Cancer operations?

Question:

My boyfriends dad got throat cancer but went into remission with it. Now he has a tumor near his spine that is pressing on his nerves. They have givin radiation and 2 lots of chemo but it has still got bigger now there thinking of an operation but we just dont know if he will be strong enought. Was just wondering if anybody knows of a familiar situation just so we can work out what to do or what to expect just dont know where to turn!

Sarah

Answers:
Metastatic cancer, cancer that has spread from one site to another, is not a good sign. If the cancer involves the bone it is often very painful and requires good medical care to control the pain. IF this is the situation with your boyfriends father, this is definitely something to keep in mind.

Something else to consider, if his father is still mentally capable of making his own decisions, he does have the right to accept or refuse treatment. As much as we love our family, we should honor their wishes even when we do not agree with them some times. There may also be some hard decisions ahead for your boyfriend and any other family members if these decisions haven't already been made in advance by his father.

My heart goes out to your boyfriend and his family. He will really need your support thru all this.

See the following sites for info that may be of help.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index...
http://www.cancer.gov/
http://www.cancercare.org/

Additional -
Your boyfriends anger is normal and understandable. It's hard to deal with seeing these type things happen to people you love so much and you feel so helpless when there is nothing you can do to make it better. It's also very normal to question all aspects of the disease process and the 'whys' related to your boyfriends father, but that is not the important thing right now.

Your boyfriends family needs to speak frankly with the doctors caring for his father so that they clearly understand the entire scope of the situation. It may not be what they want to hear, but you can't make decisions if you don't know what you are really dealing with. His father also needs to understand these things. Some times there is this discussion with the patient, who makes the decisions and ask that children not be informed. There also are times when family members are just in denial of the inevitable. Without knowing exactly the situation your boyfriends father faces, of course I can't say this is the case here, but it is some of the many possibilities. Regardless, it is a terrible thing to have to deal with, and the most important thing, is what is BEST for his father right now. Keeping him comfortable is #1 priority, and then allowing his father to make the choices is important.

Well i dont think your boyfriends dad has a choice. If nothing else is working then that may be the last option and the best option, although it is dangerous. I dont know anyone who has Cancer but i know what it does and i know if it was someone in my family i would make sure they had an operation, if thats the last option then he has to go with it anyway. All the money tey put into curing Cancer, they still dont have one it pis*es me off, i hope it goes well for him and you shouldnt worry, that will only make you feel ill. I hope it goes well for him.

You need a second opinion. Hopefully your boyfriends father is being seen at a comprehensive cancer center? These are research and cancer facilities located around the country that treat a high rate of cancer patients and network their treatments and information about the disease.

National Cancer Institute: Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers by state
http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_c...

All these places can offer you a second or third opinion. What you need to do is have all his medical records, CT, PET scans placed on a CD. You can ask for this to be done either through the hospital or through the doctors office. You than call the places looking for a second opinion and send the CD to the oncologist who will review the disk.

Good luck.

if his immume system is low thats not good they have to wait till all of the chemo is out of his system before they do surgery mu mom had to wait 3 month to have her breast took off they said she would not heal if they did it now my uncle had a tumor on his spine but it was wrapped around his spine and they said there was nothing they could do i wish you all the best but they need to wait as long as they can and try to get his immune system built back up my husband has mouth cancer

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