale clinical trial in a peer reviewed journal.

I hope you watched the vid, if so, you will know where to look for published work

Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#127

Post by pharaohgeek »

Aspiring survivor of a stage 3 sarcoma here. I went through 8 months of treatment in 2016. I had no symptoms, no pain, NOTHING prior to being diagnosed. There was just a huge lump on my shoulder. The idea that I was about to willingly pump poison into my body and make myself sick when I felt perfectly fine was definitely hard to wrap my mind around. But, no question, it was the right thing to do. I'm married and have 2 young kids. Telling them I had cancer was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Thankfully, I live near one of the world's best hospitals and had amazing doctors and nurses. My treatment was in-patient and they kept me loaded full of fluids and anti-nausea meds. Yes, those 9 months were grueling, but they were bearable. I'm very fortunate. I've known others who've gone through much, much worse.

Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#128

Post by timbit42 »

nextos wrote: post #9
joshgel wrote: post #7

Traditional chemotherapy is toxic to all cells. Cancer cells grow rapidly (part of what makes them dangerous). So the toxic effect gets the cancer cells first, since cells that are growing take up the most chemotherapy. But other cells grow rapidly too, like hair and intestinal cells, which is why cancer patients lose their hair and have terrible nausea/diarrhea. All (almost all?) cells take up some chemo. So, you ar…

That's right. Chemotherapy is, sadly, a very primitive treatment. I regret we have spent so much money on cancer genomics, when some outsiders where trying to push for immunotherapies. Thankfully, that changed 3 or 4 years ago.

"We're dealing with medievalism here! ...Chemotherapy! ...Fundoscopic examinations!" - McCoy, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#129

Post by Risible_Me »

After a cancer diagnosis, life changes. There are many challenges to face. On top of choosing treatment, patients may have to deal with side effects, absence from work, and family issues. Caregivers also have many challenges including increased stress...

Re: Life as a cancer patient: ‘it feels like dying from the drugs meant to save me’

#130

Post by cancerwriter »

I struggled to read the Guardian article thanks to the overly purple prose (I write professionally, that sort of writing really ticks me off), but the comment discussion here is fascinating.

I’m a cancer patient, a year out of chemo. Almost 1.5 years ago I was given 2-3 years to live. Bladder cancer metastasized to lymph, liver and lungs is not a good thing to have, apparently, and I was put onto a fairly aggressive chemo course to try and hold it at bay for a while. The chemo was tough, but I started an intensive treatment course of my own at the same time: cannabis oil, large amounts every evening. It massively buffered my against the side effects; I had a good appetite and my hair got a bit thin but never got too bad. All the same I did very nearly die from sepsis a few days after I finished my chemo course – cannabis can’t help when your immune system is trashed and you pick up some normally minor and forgettable bug!

But the big deal for me is that scans now show “no evidence of disease” rather than just shrunk and static. My consultant is saying this level of response is unprecedented and he now expects to be having these meetings for years to come. I know we need proper large-scale trials, I know I’m presenting an anecdote here, and like most of y’all I’m suspicious of miracle cure stories. But the results I have now are SO far beyond anything my oncology team ever expected that I am convinced cannabis has played a significant part along with the chemo in the cancer battle itself.

I’ve been documenting my experiences and listing my methods and techniques in a blog. Is it acceptable to post the URL here?

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