The following is a directly quoted email from a friend of my brother's. She is an excellent oncologist.
"I'm sorry to hear the bad news. the chemo works well, but prolongs life to about 9 months---range 6-18 months. Without treatment--6 weeks is the average. Small cell carcinoma is incurable 97% of the time. 86 years old-----hmmmm.....if he's a real healthy one--give it a shot with chemo. If it puts him in the bed most of 24 hours--probably too toxic for him....Quality of life is the issue--it may make him feel better for awhile---trust your judgement and his. I've never met an 86 year old that didn't know what he could handle; I've learned to trust THEIR judgement.Keep me posted. Side effects of chemo are much better prevented in this day and age, by the way."
4 years ago
