[Jean]

So at the end of the current day doctors are offering what they know in trials to be working or not working depending on the patient and their own personal
genetic response to treatment. While I believe all of us want a non toxic treatment that works and does the job
I can't help but consider this thought.

Years prior to the development of many of our current chemo drugs - when patients were dx. with the cancer it was a death sentence. Today we have patients surviving stage 4 cancer.

When it comes to options for cancer treatment, chemotherapy is often at the top of the list. Although the process is often life-saving, it does not come without its share of side effects. Many of the side effects of chemotherapy generally stop once treatment has completed; however, some side effects may take longer to heal, or may not heal at all. According to the National Cancer Institute, the severity of each side effect generally depends on what type of chemotherapy drugs are being used, and the schedule in which chemotherapy is administered.

Not all side effects of chemotherapy are temporary. For example, permanent heart damage can be done with the use of anthracycline drugs for chemotherapy. The chemo drug bleomycin can cause permanent damage to the lungs. Other chemotherapy drugs raise the risks of permanent damage to the reproductive organs. Not everyone will suffer permanent side effects, but it is important to discuss with your doctor the side effects of the particular chemotherapy drugs they choose to use for your treatment.

There is such a great amount of fear for the newly dx.
and at the very least it is important to understand while
we are aware of the down side of treatments there is also the opposite side...those that are NED due to our current treatments. Hopefully the near future will hold
better and less toxic treatments - It is such a complex
issue. Just consider how long it took Dr. Salmon to do the research with Herceptin and he almost lost the funding
for that research. It was only fast tracked after the evidence of the trial proved to be so outstanding.
Plus it still took years for herceptin to be approved for early stage patients.

I was discussing with my onc. recently the complex issues of our cells and the constant change that occurs
within our bodies each day which makes the cure for cancer such a challenge. The chemistry of our bodies continues to be a mystery.