i have an aunt who is diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. According to the doctor, the tumor is quite large and surgery is out of the question because it will cause massive bleeding. It scared us all. Is there anyone out there who has come across or know anyone with this stage of cancer and survived?
Cancer - 9 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
A stage 4 diagnosis means her cancer has spread to at least one distant site in addition to the original tumor. While treatment with chemotherapy and radiation may slow the progress of the cancer's spread, there is no opportunity to fully eradicate the cancer. Based on how well your aunt responds to treatment, she may have a reasonably good quality of life for some time to come. Some patients are able to survive for one or more years with stage 4 disease. Sorry that I do not have better news for you. Attached is a link to the Merck Manual chapter on colon cancer. It discusses treatment and prognosis. Your family may wish to contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 for info on support groups and other resources in your area.
2 :
"BSherman's" answer is superb - and indeed some patients with stage 4 colon carcinoma do survive for 1 to 2 years - but what you describe sounds like it may be a shorter prognosis. I would suggest being prepared for something in the order of months rather than years. I hope I am wrong in this estimation. Just being honest with my experience of 20 years as a cancer specialist doctor. A large tumor volume and no chance of surgery is a bad sign. If she has significant liver or lung involvement, less than a year is expected. But we doctors NEVER know exactly how long any person may have - even the doctors who know the details of the case - which we do not. I would rather be prepared for the worst and be pleasantly surprised if things turn out better.
3 :
chemo and radiation may extend her life a few months--but what KIND of life ? There is only ONE way to adapt to the disease at this stage and few are willing to do it. Doctors often give false hope. They even tell chemo patients: "don't take any vitamins!!!" The only way for her to spend her last months is eating a macrobiotic diet and juicing. To purify her body--not poison it with chemo. NO sugar, NO meat, NO white breads or flour and LOTS of dark green veggies and fruits daily. Sadly, I think she'll go for the chemo and radiation to no avail. I am truly sorry.
4 :
My great grandma has stage 4 breast cancer. She has already had cancer one other time before this and fought it with treatments, but it came back almost five years later. Since she is old, she chose not to go through with chemo therapy again. She hasn't gone through any treatments, and she has lived 2 1/2 years (three years in April) with stage 4 cancer. Just pray, It really does help.
5 :
In most cases, stage IV: cancer is not curable.
6 :
All cases are different. I have survived stage four. Whatever the odds don't give up, just live a day at a time. Best wishes.
7 :
Please ignore Susan O's idiotic answer. In the old days, the average survival with stage 4 disease was 6 months. With modern chemo- and biologic therapy, it approaches 2 years, and a small but real subset of patients (single digit numbers, but not zero) live 5 years or more. By preventing or delaying symptoms of cancer, real, active treatment has atually been shown to improve quality of life. I wish her the best. Cancer Doc
8 :
Here's some tips that don't cost the world and will dramatically increase her lifespan in my opinion. No red meat 30mins of sunlight 2 to 3 times a day (for a Vitamin D boost) Green Tea Religiously, 3-6 cups a day Milk Thistle Supplement (proven cancer treatment for melanoma, though big pharma will obviously deny it, and improves liver function) Fish Oil Supplement 1/4 teaspoon of BiCarb in a glass water between meals on an empty stomach (increases you bodies pH which stops cancer spreading, biCarb of soda is like a sandblaster to tumors) Eat Foods containing Lycopene (red fruits and vegetables i.e. Tomatoes, Watermelon, Guava) Grapeseed extract Supplement (high dosage) quote on grapeseed research with mice.... ""Beneficial effects were correlated with how much extract was used and how long it was used for," said lead researcher Rajesh Agarwal, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, adding that there was a 92 percent reduction in live cells when the highest dose was administered to one cell line for two days. The researchers then implanted mice with advanced human colorectal cancer cells, and fed the mice grape seed extract at the same time. After eight weeks, the tumor volume dropped by 44 percent compared to controls. The dose was comparatively larger than what a human would consume, admitted Agarwal, but no toxic side effects were observed" " And a little light daily exercise to improve digestion. Go to a reliable supplement store, not overpriced miracle cures on the web. Hopefully will see a dramatic improvement in 8-12 weeks. Best of luck.
9 :
Unfortunately my grandma died in March of stage 4 colon cancer. It is incredibly hard to recover from and most people don't. I'm sorry to hear about your aunt. Be strong and be there for her.
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