Again, it's important to trust your cancer care team and discuss all options with your loved ones during this difficult time as you decide whether to continue treatment. Treatment in this situation is sometimes referred to as futile care. At some point you may need to consider that further treatment is not likely to improve your health or change your outcome or survival. This is likely to be the hardest part of your cancer experience – if you have been through many treatments and nothing’s working anymore. When a person has tried many different treatments and the cancer is still growing, even newer treatments might no longer be helpful. The possible benefits, risks, side effects, costs, schedule of treatments and visits, and effect on quality of life should always be considered and discussed.
It’s important to have realistic expectations if you do choose this plan. For instance, the doctor might say that more treatment might have about a 1 in 100 chance of working. Your doctor can help estimate how likely it is the cancer will respond to treatment you might be considering. If you want to continue to get treatment for as long as you can, it’s important to think about the odds of further treatment having some benefit (and what this benefit might be), compared to the possible risks and side effects. Clinical trials also might offer chances to try newer treatments that could be helpful. If you have cancer that keeps growing or comes back after one kind of treatment, it’s possible that another treatment might still help shrink the cancer, or at least keep it in check enough to help you live longer and feel better. You can read more in Seeking a Second Opinion. Remember that your cancer care team wants you to be sure about the decisions you make. It's normal to think about talking to someone else, and your doctor should support you if you decide to get another opinion.
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Even when you place full trust in your doctor and cancer care team, you might wonder if another doctor could offer something else or more information. When faced with deciding whether to continue cancer treatment, some patients or their loved ones may want to get a second opinion. You can read more about the importance of communication in Nearing the End of Life. If not, be firm that you would like to make your own decision. Talk to them about the options you have been given, along with the decisions you have made or are thinking of making. Explore their thoughts, feelings, and suggestions. Try to avoid asking your doctor and cancer care team questions like, "What would you do?" or "If you were in my place, would you try another treatment?" Instead, try asking questions like, "Can you tell me all of my options, please?" and "What do you recommend based on your experience treating my type of cancer?" Talking with your loved onesīe open with your loved ones about your cancer and the news you've been given. This means communication is a key part of your care, from diagnosis throughout treatment and beyond. You will have more confidence in treatment decisions if you trust the doctors making recommendations.
Talking with your doctor and cancer care team, and trusting them to be honest, open, and supportive, is very important. Here are some points to consider when deciding whether to continue cancer treatment. But when many different treatments have been tried and are no longer controlling the cancer, it could be time to weigh the benefits and risks of continuing to try new treatments.ĭeciding whether to continue cancer treatment There may or may not be other treatment options. If this happens, your doctor might say your cancer has advanced or progressed. Or maybe one type of cancer treatment has stopped working and the cancer has kept growing. Maybe treatment ended a while ago and was successful at first, but cancer has come back. But sometimes treatment does not work well or stops working. Cancer treatments can help stop cancer from growing or spreading.