Cancer is a dreadful disease. Advanced cancers are often incurable, even though lot of cancer patients do survive for years with treatment.

With the benefit of hind sight, it is obvious that in some patients, treatment has been futile and toxic chemo treatment could have been stopped early .

It is very difficult to predict who will respond to a particular treatment and who will be harmed by futile chemotherapy , even when someone is very fit.

There is a criticism from some people in medical profession that there is too much futile care towards the end of life in cancer patients.

But cancer patients do often want to fight the cancer and not give up. It is a delicate balance. Read the BMJ piece and contribute your views via rapid response.

References

BMJ: Is there too much care in advanced cancer? BMJ 2024; 385 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q784 (Published 05 April 2024)

BMJ : Illness trajectories of incurable solid cancers. BMJ 2024; 384 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-076625 (Published 01 March 2024)