Define palliative chemo

[Chap-man]

Can anyone please explain what it means or what happens with palliative chemo when it's been offered ?

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi Chap-man

Palliative chemotherapy is given to reduce symptoms ,such as breathlessness.Attached is a link to the RoyCastle Website which gives an online version of the booklet "Chemotherapy for lung cancer"It is a very comprehensive booklet detailing information about Chemotherapy,what it does,how to prepare for it,which tests your mum will have beforehand and what actually happens when she gets her chemotherapy. If you would like a hard copy you can order one from [e-mail]

documents.roycastle.org/AYQ...

Please do't hesitate to contact the Nurse led Helpline if we can be of any assistance.

Kind regards,

All the team at Roy Castle Helpline

[Ghost-by-the-coast]

As I understand it there is a subtle double meaning to the word palliate. Obviously there's the mitigation of suffering but there's also the prolongation of life. Sadly there's no ready reckoner to tell you how your quality of life might be affected. Plus there's the possibility that that you may show a mutation amenable to modern precision medicines. It's a difficult decision which I have ambivalent feelings about myself. Since my lung was tested on Thursday I shall have to throw the dice soon.

I hope you're mind is made up when you make up your mind if you get my meaning. Good luck.

[BexAT]

My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 NSCLC which had spread to the pleura and the lymph nodes in his chest in August last year. For us, palliative chemo gave him a 25% reduction in tumour size and he is now on a different chemo trial (which we will find out results on whether it's working in 4 weeks). He is 57 and has asthma but he is no worse off health wise and other than the first lot of Chemo making him tired and nauseous he fared really well. I know everyone responds differently but for us we are now a year in and he feels no worse than he did this time last year so it was definitely worth it (especially for the 25% reduction) ... it is a hard decision though as you won't know how it will make you feel but if we were given the choice again we'd do it

[Chap-man]

Thank you x It's mom who is having the treatment but all of this positively is a wonderful thing x

[JanetteR57]

In some areas palliative care is now called 'supportive care' and as some cancers are at a stage where the treatment offered cannot be termed 'curative intent', this can warrant supportive care from a variety of sources. This does not mean there is 'nothing can be done' which is how many consider this but sometimes just the opposite. There are many treatments for lung cancer that are designed to hold it from spreading and help the patient manage some of the symptoms such as pain/breathlessness. Some patients are showing good responses to these that target the immune system… others have particular markers or mutations within their tumours that respond to certain treatments whether taken intravenously or orally. I have met patients still on 'palliative care' many years later with the condition being held almost like a chronic disease. If the tumour flares up again or in another place, they are then tested again as different treatments can affect the cancer meaning another /different type of treatment may be more effective. Also some treatments are only available in certain settings (called 1st line,2nd line, 3rd line, 4th line setting etc) denoting whether this is the patient's first treatment type. What it should mean is access to sources of help for the patient, their carer and family so worth discussing with their lung nurse, clinician and GP. In recent years, many new treatments, targeted agents and trials have come on stream so experiences differ dependent on the specific tumour type, health of the patient and other factors which is why it's so important to discuss the specific case with your clinicians. Don't give up even if this phrase is used - I've just returned from a European cancer conference where more results of trials were released and there are so many new discoveries being made all the time for lung cancer. hope the site helps - so you and others can recognise that those who've been on the journey and/or out the other side for some years are testament to breakthroughs and developments that generally haven't yet reached the public's awareness .

[Chap-man]

Thanks JanetteR57 x