Is it normal to reject cancer treatment

Never had cancer, but wouldn't the treatment be better than having the cancer untreated? Isn't that the point?

Cancer just doesnt up and go away. So far the only way we can fight the fire is by removing it or fighting it with more fire.

Better to go down fighting.

In this cancer's case. Its impartivie to fight back otherwise the chances of living for another 5 years drastically decreases.

1) It is normal for people to deny cancer treatments for certain cancers. Either the cancer is very slow growing and likely will not actually cause a problem (prostate cancer in older men is like that - they will likely die of old age long before the cancer would kill them); or they feel that they have lived a good life and that there is no real reason to artificially extend it.

2) In other cases, its not.

I feel that unless you are in your 70's or later and in otherwise poor health... that Colon Cancer is one of those you do in fact treat unless you already are at the end of your life.

I've known 3 people who have died from colon cancer; one was a good friend and I attended his funeral. Colon Cancer is typically very painful and the deaths are typically ugly. You are only likely to live a few more years (and at least half of that in a nursing facility). It's not something where you are likely to go out peacefully with perhaps some painkillers, or quickly.

It's also very treatable. In a number of cases they do surgery and remove the section (and I personally know a lady who did that). You are back to a normal life in a few months and have no noticeable restrictions on the rest of your life.

I've not heard of issues with follow-up radiation treatment.

It is however, your choice.

I wish you the best with your looking at your future life and deciding what you would like it to be.

I stand by that I don't care if I die. Id rather live but ultimately don't care. If I get cancer I'll let it do its thing. No way in hell I'll go through chemo. I'll stop working ot though. Enjoy the final moments. People tell me tge cancer is gonna get quite painful. I remind them I own guns that can take out large animals im not overly concerned when im one bright flash of light away from a pain free existence.

It's obviously an awful choice to have to make, especially when you're as young as you are.

I strongly believe that we should all have the right to make our own decisions on such issues. Unfortunately, those who care about you may well feel differently to you. People who are terminally ill can find dealing with that almost as challenging as dealing with the illness itself and coming to terms with their imminent death.

My late wife died of a brain tumour in her early fifties. She dealt with the terminal phase with remarkable grace, and I've always strongly suspected that was because the tumour was a recurrence of one that we believed to have been successfully removed about a decade before. We were told then that there was a possibility of a recurrence, but after getting a clear MRI scan for two years running, she decided not to take up the option of further annual checks. We never talked about it and she certainly never gave any signs that she was resigned to an early death, but I strongly suspect that there were subconscious changes which allowed her to deal with the new diagnosis in a quite matter of fact way.

I wonder if something similar has been going on in your head?

In our culture, most people don't like to think about their mortality and they cling to the idea that if they religiously follow the right rules for living, they can somehow escape death - or at least put it off until they're 110 or something. You've had to confront your mortality, you're familiar with the reality of cancer treatment, and I imagine you came into contact with a lot of people who were terminally ill and going through some seriously nasty shit when you were ill before. So I'm not surprised that your attitude is basically, 'Fuck that!'

I think if I were in your position (and the odds are that I most likely will be someday), I would be doing some heavy research into treatment options and survival rates. Doctors are only human, and it's normal for them to have an 'I can fix this!' attitude when confronted with just about anything that's even marginally feasible, so I don't think you can entirely trust what a doctor talking to you face to face is saying. Another problem is that it's very easy to hear what we want to hear when we're talking to medical specialists and they're phrasing what they say very carefully.

Something else you might think about is pain management. In the UK, it's possible for doctors to prescribe anything up to heroin for serious pain relief in terminal cases, but the drug policies in other countries (including the USA) are so fucked up that this ultimate big gun of pain relief is illegal.

This one is tough. It’s really tough.
My full set answer is I think you should do the treatment. That being said, I understand if you don’t.

People get very very upset about the idea of there being a decision based around death, I’ve known a few close people who have had the ability to choose how they want to handle their life. My father had to make some decisions while he was passing from throat and stomach cancer

I can not in good conscience say I support the denial of treatment. I am pretty well versed in how to handle some aspects of this, but I won’t speak further unless you’d like to talk - I make for a decent therapy dog, the control is in your corner