First Aid For Liver Cancer

A relative of mine is suffering from cancer. What are the best hospitals for treating cancer in India?

Hey there,I don't know about the best hospitals but I can give you an advice. Please don't go to Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. I know many consider Tata Memorial as the best hospital for cancer treatment but its quality has degraded through the years. It was considered the best when it was under Tata Trust. But as the years passed by, it has become more of a money minting company. They don't value the life of their patients. Many of the doctors ( or nurses maybe, don't know whom to blame) don't understand the emergency of the situations. They don't take action unless and until the symptoms are very severe or they feel the patient is in extreme pain. Till that time the damage might have been done and may be irreversible. The conditions there are not good and there is a lot of chance of infection, even in the ICU. Please don't go for any kind of operations in this hospital. It is ok till blood tests, x- rays and scans. But not any operations and surely not for any kind of tube or stent insertions. They are very risky and done very clumsily in this hospital. There is a big chance of infection. You may say that there is a chance of infection in every other hospital. But here they insert the tube or stent through a device which is inserted through your mouth and placement of the tube may not be so precise. Due to this they may repeat the procedure which can cause infections. In other hospitals (Eg. Lilavati, cuz I know the procedure of this hospital only) they cut open your skin and place the stent which is a more precise procedure and has a very less chance of infection. Even if you read reviews about this hospital, there will be reviews about how the hospital management is not good and how patients are not treated properly. There are many cases where the patient becomes critical just due to medical negligence.Other hospitals for cancer treatment in Mumbai include:• Kokilaben Hospital• Wadia Hospital• Jaslok Hospital• Lilavati Hospital• Wockhardt HospitalP.S. This is just MY experience and I have no grudges against the hospital or any of its staff. Neither is this post sponsored. Just thought of sharing my experience of what I have gone through.

How long can someone live with cancer and without receiving any treatment?

It depends on a variety of factors, including:one’s age and the other diseases one has apart from cancer.the type of cancer one has been diagnosed with. Not all tumours behave in the same way: there are some which are relatively indolent and grow quite slowly (e.g. some neuroendocrine tumours or some prostate cancers), which may let you live for some years without any actual treatment, while others rapidly lead to death (e.g. pancreatic cancer and many types of lung cancer).the stage of the disease: having a 2 cm primary tumour only or widespread metastases will usually give you a quite different prognosis. The average survival of a patient diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer, for example, is around 3 months with no treatment, as opposed to 6–12 months with treatment. I appreciate this is still far from satisfactory, but treatment extends survival significantly (pancreatic cancer is unfortunately one of the most deadly cancers; for most of other cancers survivals are usually longer).Statistics, unfortunately, are not particularly useful when it comes to single patients. One should always bear in mind that, for example, if a tumour has an average survival of 2 years from diagnosis, for each unfortunate patient who passes away after only 1 year, there is 1 who can still enjoy 3 years of life.As a final point, I want to make clear that starting or not cancer-directed therapy is the patient’s decision. However, there is one point that must be considered: there have been dramatic advances in Oncology over the past few years, and for many diseases new, less invasive treatments, with less sever side effects, are available. Please consider carefully your doctors’ advice and do not refuse cancer-directed medical or surgical treatment straight away as a consequence of past experiences of family members or friends, because the circumstances may have changed considerably.

My dog has cancer. What should I expect when he starts dying?

I’m sorry that this is happening to you and your dog. I assume that treatment is not a viable option?Here is my experience. Your dog will begin to lose weight, even if he is eating well. It’s not your fault—cancer is a nutrient thief. I’ve had two dogs with cancer. One of them had mobility issues and edema in the back legs. The other was mobile until the day he died. Toward the end, both refused food.Other than that, I can’t generalize. I think it depends on the type of cancer your dog has. In the first instance, my dog Cody had a hemangiosarcoma on a large blood vessel. Chemotherapy extended his life by a few months. I was told that his particular cancer was not painful. It was discovered during an unrelated surgery. His crisis was signaled by bloody discharge instead of poop (kind of like meat juice). Unfortunately, I did not take him straight to the vet to have him put down. I should have. His cancer ruptured that night. I wish I had spared him the pain and fear.Spike had bone cancer, common in older Dobermans. The bone cancer arrested but moved to his liver. He was prescribed pain medication and pills to aid digestion. He lost a lot of weight. He stopped eating a few days before his death, which was quick. We had been for a walk, and he collapsed on the kitchen floor in his favorite spot, had a seizure, and passed.My recommendation would be to talk with your vet about what to expect. You should discuss pain management, nutrition, and when to make the decision to euthanize. Ask if home euthanasia is an option. Give as much pain medication as necessary to keep him comfortable. Long-term side effects are no longer a consideration. I also recommend that you spoil him rotten. If he is not going to survive long term, then you might as well give him goodies that would not be recommended for a healthy dog. Mine got roast chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef with every meal. Consider planning a special day for your dog while he is healthy enough to enjoy it. Take him to his favorite places, ride around in the car if he likes rides, maybe get him a doggie massage (great for pain and stress relief), buy him a steak dinner, etc.When the time comes, help him over “the bridge.” My experience is that waiting too long is worse than euthanizing earlier than absolutely necessary.