1. < Cancer: Managing Symptoms

Metastatic cancer: Treat with chemo or manage symptoms?

Posted by louryne @louryne, Aug 25 6:56am

Hi, please excuse my ignorance about the subject. My Mom has been diagnosed with metastatic cancer which originated in her breast and now has basically spread through her whole body Stage 4. She is 73 years of age. Would you recommend chemo or just managing her condition with pain medication and other treatments.

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northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Aug 26 9:44am

It's worth noting that "curable" isn't an absolute: it's about balancing quantity and quality of years. If I were in my 70s and chemo had a good chance of slowing the cancer progression and giving me an extra 5–10 years, I'd get chemo, even though it wouldn't completely cure the cancer. But if I were already sick or weak and the extra years weren't certain, I might choose instead to avoid chemo and focus on improving my quality of life for the time I had left.

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relicmeister | @rselicmeister | Aug 26 5:32pm
In reply to @mir123 "Hi--I'm glad you found Mayo Connect. I hope you get some useful comments here. I'm just..." + (show)
@mir123

Hi--I'm glad you found Mayo Connect. I hope you get some useful comments here. I'm just a bit younger than your mom, with breast cancer that is predicted to spread. Can you talk to your mom about what she wants? The basic decision is hers--although I'm making all my decisions in conjunction with my daughter, husband, and best friend. Your mom is so lucky to have you! I think that you need to let her talk openly about her feelings and decision making process. What does her oncologist suggest? You have clearly noted the two main options. But she could consider chemo, and then eventually go on to just management. Is she generally healthy, or have other conditions? Anyway, ask her what she wants--and find out how much input she needs from you...I'm guessing she'd like your opinions too. Wishing you both peace and strength--and just saying again it is great how you care about your mom.

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My sister 70 has a recurrent cancer stemming from breast cancer that she survived from 20+ years ago. She has so many co- morbidities that her oncologist said hormonal treatment is her only real option. That’s one point I want to make. Second, there’s another mode to explore which is immunotherapy. Genetic testing will determine if her cancer has any of the mutations that make some kind of immunotherapy a possibility. They tend to come with a low rate of side effects but need close monitoring for rare effects.
Just another thing to consider. You’re getting a lot of good advice here. Good luck.

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