[quote=bearishgurl]
I don’t think I would be able to tolerate the side effects of strong chemotherapy which affects your healthy cells as well as (hopefully) your cancer cells. I’ve just seen too much strife in this regard.[/quote]

Different people react to the typical chemo differently. My mom tolerated chemo pretty well. She would be sick for a day or two after each treatment – then have 3 weeks of feeling normal… rinse and repeat. The chemo had a positive effect on slowing/limiting the growth or her cancer. My brother was the opposite (on the same drugs). He got horribly sick and the tumor still grew rapidly. Not everyone reacts to chemo the same. But his wishes were life extension at all costs. My sister and I had to honor those choices even though it wasn’t the choice we’d make for ourselves.

And as noted – my dad’s treatment was referred to as chemo but was a completely different set of drugs – not what you’d think of as chemo. No hair loss, no puking, no loss of appetite. He was planning a round the world trip with his wife – and wouldn’t have been doing this if he’d felt sick from chemo.