Question

[Cal-1991]

Hi all I wrote on here a couple of weeks ago about my mum … her cancer has come back primary oesophagus and secondary liver and breast.. the nurse seems to think she is not a candidate for immunotherapy.. but I been looking into it and it’s meant to be good for all cancers.. can anybody explain why she might not be. should I keep pushing for this ?? I just don’t want to give up .

[FKM100]

Hi Cal. I am so sorry that you and your mum are going through this. To be a candidate for immunotherapy, your mum's cancer needs to be the kind for which a particular immunotherapy has been discovered and developed. There isn't just one generic immunotherapy that will cure all cancers, and there is isn't a therapy for every kind of cancer (at least not yet).

Think of immunotherapy like an antibiotic. Some antibiotics will cure some infections, but there is no one antibiotic that will cure all infections and some infections cannot be cured with an antibiotic at all. Just so, there is no one immunotherapy that will cure all forms of cancer.

I would suggest that you speak to your mum's oncologist and not just a nurse, though. A doctor would be able to give you a better answer. I have the greatest respect for the great work that oncology nurses do, but in the end they are just nurses - not doctors.

[Cal-1991 in reply to FKM100]

Evening thank you for your reply … thank you I guess makes complete since what you have just said .. I just hate that this is out of our control I feel it’s one big nightmare and I just want to wake up from it.

[FKM100 in reply to Cal-1991]

Hi Cal. I totally understand your feeling of helplessness. It's so hard to bear the suffering of those we love. Wishing you strength and grace for the days ahead.

[Cal-1991 in reply to FKM100]

Thank you x