Per WebMD Metastatic Cancer means your cancer has spread to other parts of your body. Although there is no cure, your doctor has ways to slow the disease's growth and help you keep a good quality of life. And thanks to better treatments, people are living longer than ever.
When you have early-stage cancer, your treatment focuses on a cure and preventing the cancer from coming back. (not what I have)
With stage IV breast cancer, (what I have) the goal of treatment is to slow the disease’s growth for as long as possible, with the least amount of side effects or pain.
As medical therapies improve, experts hope someday to treat this form of cancer like diabetes and other ongoing, "chronic" conditions, which doctors can manage for several years or even decades. (this and all of the above was WebMD)
There are a variety of treatments depending on what is determined to be needed. Tests such as PET scans are done periodically to check for changes. (this was me writing)
Per WebMD Sometimes cancer can no longer be seen on scans. Your doctor may say you have “no evidence of disease.” This is something to celebrate, but the cancer isn't gone. Cells are still circulating in your body, so you’ll continue treatment.
An illustration~Suppose you have a glass full of water and you drop a clod of dirt in it. You take the clod out but remnants of it remain. That is like this cancer. Always remnants unless there is a total and miraculous healing by God of the entire body.
No comments:
Post a Comment