Does this have any truth to it? - Cancer Message Board

cxpy123456 · 01-16-2005, 02:27 PM

Someone told me that they have had both leukemia and skin cancer, and due to something about the type of cancer one of these was, if it returns she'll have it for the rest of her life with no possibility of any treatment working (even though the treatments she had for them previously were effective). Does this make any sense to you?

ktee_uk · 01-17-2005, 02:52 AM

With some types of chemo the body becomes kind of immune to the drugs and the drugs lose their effectiveness. For other types, over-use can cause damage to certain parts of body.

I would question "no possibility of any treatment working" because there are new drugs and therapies being trialled all the time. So please ask your friend to challenge the doctors if recurrence happens.

SamQKitty · 01-17-2005, 09:44 PM

I'm wondering if the doctor actually told your friend this, or if it's her interpretation of something that might have been said. It's possible that in the stress of hearing about having cancer, combined with your friend's own personal fears, something may have been misinterpreted.

Your friend probably needs a lot of support right now. Only time will tell if there will be a reoccurrence.

Ruth

unkrbk · 01-27-2005, 10:42 PM

It's possible that the doctor meant that there was a point at which no more radiation could be administered. My radiation oncologist told me that each tissue in the body has a threshold beyond which any more radiation would do more harm than good. I haven't heard the same thing about chemo, but then, I never asked my chemo doc.