How is cancer so deadly but a person feels fine one day then the next they are told they have 4 months to live?
In: Biology
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Why does Cancer come back after a successful treatment?
Apart from, exponential growth due to their nature, cancer cells move to different parts of the body and since they don’t behave like host organ cells, their rapid growth depletes the nutrients and perturbs the function of organs, and eventually leading to shutdown of organs.
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The estimate for how much time a person has is a big guess, and there are many variables that can change this prediction.
Surgery is the most effective way to remove a large tumor. Chemo/radiation are methods that help achieve the last 5-20%.
Consider is how sedate the individual is/is tolerable of. There is a fine balance between deciding how much continuous pain medication to administer and how much they receive for immediate relief. (This is a moving target)
There are stages to a person’s health, and towards the beginning, it appears they improve (this is typically when medication/nutrition is dialed down). Be aware: that a sick person’s health is only going to deteriorate. Enjoy what activities they can do, plan activities, but be ready to take breaks/lower the level of activity.
It’s common to have rapid health degeneration and becomes very noticable, so be prepared, and get comfortable with enjoying the time with them in phases, as it’s only moving in one direction.
Whoever is reading this, good luck to you.
Exponential growth. I always refer to the lilly pad on the lake problem.
The covid 19 outbreak is dangerous for the same reason cancer is. Its growth is exponential.
Day 1 there is 1 lilly pad in the pond. The number of lilly pads double each day. The pond will be full of lilly pads in 14 days. On what day is the pond half full of lilly pads? Answer: Day 13
Day 1 1pad
Day 2 2pads
Day 3 4pads
Day 4 8pads
Day 5 16pads
Day 6 32pads
Day 7 64 pads
Day 8 128 pads
Day 9 256 pads
Day 10 512 pads
Day 11 1,024 pads
Day 12 2,048 pads
Day 13 4,096 pads
Day 14 8,192 pads
Just a reminder: top-level comments (direct replies to OP) are reserved for explanations. Anecdotes are allowed as responses to explanations, but they are not allowed as top-level comments and will be removed.
My heart goes out to everyone dealing with cancer in themselves or a loved one. If you need support, please visit subreddits like /r/cancer, /r/ISurvivedCancer, /r/depression, and other similar subs dedicated to help and support.
Most cancers are not able to be detected until they are at the late stages. They grow quietly until they are negatively affecting how your body is functioning. That’s why it is so important to go to your doctor yearly and do the recommended screenings. We are able to catch some cancers in the early stages if you get screened. Yay for preventative health care!
Side note, as some have already mentioned, it is often the treatment that kills people quickly. As an oncology nurse, more people need to realize that ‘doing everything possible to fight cancer’ is not always the best move. I’ve seen too many ppl die SOONER from not being willing to ‘give up’ on the treatment. They often die in horrible pain and in the hospital away from loved ones. Choosing quality over quantity is a beautiful thing and something we need to get better about respecting and encouraging. Please don’t tell you friends with cancer to ‘not give up’.
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