He has an ulcer and is anemic. He was treated for blood loss, but his RBC and hemoglobin are low. He is not experiencing any pain and lives independently to date. The oncologist has eliminated surgery as an option due to his age and that it appears to have spread to other areas of the stomach and would not be curative. She is recommending chemo (FOLFOX) for 12 weeks and says he may be able to participate in an immunotherapy study. I want to help him make the right decision about treatment. Right now he is strong and managing extremely well on his own, with some help from his children. I worry that the treatment will take all of that away and the tradeoff will be he has more time but spends it all in hospitals and home fighting off side effects and infection. Any suggestions on questions I should ask or things to consider are appreciated. Feeling a bit lost right now. Thanks
If anyone has experience with alternative treatments or palliative care, I would be very open to hearing what that was like for you and what you know.
I'm afraid that I don't have much experience with the condition that he has nor treatments. I hope some here will be able to offer you some suggestions.
I suppose that I would have a frank discussion with the doctor about what the treatment would involve and how it would make his days uncomfortable AND how he could stop treatment, if it was intolerable.