Cancer: How proper planning and strategic treatment help in recovery

Ramachandran was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Although the symptoms have been showing for the last six months, he ignored them as signs of piles. In the meantime, he even travelled to Dubai to visit his son. However, Ramachandran had to return to Kerala quickly when the bleeding became severe. The doctor recommended a colonoscopy, and the biopsy results confirmed colorectal cancer. But it was too late, and the cancer had already spread to the liver. “Doctor, would you please start his treatment today itself”? Ramachandran’s wife requested frantically. Most people get worried and urge the doctors to start the treatment as soon as possible when a serious disease like cancer is diagnosed. They think that the disease would get worse if the treatment is delayed even by a day. 

However, the truth is that any complex disease like cancer requires proper preparation and planning before starting treatment. The treatment may backfire or even go wrong if you approach it in a hurry. We might have all noticed that nothing falls in place if you are in a hurry. Accidents are sure to happen if you rush on the road, and your favourite dish may get burned if you are not a bit patient. The same could be said about deciding the treatment plan. Cancer is not a mere bacterial infection that could be treated quickly. At the same time, it is not advisable to delay it either. Most people are confused about the duration of cancer treatment and how long they should wait to start treatment. 

Misconceptions
Cancer patients and their relatives often believe that the cancer cells will proliferate when the doctor takes some time before deciding on the treatment protocol. Cancer cells do not grow daily. Moreover, the doctor requires time to properly analyse the patient’s condition and select the most effective treatment. Cancer treatment is often decided upon by a tumour board, which coordinates various departments. This coordination is essential to designing the treatment protocol in most cancer cases. However, in some cases, the doctor could start treatment as soon as the disease is diagnosed. For example, patients who only require chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery do not need to wait for the tumour board's decision. 

In most cases, input from doctors across departments is required to formulate an appropriate treatment plan, which may take time. After diagnosing the disease, specific tests must be performed, which are time-consuming. For instance, chemotherapy medicines, as well as targeted medicines and immunotherapy medications, are used to treat a lung cancer patient who is in the fourth stage. So, specific tests have to be done on the tumour cells to identify which medicines suit the patient best. It would take at least two weeks to get the results of these tests. This duration is essential to ensure the best treatment method and medications are chosen for the patient. 

How long can you wait before starting treatment?
There is no specific time or duration for this. However, it is best to start treatment within two or three weeks after diagnosing the disease. If it is delayed further than that, the patient should enquire about it. In most cases, it must be because test results are delayed. People tend to get severely worried and move the patient to another hospital or facility if the doctor takes some time before starting the treatment. But this is not the right solution. Treatment cannot be started anywhere without all the tests and precise results. So, the patients are forced to repeat the same tests at the new place too. It is better to have open communication with the medical team overseeing your treatment. Moreover, the medical team is liable to explain to the patient why they are taking so much time before starting cancer treatment.