stopping chemo

Hi,shar,

5FU/oxilaplatin is tough to take; I presume they do labs before each chemo treatment to see whether your mom can take the chemo or not on that day. If the hemoglobin or the WBC or the platelet counts are low,;the lab should be reviewed by oncologist or the PA first to determine your mom should or should not have the chemo on that that day. Even if so,as a patient you can refuse treatment at any time.
And as the right of the patient;he/she can refuse treatment at “the point of treatment ” too without being charged(What I mean is that if the chemo were made and your mom do not feel up to it and refused,she cannot be charged for the chemo that had already made even cost thousands of dollars to the hospital.( ie: the new drug “Yevoy “cost 50.000 average/dose to the HOSPITAL.,the pt. cost will be much higher)
Here is my answers for your questions.

1.”My question is would the quality of life improve (even if just for a few months) if we stop chemo?
for me ,that is not a difficult question for me to answer;but may be difficult for some people to understand if you do not keeping up and continue to do your research on this subject:
the answer is YES.but the consequence of the overall treatment will be UNKNOWN till scan time.( If I may, i will suggest your mom having scan every 3 month instead of every 6month for disease in the active treatment state,)
2. ” Can you start again once you have stopped? ” that will be determined by your oncologist.

My own opinion is that,for myself as a patient, quality of life is much more important than just laying on the bed and receiving the tender loving care by all those who care about me.
For example I will miss very much of my wife’s tender loving care who prepare each meal perfectly for me 3-4 times a day;pray every nite with me;and my son who always find time to talk to me at nite before going to bed;ask how i am doing during that day;and before going back to his room,he always give me a good hug each nite and say good nite before leaving;and he is a 25 years old christian who works late hours.
The point is as a patient myself, the KEY is try to PREVENT or IMPROVE my disease from getting worse.this is the most important point of seeking treatment,but if the outcome is to the contrary ;then what is the point or purpose of receiving treatment and seeing those who love me so much suffering each day inside but maintaining a uplifting face outside to please me,the patient.Don’t you think the caregivers are not suffering too?
Chemo and targeted agents still is a long way to come for prolonging life(i mean quality of life) and cure.
God bless.

Shar,

One of the things the doctors prescribed for my Mom was an appetite enhancer. It was really an amazing change and helped her tremendously.

You may also try smaller meals and protein supplements. The one we used was from a website called unjury.com. I still use it today. We mixed it with Carnation instant breakfast and Mom loved it. Your Mom’s oncology team should have a nutritionalist that may be of help to you as well.

Hang in there!
Hugs,
Pam