how long do people live after chemo?

Hello forums, I have a question, but I will give you a little background before:
I recently had an argument with my friend. We both have no medical education, but he's read some books about nutrition and knows great deal about it. He claims that he could actually cure cancer with a proper diet. Actually he is also opposed to conventional treatments. I believe it is a result of him reading some books on bogus theories (I suspect Dr Day's). I don't have the knowledge to really win an argument there, because he always comes back with something else, and I don't have time nor desire to read trough so many books on such topic, but I think there is one thing that I could really prove him wrong:

He claims that people do not ever live more than 5 years after chemotherapy.

I tried to find some study on this subject, but with no success, whether it is due to lack of such study (I doubt it) or my lack of proper nomenclature and bad keywords. Could you please help me?

As far as I know there are no food items which selectively provide nutrients to healthy cells and not cancerous cells. Diet plays a role in the prevention of certain types of cancers, but to say that a particular diet can "cure" cancer shows a fundamental lack of understanding on your friend's part of what cancer actually is.

I would advise that he reads something like Ben Goldacres "Bad Science", it's a great book full of links about nutrition.

I know that, but that is not exactly what he claims. He says that in food that you eat there is a lot of toxins, and when you eliminate them from your diet completely, your body will be strong enough to fight the cancer on its own. Or something along these lines. In fact usually avoid discussing it with him, because I don't want to offend him as I can learn a lot about healthy diet from him when I sieve out the mumbo jumbo.

thanks, I think I will read that book myself, seems like a good introduction to the topic.

What are the goals of chemotherapy treatment?
There are 3 possible goals for chemotherapy treatment.

Cure: If possible, chemotherapy is used to cure the cancer, meaning that the tumor or cancer disappears and does not return. However, most doctors do not use the word "cure" except as a possibility or intention. When giving treatment that has a chance of curing a person's cancer, the doctor may describe it as treatment with curative intent. But it can take many years to know if a person's cancer is actually cured.

Control: If cure is not possible, the goal may be to control the disease -- to shrink any tumors and to stop the cancer from growing and spreading. This can help someone with cancer feel better and hopefully live longer. In many cases, the cancer does not completely go away but is controlled and managed as a chronic disease, much like heart disease or diabetes. In other cases, the cancer may even seem to have gone away for a while, but it is expected to come back.

Palliation: When the cancer is at an advanced stage, chemotherapy drugs may be used to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer. When the only goal of treatment is to improve the quality of life, it is called palliative treatment or palliation. Sometimes, chemotherapy is the only treatment used. In other cases, chemotherapy may be given along with other treatments. It may be used as adjuvant therapy or neoadjuvant therapy.

Adjuvant chemotherapy: After surgery to remove a cancer, there may still be some cancer cells left behind that cannot be seen. When drugs are used to kill those unseen cancer cells, it is called adjuvant chemotherapy. Adjuvant treatment can also be given after using radiation to kill the cancer -- such as adjuvant hormone therapy after radiation for prostate cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy: Chemotherapy can be given before the main cancer treatment (such as surgery or radiation). Giving chemotherapy first can shrink a large tumor, making it easier to remove with surgery. Shrinking the tumor may also allow it to be treated more easily with radiation. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy also can kill small deposits of cancer cells that cannot be seen on scans or x-rays.
http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid...002995-pdf.pdf

I don't have time nor desire to read trough so many books on such topic, but I think there is one thing that I could really prove him wrong:

He claims that people do not ever live more than 5 years after chemotherapy.

I tried to find some study on this subject, but with no success, whether it is due to lack of such study (I doubt it) or my lack of proper nomenclature and bad keywords. Could you please help me?

By the way... Why do you have to win anything over anyone in the first place? Just let it go... Both are valid views.

Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and Chemical Drugs cause cancer. This is a proven FACT!

Unless you are willing to understand what are the causes of cancer and make the right amends because cancer, diabetes, etc.. Is preventable!

Some may be surprised that the causes are absolutely everywhere in so called modern life. From what you put in your mouth, to what you shower with. "Formaldehyde"

You can't have two valid viewes that are contradictory on a factual topic. Either people live more than 5 years or they don't.

This is a very misleading statement. Whilst these things can cause cancer the risk of them doing so is less than using them to treat a patient with cancer.

Again this is very misleading. Whilst it is possible to minimise risk of getting cancers (e.g. not smoking to lower the risk of lung cancer) there are no guarantees.

Yes carcinogens are everywhere but I have never heard to formaldehyde in shower gel, citation?

>> Doesn't it matter if 5 or 10? You will die because chemo itself promotes cancer in cells. It will munch bad cancer cells, sure, but also healthy cells so the cancer agents remain.



>> Chemo itself causes cancer. You want more contradictory than that?

>> Optimum Oxygenation is actually a very important factor for your mind and overhaul health but... No Smoking? How about everything else that we all do on a daily basis?

>> Google is your friend. <<