| 1. What does ‘Prognosis’ mean and how is it different from ‘Diagnosis’? |
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Prognosis is the outlook or predicted outcome of the disease. The outcome of a cancer depends on several factors: The type of cancer, the tumour size, the degree of local invasion, the amount of spread to other parts of the body, general condition before and during treatment, age, whether or not the person has had cancer before aw well as other underlying disease.
Diagnosis on the other hand is the identification or name given to the person’s cancer. Factors taken into account before a diagnosis is made include previous medical history, symptoms, findings from physical examination, blood tests, other laboratory tests, x-rays, scans and biopsies. |
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| 2. How would I know if I have a recurrence? |
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If you find an unusual lump or notice a new symptom, make an appointment to see your doctor. Usually you will still be on regular follow-up with your doctor. It is important that your doctor continues to support you but not every woman will need to be monitored closely. Your doctor will be the best person to tell you how often you need to be reviewed. |
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| 3. What is the difference between “Cure” and “Remission”? |
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A cure means that all evidence of cancer has been eliminated and there is no chance of the cancer coming back. In order to define what a cure is, you must know what the chances are that the cancer will return.
Remission means that the cancer has gotten smaller, all signs and symptoms of the disease have gone and the patient is in good health. For example, the treatment is so successful that there is no detectable evidence of cancer. We call that complete remission. However, a complete remission is not the same as cure, because there may be microscopic clumps of tumour cells that have survived the treatment (and may be resistant to it) that are too small to be detected. If the cancer shrinks to less than half its original size, it is called a partial remission. Some people who have a complete remission will not get a recurrence and once the relevant time has passed (depending on the type of cancer), they may well be considered cured. |
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| 4. Can I share meals and be in contact with friends and relatives during treatment? |
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Cancer is not contagious. You will not spread cancer to people you come in contact with. It is very safe for you to be with your family and friends and even with children. You do not need to live, sleep or eat separately from them |
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| 5. Why are lymph nodes removed even though my cancer hasn’t spread ? |
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Lymph nodes are removed because we’re looking for potential spread. The lymph nodes can be seen as sieves located along the lymphatic vessels (particularly at the neck, armpit and groin) filtering bacteria and foreign particles from the lymph fluid. If the results from tests on the lymph nodes are negative we can determine that cancer has not crossed to the lymph nodes. |
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| 6. Is more expensive chemotherapy necessarily better? |
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No, it’s more important to know what drugs work for you and what doesn’t and not the cost. The patient, family and oncologist must have an honest discussion about opinions. Cost is a big issue because some drugs are very expensive. Be sure to thoroughly discuss if a cheaper drug can work as well. |
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| 7. Will doing breathing exercises and meditation help cancer patients? |
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Breathing exercises is generally fine if it calms you down and is a form of exercise. Be careful with massage as the masseuse may not know where the tumours are and may cause unnecessary pain. |
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| 8. My sister has just been diagnosed with breast cancer but she’s in denial. She has refused treatment. What can I do? |
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First, understand why the patient is in denial. It’s normal for everyone to go through denial at some point of his or her life. Then find out what can be and should be done . If detected early, breast cancer is curable. Even at its most advanced stage, it is still treatable and you can relieve the patient of symptoms. Even for side effects (e.g. hair loss) , explain that there’re many treatments options with minimal side effects. |
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| 9. My doctor told me that I need rehabilitation after my treatment for cancer. What does that mean? |
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Rehabilitation simply means that you may need to participate in a program or programs to help you restore self-dependence and a full productive life after cancer. Some of these programs may involve the use of prostheses, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, counseling and emotional support and employment retraining. Your doctor will refer you to the appropriate specialists depending on your needs. |
