“I used to choose the treatment plan for others, but now it’s my father’s turn to decide the treatment plan.”

Zhejiang University Affiliated No. 1 Chen Zuobing, the chief physician and MD of a hospital, has treated countless patients and has been a doctor for more than 20 years, but he has never been so helpless.

His 78-year-old father, diagnosed with cancer, is in advanced stage, Whole body metastases, inoperable. Faced with his bad condition, he finally decided to tell his father the truth.

“How much time can be extended after chemotherapy and radiotherapy?” Father Chen asked.

“Not necessarily, the effect may be good for a few months.” Chen Zuobing replied helplessly.

“How much is it, and what’s bad for the human body?”

“All public expenses, side effects include hair loss, weakness, Poor appetite and so on”

……

After understanding his condition, Father Chen thought for a night, and finally he Decided to give up radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the hospital and return to his hometown. Chen Zuobing and his father reached an agreement. Chen Zuobing couldn’t be more clear about the pain of terminally ill patients.

Some patients, even with the latest anti-cancer drugs, can only prolong their lives by one to two months, and end up in the intensive care unit of the hospital, with their lives lost. Slowly exhausted, even after brain death, the family desperately asked the doctor to rescue…

< span>When sending his father back to his hometown, he specially instructed his mother, If the father really reaches the final stage and is in a coma or has stopped breathing, then give up the active rescue measures and achieve sedation Hypnosis, let my father pass away peacefully and painlessly.

Finally, Father Chen passed away without regret after living peacefully in his hometown for a period of time. Chen Zuobing also posted a story on the Internet that he had done the least treatment for his cancer-stricken father, causing an uproar. Who does not have the elderly, who can guarantee that the elderly will not get sick? Some people feel that it is unfilial to give up the treatment of elderly people with cancer, and some people think that letting go properly is the greatest respect for life.

First, when people are old, they are sick, and cancer is most likely to find the elderly

February 27th, The Journal of the National Cancer Center presents the latest national cancer incidence and mortality rates. Statistics show that in 2016, there were about 4.064 million new cases of cancer in my country and 2.4135 million deaths due to cancer. The incidence and mortality of cancer both increase with age, with the incidence peaking between the ages of 80 and 84 and the mortality rate above the age of 85.

Among them, 60~64 years old and 50~54 years old had the most malignant tumor cases, 60~64 years old and 75~ The 79-year-old had the highest death toll from malignant tumors.

Why are older people more prone to cancer? Mainly related to three reasons.

1. Immune function is getting worse

With age The body’s immunity will become worse and worse, and the ability to monitor some diseased cells will also decline. After the immune function declines, it is conducive to the development of tumors.

2. More and more exposure to carcinogenic factors

The older you are, the more cancer-causing factors you are exposed to, and the greater the impact these substances have on your body. For example, people who smoke for a long time, the longer they smoke, the greater the risk of disease.

3. Cancer incubation period is getting shorter and shorter

Cancer often needs a A very long “latency period”, after exposure to carcinogens, it takes 15~20 years in the body, or even a longer incubation period. will get sick. Carcinogens exposed to people in their 20s and 30s are likely to develop symptoms in their 40s and 50s.

In life, many families will face difficult choices like Dr. Chen Zuobing. The elderly suffer from cancer—to cure or not to cure? Follow Xiao Ai to learn more about this issue.

Second, is it necessary to treat the elderly with cancer?

Deng Yanhong, Director of the Department of Medical Oncology, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University said that age should not be used as the basis for whether the elderly should receive treatment after cancer. standard. Instead, it is necessary to make specific analysis and countermeasures according to the specific situation of the elderly.

1. Early and mid-term disease, with hope for long-term survival

Some elderly people are still in the early and middle stages of disease at the time of diagnosis, and they are expected to have a longer expected survival time after active treatment.In early stage I cancer, the five-year survival rate is more than 80% , This situation has the meaning of active treatment.

2. Treatment is sometimes to improve the quality of life

For medium For advanced cancer patients, to give up treatment completely is actually to let go of the pain of the elderly. For example, elderly patients with bowel cancer, treatment can alleviate the symptoms of the elderly due to illness The purpose of treatment at this time is to improve the quality of life of the elderly and relieve pain, not to cure cancer.

Whether treatment is necessary , it should be analyzed according to the specific situation. Blind abandonment of treatment or blind treatment is not recommended. Any decision must be carefully considered and weighed. Just like Dr. Chen Zuobing, he neither gave up treatment completely, nor did he If there is a chance of survival, go for it. If the hope is too small, choosing to let go and die well is also a fulfillment for the elderly.

Three, a hospitable death is also a kind of right and fulfillment

In layman’s terms, over-medical treatment is the treatment of cancer patients that is unnecessary and unhelpful. According to State Council Information Office‘s website< /span>China.compublished data showing that over-medication caused at least 15% of patients to have an accelerated death.< /span>How to make cancer patients die well at the last stage of life and avoid too many ineffective and painful treatments requires the efforts of doctors, hospitals, family members, and society.< /p>

1. Popularize death education

In the traditional education of our country, death is a very taboo thing, it seems As long as it is alive, it is a good thing, whether it is quality or not. As ordinary people, it is very important for us to establish correct death values, break down information barriers related to death, and disintegrate the wrong perceptions and negative emotions constructed by death.< /span>

2. Promote palliative care

Palliative care does not Means to give up the patient, but to provide “hospice care” to the patient, For some patients with limited expected survival time, palliative careNeither hastening or delaying death, but as far as possible to let the patient go away peacefully in the last time with less pain.

The elderly are a high risk group of cancer. According to the incidence trend, there will be more and more elderly people suffering from cancer in the future. Death is always an unavoidable topic. Fighting for the survival of the elderly with cancer and how to make the elderly with cancer die well are all difficult problems for medicine to overcome. In any case, as ordinary people, the first step to respect life is to prevent cancer and stay away from cancer. #HealthStar Program# #Elderly people on the headlines#

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