Making the right decision

[Susan21257]

My Mom was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer that has spread to the liver. She is a 76 yr-old woman with well-controlled diabetes, a pacemaker and 3 stents, a stent in her colon (this was put in after a blockage occurred after the cancer was diagnosed), and a chronic lung infection. The doctor feels that she may not be a candidate for surgery and is treating with chemotherapy. She will be completing her third round of chemo this week but has had very little quality during this time. I have spoken to the doctor about this and he has told us that as long as my Mom wishes to continue with chemo (she does) he will do so (although I do want to say that he did not push chemo treatment). I had asked him if it would be possible to have a break from the chemo but he does not recommend it at this time. He has also told us that the chemo treatment will be ongoing (as long as she is able). She will have a CT scan on 12 November and if at that time, the tumours have remained unchanged, then the doctor may recommend stopping the chemo but if the tumours have shrunken, he has told us he will continue. He is also not positive that the five lesions on her liver are indeed cancer (he said it would be difficult to biopsy these) but will know if they have shrunk that they are indeed malignant growths. My question is would my mother's life be drastically shortened if she were to discontinue chemo (the doctor does not like to set a time limit but has said realistically with chemo treatment she may have under a year) all together or if she chose to take a break, would this be unwise? I am also wondering if her body will adapt to the chemo and the treatments will not be as invasive to her body. I have also heard of patients stopping chemo and living for another year or two. Could this happen? I know that in an older person, they say that cancer does not grow or spread as fast as in a younger person. As well, if the liver lesions are not malignant growths, does this alter the whole picture? Thanks for any advice you can provide.

[dian07]

You guys are what this forum is all about....I am so glad you found eachother.....the women on this site are from all different stages of life with a wide array of opinions, strengths, weaknesses , religious beliefs and family situations.  The one thing they all have in common with your moms is courage.....sometimes that, and compassion are all we can share considering the distance between us.  Hang on to eachother....and, please do remain here even if sometimes you think someone is comming out of left field!  Because of experiences with this disease there is an awful lot of knowledge here.  You guys take care and please do keep us posted.
Peace.
dian

[Susan21257]

Thanks for your comments. I will certainly look into Ellen Esser. My brother (I only have one sibling) has been very supportive. My father has been somewhat in denial but is now coming around - it has been very difficult for him. My husband has been wonderful. My mother did not have surgery as it was not an option for her - her doctor has said that if there is significant shrinkage, he may look at surgery but not at the present time. Her overall health is not great. One thing I notice in your thread was that you are worried about blockages. My Mom had a blockage soon after being diagnosed and as she was quite weak the doctor knew that she would not survive an operation so they performed a procedure where they go in and place a stent in the colon to open it up. This is a much less invasive procedure and could be an option for your Mom, if she were to get another blockage. The only negative about this is that the success rate for this procedure is only at about 50% for ovarian cancer patients.

I wish you and your family well. Each family deals with cancer differently and I really do think that there is no right or wrong decision, it is very individual.

[bridget335]

I am very interested in your story, because my mother just made the opposite decision (surgery but no chemo).  (See my thread)   Here is the url of the blog recommended to me.  You might find it helpful.  I'm not sure if Ellen Esser would respond to your questions directly if you commented on her blog, but she is likely to know something of these issues (she stopped chemo in March and is still writing):

http://journals.aol.com/elnsr/ELNSRsOVCAandOTHERBLOG/

Are your father and/or siblings involved in her care decisions as well?   I have found the increased closeness between me and my siblings to be a silver lining.  

I wish you and your mom all the best.