It has been ingrained into our minds, that if you can catch cancer early, and treat immediately, you have a better chance of achieving a cure. That is truer than not in the case of hard tumor cancers, i.e. breast, colon, prostrate etc. but is not necessarily true in the case of blood or lymphatic cancers. And in many cases, it might not even be a good idea for any cancer.

What you don't hear talked about a lot is just how radical the prescribed treatment for cancer really is. The treatment is anything but benign. Nothing has ever been more appropriate, as it relates to the treatment of cancer, than the statement

"sometimes the cure can be worse than the disease."

There just have not been any major advances in the treatment of cancers in the past 20+ years. The standard treatment, as it was 20+ years ago, still consists of infusing deadly chemicals into the body, coupled many times with irradiation of the effected body part(s), in the hope it will destroy, or at the very least, stop the spread of the cancer. One major problem with this treatment is modern medicine is not very good at targeting just the cancer cells, and in the process, healthy cells are destroyed.

This results in numerous short term as well as long term side effects. Immediate effects include nausea, chills, fevers etc. which need to be treated with medications. Blood counts drop, compromising the immune system, which can lead to increased infections, some of which can even be deadly, and must be treated with more medications. Lasting effects include such things as damage to the heart, peripheral neuropathy, and other complications too numerous to mention, all of which can result in severe quality of life issues, even if a lasting remission can be achieved, and that isn't guaranteed. And there is also a greater likelihood of developing secondary cancers from these treatments.

Note: There have been some advances with the use of monoclonal antibodies (MAB) and stem cell transplantation (SCT), which have shown significant progress, but they are not without their complications also. In the case of SCT's, they carry a very high risk of complications, and I believe should only be a treatment choice of last resort.

What is often over looked, is not all cancers are created equal. They are not all aggressive. I have heard it said, that if we live long enough, we will all get some form of cancer. It has even been suggested that many people may be living with cancer right now, and not even know it. Some cancers are so slow to progress, treatment shouldn't be recommended.

My wife is in that position right now. She believes that hitting the myeloma quickly gives her the best chance of getting a remission, maybe even a cure. I'm not so sure that is the right decision, based on my own experiences.

Except for the pain in her back from a compression fracture, which led to the diagnosis of a plasmacytoma in the T2 vertebrae, and required 18 radiation treatments, she doesn't have any serious quality of life issues. So to risk any more severe treatment right now, seems ill advised to me. I didn't even like the idea of her having radiation, but I didn't see any alternative, and it really wasn't my decision.

We just don't know enough.  I have found that doctors in the US don't seem to be interested in determining how aggressive or indolent a cancer may be. Their first reaction (and our first reaction in many cases also) is to begin treatment right away. Unfortunately that is not always the best choice.

As patients, we have to be more aware of our disease, and be more pro-active with our doctors. We have to be certain we have all the necessary information to make informed decisions. Isn't that what the new "consumerism" in health care is all about?

I'll never forget one bit of information I gained at my first lymphoma conference in LA

nobody cares more about you than you do

So while I have my reservations, I do believe there is still time to do more research, and run additional tests, to determine if my wife's myeloma is aggressive or indolent. Only then, can she make an informed decision, as to the best course of action to pursue.

Dr Manu Kothari and Dr Lopa Mehta present a great case for proceeding with extreme caution before beginning treatment in Chapter 7 of their book The Other Face of Cancer at the Health Library Reading Room.

And in another report TARA PARKER-POPE Staff Reporter for The Wall Street Journal, touches on the idea that treating cancer as a chronic disease, may be a better idea than trying to cure it, in a report she did for the Wall Street Journal Reports on personal health in a post titled Why Curing Your Cancer May Not be the Best Idea

Both articles are well worth reading!