Dad has stage 2 colon cancer. He is 87 years old and does not want to treat it what should i expect?
Will he be in a lot of pain? will he be in a lot of pain? how much time do you think i will have with him?
Cancer - 5 Answers
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1 :
during end stage of cancer the pain will occur.if your father doesn't want any treatment for sure the chance of survival is 0%.convince your father.
2 :
Stage 2 colon cancer is treatable . . . so the question would be . . why is your father making the decision not to treat something that has the potential to give him 'remission'? Is your father in generally poor health? If treated your father could outlive the cancer. Without treatment the disease will progress and become increasingly unpleasant.
3 :
Is your statement of "stage 2" based on the fact he has had surgery already? If so, he does not need any further treatment except his surgery. The benefits of chemotherapy in stage 2 disease is uncertain, but almost assuredly close to zero in an 87 year old. If he has not had surgery, then really we do not truly know his stage, which could be anywhere from stage 1 to stage 4. Without surgery he could survive couple of years before it spreads widely (for stage 1 now) or last less than 6 months (if already stage 4). A PET scan if not done could help in pre-surgical staging and help him make the best decision about surgery or not. Being 87 would not preclude surgery automatically; it can be done laparoscopicly-assisted these days as well, which markedly decreases recovery time. Blessings
4 :
I really understand how your father feels for it would be different if he was younger.At his age surgery is not as easy to take for the elderly sometimes have bad reactions to surgery, and can even go into comas or have mental problems post op.Please honor his wishes but also discuss getting a living will done so you all know what he wants in writing. Sometimes family members differ in how they want Dad treated if he does have a bad response to the cancer & can't refuse some treatment .Staples has a printed form that you can go over with him, fill out & have him sign. It has parts like if he wants "feeding tubes" or a ventilator, which will only put off the dying process which I don't think he wants. It has a section about pain medication also, which he should fill out that he wants, for there is usually pain in the late cancer stage.It's hard to say how long he has but speak to his doctor about getting Hospice in if he has about a 6 month prognosis.They will give emotional support to him & the family & also cover nurses& medical supplies as well as pain medication when he needs it (Medicare pays for everything so don't worry about the cost).Some patients have a lot of pain, some not any. Some become confused & will get weak & fall & some are active & alert until the end.Have family get togethers & spend time with him for as long as he has for only God knows those answers. Yesterday is but a memory & tomorrow a dream. Treasure today. God bless.
5 :
I have stage 3 now, and he may or may not have pain. I was in a lot of pain before surgery, but it was because the tumor had grown so large that it was blocking my colon and nothing could get through. With treatment, there is about an 85% survival rate, but I don't know of any statistics about when it goes untreated. It is generally a slow growing type of cancer, so you may have some time, but it would be very unpredictable. Also, with stage 2, his doctor may or may not want to do chemo anyway, and you don't do radiation with colon cancer--the tissue isn't strong enough. If he would be willing to go through surgery, it would increase his odds greatly. Even at stage 3, once they performed surgery, I had a 60% chance that it would never come back.
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