question about chemo

[rasheed]

just a question in my mind about the chemo, i saw many cases about people being diagnosis with tc and had chemo like 3XBEP and etc.. chemo seems to kill the cancer cell. but few people out there had relapse with stage 3 or stage 2, after being treated with chemo before??

[Nut of Mordor]

just a question in my mind about the chemo, i saw many cases about people being diagnosis with tc and had chemo like 3XBEP and etc.. chemo seems to kill the cancer cell. but few people out there had relapse with stage 3 or stage 2, after being treated with chemo before??

Yes unfortunately, not many though (I think there's a 5% to relapse after BEP, but dont quote me on this), check the signatures and you'll find some of them.

[CancerSux]

chemo seems to kill the cancer cell. but few people out there had relapse with stage 3 or stage 2, after being treated with chemo before??

This is pure Darwinian evolution at its finest ... basically, the chemo is targeting any cell that grows quickly (read: high mitotic index), including the normal cells in your body like GI tract, hair, etc - which is why those systems are the most affected by chemo. So, the faster something grows, the more susceptible to chemo it should be.

However, cancer cells are not normal stable cells, meaning they are highly mutatable and there are essentially no checks and balances going on so cells just change their DNA/phenotype constantly. These changes are random, some have no consequences, some have no advantage in terms of survival of the cancer cells against chemo, but some will offer those cancer cells a way around the chemo - a way to survive. So as the chemo is killing off all of the cells that do NOT have these new abilities, the few cells that can survive are too few to notice by imaging or to give off sufficient markers to notice.

When the chemo is done and all 'other' cancer cells are dead, these few mutated mega-cancer cells have the party all to themselves - they get all of the space, the food, etc. So, they start to grow again, and it takes time before they show up again in the patient as a 'recurrence'.

This is something called 'Acquired resistance'. Not all cancer types, cancer cells, or patients will experience this. And the more cells there are at the start of treatment, the more likely it is for these changes to occur (simple #s, more cells to mutate randomly, more cells that might survive). But those cells that do survive have to be treated again with different chemo, because one must assume they are now resistant to the primary treatment.

Some cancers are inherently (called de novo) resistant to chemo from the get go, or at least have a large enough population of sub-cells that are resistant. In these patients (like my husband, see sig), you will see a lack of response at the end of chemo, or a rapid (like <4-6 weeks) 'recurrence'.

Does that make some sense? I tried to use as much non-science language as I could think of. As for #s, I am not sure about Nut's #s, but it would depend on stage, pathological typing, etc.

Tracy

[rasheed]

Dear, Nut and cancer sux (sorry dont know your names guyz)
i have seen an article in livestrong about donating blood can reduce cancer risk..
so as we had cancer before like take an example of my case last year i had cancer and now its almost a year gone.. is it safe for people like us to donate blood.. ???

[CancerSux]

Rasheed,

Donating blood to donate your cancer risk? Never heard of that - do you know where you saw that link?

For donating blood, see rules/guidelines here, click under 'Cancer' to see their rules. Basically, though, if you are 1 yr post-chemo/any treatment and no recurrences, then you can donate.

-Tracy (sorry forgot to sign before, my name is in my signature, but those disappear when you are replying)

[rasheed]

Rasheed,

Donating blood to donate your cancer risk? Never heard of that - do you know where you saw that link?

For donating blood, see rules/guidelines here, click under 'Cancer' to see their rules. Basically, though, if you are 1 yr post-chemo/any treatment and no recurrences, then you can donate.

-Tracy (sorry forgot to sign before, my name is in my signature, but those disappear when you are replying)

http://www.livestrong.com/article/96...onating-blood/ this is the link check it out buddy

[CancerSux]

Tracing it back, this is the study to which they are referring, from 100k+ patients in Sweden.

Overall, there is no difference in cancer rates, but there is a trend in decreased rates of cancers believed to be related to iron homeostasis. There is an apparent increase incidence of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. The benefit to yourself and others by donating blood, if you can, far outweighs the risks and is definitely worthwhile.

[Redlight]

Basically, though, if you are 1 yr post-chemo/any treatment and no recurrences, then you can donate.

I wish MD Anderson felt the same way. We have semi-annual blood drive's at my work and I am unable to donate any blood. Almost any type of cancer makes you ineligible to donate for life.