The goal of cancer research thirty years ago used to accomplish more, not less. One grim example is bone marrow transplants and high dosages of chemotherapy that drove people with advanced breast cancer to the verge of death. Patients experienced harm and the method proved to be no more effective than chemotherapy.
Doctors stated at the largest cancer conference in the world that patients’ lives can be improved without compromising outcomes when therapy for three types of cancer is reduced.
It’s a part of a long-term trend investigating if cutting back on radiation, chemotherapy, or surgery can improve patient outcomes and lengthen survival. The most recent research included Hodgkin lymphoma, ovarian, and esophageal cancer.
Dr. Tatjana Kolevska, medical director of the Kaiser Permanente National Cancer Excellence Program, who was not involved in the current research, stated that this is a subject “that should be asked over and over again.”
Doing less is frequently possible due to better medications.
Not involved in the current research, Dr. William G. Nelson of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine said, “The good news is that cancer treatment is not only becoming more effective, but also easier to tolerate and associated with less short-term and long-term complications.”