Cancer Discussions, Cancer Treatment Options Forum - March 1st, 2010 - 8 Comments
Whats the average amount of time it takes to start chemo after a cancer diagnosis?
I know it varies but does anyone have an idea?
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If your diagnosed with cancer without surgery to remove the tumor, the chemotherapy usually starts within a day or 2 of the confirmed diagnosis unless you want a second opinion, then you wait on the 2nd opinion to start.
If you have a tumor removed from somewhere in your body, you have to wait for 6 weeks for the surgical area to heal.
its usually three to six weeks after wards,they might feel theres a chance of beating it.if its metastasized,then all they are trying to do is give you a few more weeks or years than possible.some cancers die from the chemo, some dont.sorry to hear the news,hope you can beat it
I had stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. during the biopsy they removed 2 lymph nodes and I started chemo 2 weeks later
In my case I was diagnosed with breast cancer Sept 5th of last year. I started chemo about a month later because they wanted to shrink the tumor first. I spent four months doing chemo and am going in for a lumpectomy next week.
The answer is that it depends. Do you need surgery right away to debulk the tumor? Do you get chemo prior to surgery to shrink the tumor? Do you need genotyping of the tumor to assist in determining what kind of chemotherapy to use? Do you need further imaging studies to determine if the cancer has metastasized? Usually chemo is started within a few weeks of diagnosis, and in most cases it’s less than 4 weeks, even with surgery.
That decision is the cancer doctor’s decision. Don’t panic he knows what to do and when. Calm down — hostile actions on your part or anyone else and you will be looking for another doctor. Violence does not cure cancer. Nor does beer vodka — Jim Beam — this type of drinking is not allowed in a chemo program. Just don’t do it…
Here in Canada the wait can be long. It was very frightening as they only gave me 2-4 months to live without treatment.. I didn’t start chemo til the 3rd month. I have heard in The States tho that chemo starts almost immediately upon diagnosis.
Soooo much variance based on patients wishes, type, severity, protocol and payment methods.
For example, when I was first diagnosed, my treatment was started 3 days later and on my relapse 2 weeks later ama. They wanted to start the next day on my relapse. But my cancer is an acute leukemia, it is very aggressive. This type of cancer kills within weeks of diagnosis.
My aunt started treatment 2 weeks after diagnosis based on deciding the treatment protocol. My uncle started a month after diagnosis based on personal decision to wait ama. My great aunt started 3 months after diagnosis because she has a very slow non aggressive type. My cousin started immediatly by choice.