One doesn't pay close attention to the nuances of the treatment for cancer until one needs to. It makes sense that unless we have an unusual penchant for or fascination with reading up on amazing medical treatments, we don't take the time to learn of the problems, the solutions, the symptoms, or the side effects. Such is the case with my best friend of twenty-nine years.
She is a clinical nurse with specialization in Geriatric Nursing. She is well equipped about all aspects of medical knowledge as well as other types of knowledge. Surprisingly however she was not aware of cancer and the latest treatments that are available unless she was diagnosed as suffering from invasive cervical adinocarcinoma. We were both unaware of cancer and only had knowledge about the side effects that comes with chemotherapy and radiation techniques. Now of course we know much more than we knew at that point of time. She now goes for her treatments and I would here tell you the process of the treatment of cancer that she underwent.
After Vaness was diagnosed with cancer, she was immediately operated upon. She underwent a radical hysterectomy that removed the harmful growths that were spreading the disease to her lymph nodes. After that she was taken for a PET scan which is a Positron Emission Tomography test that is done to know what would be the further course of treatment. The scan showed that the cancer had hit her lymph nodes; it reached up to her lungs and downward to the vaginal region. One of the reputed surgeons suggested her not to follow the standard procedure of the treatment of cancer and to extricate the malignant lymph nodes (all the lymph nodes cannot be extricated as these aids in secretion and are necessary for the running of our system). She got a lot of suggestions but she followed the surgeon's advice and two months later underwent surgery for the second time.
Next came the consultation regarding chemotherapy and radiation. The doctor, she said, was wonderful, taking two full hours to explain the pros and cons of chemo and radiation, those that included statistics on likeliness of each particular side effect. Compared to what my best friend and I had known previously, the rates of losing hair, for example, or losing bowel control, were surprisingly low. In addition, many subsequent symptoms are psychogenic. That is, they are brought on by the patient thinking about them coming on. If you think about vomiting enough, you will vomit.
After about two months of her first diagnosis, Vaness who was then administered an IV that was used in one side of her body, went to have two more medications. She had to take Glutamine and Compazine. While Glutamine energizes the immune system, Compazine helps to prevent the nauseated feeling that is the result of the use of Amaphostine injection(s).
After a few days Vaness went for her very first treatment of the disease. She had to undergo chemo for a few days in a row and then on a weekly basis. The Palliative radiation therapy took care of the symptoms and also brought about an improvement in the quality of life but it however did not cure, there has never been a cure for cancer.
These two treatments combined can only last for ten weeks, as they first will not cure the cancer and as they second can kill her. Such is the irony: the treatment for cancer is deadly enough to treat the cancer but deadly enough to kill the cancer patient. In another respect, however, the mind, friends, and brilliant medical practitioners have contributed to the miraculous and rare recovery of a percentage of women who live to tell about the scare. And that percentage, that number of survivors, grows every year. - 15438
She is a clinical nurse with specialization in Geriatric Nursing. She is well equipped about all aspects of medical knowledge as well as other types of knowledge. Surprisingly however she was not aware of cancer and the latest treatments that are available unless she was diagnosed as suffering from invasive cervical adinocarcinoma. We were both unaware of cancer and only had knowledge about the side effects that comes with chemotherapy and radiation techniques. Now of course we know much more than we knew at that point of time. She now goes for her treatments and I would here tell you the process of the treatment of cancer that she underwent.
After Vaness was diagnosed with cancer, she was immediately operated upon. She underwent a radical hysterectomy that removed the harmful growths that were spreading the disease to her lymph nodes. After that she was taken for a PET scan which is a Positron Emission Tomography test that is done to know what would be the further course of treatment. The scan showed that the cancer had hit her lymph nodes; it reached up to her lungs and downward to the vaginal region. One of the reputed surgeons suggested her not to follow the standard procedure of the treatment of cancer and to extricate the malignant lymph nodes (all the lymph nodes cannot be extricated as these aids in secretion and are necessary for the running of our system). She got a lot of suggestions but she followed the surgeon's advice and two months later underwent surgery for the second time.
Next came the consultation regarding chemotherapy and radiation. The doctor, she said, was wonderful, taking two full hours to explain the pros and cons of chemo and radiation, those that included statistics on likeliness of each particular side effect. Compared to what my best friend and I had known previously, the rates of losing hair, for example, or losing bowel control, were surprisingly low. In addition, many subsequent symptoms are psychogenic. That is, they are brought on by the patient thinking about them coming on. If you think about vomiting enough, you will vomit.
After about two months of her first diagnosis, Vaness who was then administered an IV that was used in one side of her body, went to have two more medications. She had to take Glutamine and Compazine. While Glutamine energizes the immune system, Compazine helps to prevent the nauseated feeling that is the result of the use of Amaphostine injection(s).
After a few days Vaness went for her very first treatment of the disease. She had to undergo chemo for a few days in a row and then on a weekly basis. The Palliative radiation therapy took care of the symptoms and also brought about an improvement in the quality of life but it however did not cure, there has never been a cure for cancer.
These two treatments combined can only last for ten weeks, as they first will not cure the cancer and as they second can kill her. Such is the irony: the treatment for cancer is deadly enough to treat the cancer but deadly enough to kill the cancer patient. In another respect, however, the mind, friends, and brilliant medical practitioners have contributed to the miraculous and rare recovery of a percentage of women who live to tell about the scare. And that percentage, that number of survivors, grows every year. - 15438
About the Author:
Dane Masters is an accomplished niche website author. to learn more about skin cancer charts graphs, please visit Prevent Skin Cancer for current articles and discussions.
