Hi all, I’ve received a letter today confirming the telecon I had with the my registrar last week and the header is commenced palliative chemotherapy. Palliative has not been mentioned before, what does this mean please? Bit scared now. Thank you x
I think you better ask your consultant and get a direct answer as we can only advise on our own experiences and it would be confusing as we are not doctors
Hi Oakwood I just wanted to add that I can understand weekend walkers comments regarding your question and it’s quite frightening to have a doctor say something to you that you don’t understand. A doctor is best placed to explain your diagnosis and planned treatment and the reasons and there will be members on here who may have be told this very thing and might tell you why it was said to them as a sort of explanation. But ultimately it’s your medical team or you can even contact the helpline on MacMillan who can explain the definition of it
My heart goes out to you - it is so upsetting when the doctors follow up with the written word something that wasn't mentioned when you met, really bad practice and so alarming, I think.
When I had six months' chemo prior to chemo radiotherapy, I had to sign all these forms giving permission and these stated, if I remember rightly 'to prolong life'. And that is what palliative chemotherapy is. This treatment can go on indefinitely, bearing out what Nicola said in an earlier post about 'living with cancer'.
Of course that is my understanding as a lay person, but the one thing I have learned along the way is that no one (talking oncologists here), no matter what their pay grade, can predict how any given person will react to treatment. Some people (not all) have treatment and the results are so good that it opens avenues of treatment that weren't on the table before. You have had some good advice here already and the MacMillan helpline is there just for people like you (and me).
