We, most other cancer patients, completely understand why some patients just want to give up. The physical suffering, the emotional rollercoaster, and the constant fear can make the battle feel unbearable. We now understand the debate of quality of life versus quantity, and we will never again judge anyone who decides to stop their treatment.
For many, they have been given a deadline, an educated estimate of how much time they have left. For others, we have been given a life expectancy percentage. For me, I was given a 14% chance of surviving 5 years. (It’ll be 4 years in September).
I’ll be honest, the physical and emotional toll of cancer treatments, chemo, radiation, etc. is so hard, sometimes unbearable. When we have such low odds of success, we wonder if it is all worth it?
Giving up is the single most difficult decision a person can make. They have answered for themselves the question on every cancer patient’s mind…Am I going to Die? By giving up, they have made that decision for themselves and have decided to have the best quality of life they can, while they can.
I understand.
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This is number 5 in a series of things caregivers and loved ones really need to hear, even if we don’t always have the courage to say them out loud.The unfiltered truth about what we are going through.
