Cancer

[Redhelen72]

What is classed as good and bad cancer?

If someone says they have good cancer - what would that mean to you@

[Peter Pedant]

It's said many die with it rather than because of it.  And skin cancer can be treated if caught early enough.

Prostate ca is very variable - good can be bad so let us keep off that

Skin ca - good - rodent ulcer ( BCC) I had one for twenty y before it was excised. known to be very 'indolent'

bad - melanoma - spreads early, needs extensive excision. if it is on the face, surgeon tentatively nibbles at neck.

so it basically early spread, easy treatment and f.ive year survival

In olds, you dont really do five year survival but standardised mortality ratio - how much faster  do they die than in a control group.

like this:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3903385/

terrible they seem not to have heard of any sensible stat analysis - no Kaplan Meyer survival chart - and wonder why ca breast >80, no one seems to die from it. ( bad cancer becomes good)

this seems to imply the SMR for this group is 1. They die as fast as the non ca group.

[Redhelen72]

What?

[Peter Pedant]

If she refuses the operation your problems may be over sooner than you expected. Her body, her life, her choice

nope - my  mother had this >80 and at that time tamoxifen alone had the lowest SMR ( gtst survival)

she had lumpectomy + tamox and didnt do too well post op - but it was her choice. "no one likes a cancer in them..."

for myself I havent been too worried to have lumps inside me

[Peter Pedant]

er, lumpectomy is the common treatment of ca >80

and medical treatment of tamox or something more modern gives good results. 

RH I thought you had a medical background

[ferlew]

My own experience within the last 6-8 weeks is this.
As part of an investigation into my long standing anaemia, I was asked to do a FIT (poo) test. This was positive for blood.
I was asked to go for a colonoscopy WITHIN 2 weeks.
Thankfully no cancer was detected.

Now I'm being investigated for GAVE syndrome with an endoscopy this Friday.

Blood in her poo could even be due to haemorrhoids.

[Redhelen72]

Peter - I do not have a medical background and have never stated that I do - quite the opposite in fact!

ferlew - she has had nothing except the blood test and poo test - nothing specific to remove anything which is why I am confused as to how it can defo be cancer.

[ferlew]

Sounds like she is being selective in which of the doctor's words she repeats to your son. :(

 

[Redhelen72]

yup - we should find out in the next few days what is exactly going on

[barry1010]

I think she has been frightened by the process so far and is assuming the worst.  Living alone can make these anxieties worse as it doesn't get put in to perspective.

She is looking for sympathy.

 

[Peter Pedant]

oh OK no medical background

good cancer - you dont die for long long time

bad cancer you do

In the elderly - lump in breast and lump in armpit is pretty diagnostic. - one paper - [no no stop, not med] - 60% presented with lump.

can it be ( lump) anything else - not really, in the over eighties lumps there have a 90% chance.

do they die from anything else? - yes a lot of the time ( two thirds I think)

 

[Peter Pedant]

My mother waited until the lump in her armpit was orange sized ( an mentioned it over lunch)

[rowanwitch]

Wait and see what happens.... If it's  colorectal cancer then  she will possibly  change her mind about surgery about the time surgery is no longer an option.

The fear of a stoma is very  real and might stop someone going ahead with treatment.   But  it may be a case where  a Hartmans procedure is considered which is  the short term creation of a stoma to allow the surgical joins (anastamoses) to heal.  The stoma surgery can be reversed after about 4-6 months.

But not enough tests for definitive diagnosis. Either she has misinterpreted the doctor, or she is playing the cancer card because she wants to be encouraged to have treatment get attention,  you know the we dont want to lose you, do it for me from your OH. Her previous track record must make you suspicious.  I think someone trustworthy needs to go with her to future appointments and report back with what is really said.