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Stopping Chemoimmunotherapy Treatments

Posted by denise96 @denise96, Jan 8, 2025

My husband and I had a serious talk this morning. He has decided to stop his chemo treatments. He has had two and was due for his third on January 23. He said,"I just can't do this anymore." He broke down and cried. He is a very tough person and lived a tough life. And ever since starting these treatments, he has been miserable. He can't eat because he throws it all up. He is on 2 different nausea pills and they don't seem to be helping. He weighed 94 pounds at his last chemo treatment and that was on January 2. I know he has lost more because he has hardly eaten anything since then. I don't blame him for his decision. He is suffering and I feel useless as I can't do anything to help. I do pray a lot for him. Maybe I did not pray enough. We are hoping there are other options, but I dont know. Am waiting for a call back from the oncology nurse. Has anyone on here stopped treatment or had a loved one stop treatment? Just wondering what happens then. Thank you.

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mamajite | @mamajite | 6 days ago
In reply to @dunsmorej54 "@frandy my bf has stage 4 lung cancer he is 51. He did 6 rounds of..." + (show)
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@frandy my bf has stage 4 lung cancer he is 51. He did 6 rounds of chemo and it was keeping the cancer from spreading but he has one kidney and it was attacking his kidney. He was also doing immunotherapy with the chemo. Now he has just been doing immunotherapy but since the chemo has stopped he's been much sicker now and it seems like it's making it worse he doesn't want to do it any more and his cancer Dr is rude to us about it so we are get ready to talk to the lung Dr and palliative care to see what they can do just to help from here on out. I was surprised by the Drs attitude towards us about his treatment this is a personal issue and it's extremely difficult to go through this I was t expecting that from her.

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@dunsmorej54 I'm sorry that your bf's oncologist has been rude. Some doctors aren't good communicators and some don't like to be challenged. Is talking to a different oncologist an option for you? If you like his pulmonologist and palliative care doctors, maybe they could recommend someone with a better bedside manner. You both deserve to be treated with respect. And your bf's valid concern about his diminished quality of life should be understood by his care team and addressed in his treatment plan.

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alanbeavfan | @alanbeavfan | 6 days ago
In reply to @dunsmorej54 "@frandy my bf has stage 4 lung cancer he is 51. He did 6 rounds of..." + (show)
Profile picture for dunsmorej54 @dunsmorej54

@frandy my bf has stage 4 lung cancer he is 51. He did 6 rounds of chemo and it was keeping the cancer from spreading but he has one kidney and it was attacking his kidney. He was also doing immunotherapy with the chemo. Now he has just been doing immunotherapy but since the chemo has stopped he's been much sicker now and it seems like it's making it worse he doesn't want to do it any more and his cancer Dr is rude to us about it so we are get ready to talk to the lung Dr and palliative care to see what they can do just to help from here on out. I was surprised by the Drs attitude towards us about his treatment this is a personal issue and it's extremely difficult to go through this I was t expecting that from her.

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@dunsmorej54 A kind and collaborative doctor makes all the difference.

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artistrose | @artistrose | 4 days ago
In reply to @frandy "Thank you so much for your post. I’m truly sorry for what your husband and you..." + (show)
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Thank you so much for your post. I’m truly sorry for what your husband and you are going through. My prayers are for your family. I can understand why he stopped. I don’t know what your state laws are or what your beliefs are, but, the only thing that has helped me with nausea and lack of interest in food and drink is medical cannabis in the form of gummies or drops. I can’t smoke pot because it makes me cough so bad. I haven’t been a person to use cannabis but the cancer center I went to plus other people suggested it. I don’t believe I would be alive today without it.
The medicine in the immunotherapy is a combination of the “medicine” they tell you about plus one of three others. Both are “chemo”. I know Hollis Cancer center in Lakeland,FL, don’t tell you this. The main medicine of immunotherapy is also chemo which they never told me. You can find this info by researching on this site.
I had 12 chemo treatments and 30-33 radiation treatments and if I knew then what I know now (which I asked over and over), I wouldn’t go through any treatment.
I hope you check out or even research on the cannabis; THC 10 mg is what helps me with the nausea and not able to eat. The CBD helps with pain. It will depend on your husband on the amount he would need and how often.
Hospice wouldn’t help me because I didn’t have a DNR.
God bless, Frandy
PS…
Please try him on the THC smoke, gummies or drops; you have nothing to lose. I was on 3 different anti-nausea meds that didn’t help. Shouldn’t Hospice be giving him anti-nausea medication through an IV or will they do that?

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@frandy “I had 12 chemo treatments and 30-33 radiation treatments and if I knew then what I know now (which I asked over and over), I wouldn’t go through any treatment.”
—I’m wondering if you could share what it is you learned after all those treatments that makes you wish you hadn’t done them? I’m trying to decide if I even want to start treatments. Thank you.

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medtech4 | @medtech4 | 3 days ago
In reply to @artistrose "@frandy “I had 12 chemo treatments and 30-33 radiation treatments and if I knew then what..." + (show)
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@frandy “I had 12 chemo treatments and 30-33 radiation treatments and if I knew then what I know now (which I asked over and over), I wouldn’t go through any treatment.”
—I’m wondering if you could share what it is you learned after all those treatments that makes you wish you hadn’t done them? I’m trying to decide if I even want to start treatments. Thank you.

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@artistrose One of the first things I asked my oncologist was about stopping treatment. I was thinking if it wasn't helping or I was getting too many side effects, I'd stop. He said, "If you want to stop, we'll stop". It's still YOUR decision. I have my 3rd chemo tomorrow and had one radiation treatment for a bone met on my skull. It went down 90% and pain is gone after 7-10 days. (he said it normally takes 3-4 months!)

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artistrose | @artistrose | 3 days ago
In reply to @medtech4 "@artistrose One of the first things I asked my oncologist was about stopping treatment. I was..." + (show)
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@artistrose One of the first things I asked my oncologist was about stopping treatment. I was thinking if it wasn't helping or I was getting too many side effects, I'd stop. He said, "If you want to stop, we'll stop". It's still YOUR decision. I have my 3rd chemo tomorrow and had one radiation treatment for a bone met on my skull. It went down 90% and pain is gone after 7-10 days. (he said it normally takes 3-4 months!)

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@medtech4 Thanks for the input. I’m definitely going to ask that question. Sounds like your treatment is working for you. I have lung cancer with mets to liver and pancreas. I’m already guessing, based on that, they’ll want to do chemo. I’m concerned about side effects and quality of life. Also, I don’t want to get attitude from the oncologist if I want to stop. I see the oncologist for 1st time next week. Trying to arm myself with knowledge ahead of time.

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