Advanced cancer

What is advanced cancer?
 

What does advanced cancer mean?

Advanced cancer is cancer that has spread or come back. It is usually used to describe cancer that cannot be cured.Doctors sometimes use other words to describe advanced cancer. For example, they may use metastatic or secondary cancer to describe cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. Depending on the cancer type, it may also be called stage 4 cancer.

Some people find out they have advanced cancer when they are first diagnosed. For others, the cancer may spread or come back after treatment.

Can advanced cancer be treated?
 

You may have treatment to control the cancer. Sometimes, treatment can control advanced cancer for a long time. This can sometimes be years. During this time, you may be able to continue with your life and do the things that are important to you.

Sometimes it is not possible to stop the spread of the cancer. You will still have treatment to manage symptoms and help you feel as well as possible. This is called supportive or palliative care. This may include:

medicines to help manage symptoms such as pain or sickness (nausea)

radiotherapy to help reduce pain or bleeding caused by cancer

emotional support to help you cope with any difficult feelings you have.

 

Signs and symptoms of advanced cancer

 

Many people worry that a cancer will come back after treatment. Even when your doctor reassures you, it is still normal to worry. The possible signs of advanced cancer can depend on the type of cancer. Your cancer doctor or specialist can explain what to look out for.

 

We have general information on signs and symptoms to be aware of. Always check any new symptoms with your GP, cancer doctor or specialist nurse. This can help with feelings of worry and uncertainty.

 

Advanced cancer treatment

 

Treatment may help to control the cancer or manage its symptoms. Your cancer doctor or specialist nurse will explain what treatments may be helpful. This can depend on:

 

the type of cancer

the areas of the body affected

any symptoms you have.

 

Treatment for advanced cancer may include:

 

Making decisions about treatment

 

You may want to find out all your options before making treatment decisions. Your doctor can usually give you information on how well a treatment may work. They will consider what is important to you and how treatment may affect you. This will help you both decide the best treatment for you.

 

You may need to have treatment for a while to see if it is helping you. Sometimes, the treatment only causes side effects and has no benefits. In this case, you may want to think about if you want to continue with treatment. Making treatment decisions like this is always difficult. Before you decide what to do, it may help to talk to your cancer doctor, specialist nurse and family and friends.

 

If you decide not to have further treatment, your cancer doctor and specialist nurse will support you and make sure your symptoms are managed.

 

Asking about how long you might live

 

You may want to have an idea of how long you might live. This is called a prognosis or life expectancy. Or you may not want or need to know.

 

If you want to talk about this, your cancer doctor or specialist nurse can help. We have information about talking to your healthcare team about prognosis that may be helpful.

 

Coping with advanced cancer

 

Coping with how you feel

 

It is common to have many different reactions and feelings when you find out that cancer has come back or spread. You may feel shocked and find it hard to understand. You may feel angry or frightened about the future.

 

These feelings can be difficult. They usually become easier to manage over time and as you start making decisions and plans. We have information about coping with difficult feelings.

 

Coping day-to-day

 

There are a lot of unknowns when you are living with advanced cancer. You may worry about:

 

These feelings can make it difficult to live life the way you would like to. And it is difficult to make plans when you do not know what is going to happen.

 

We have information and tips to help you cope:

 

Advance care planning

 

Knowing that your illness may not be curable might help you think about:

 

It might also make you think about planning ahead. If you feel ready to do this, you may want to write down your wishes. This might include:

 

When faced with the care of patients with advanced cancer, the key is to provide comprehensive, patient-centered support. Through effective pain management, psychosocial support and respect for patients' decision-making, we can ensure they receive maximum comfort and dignity in the final stages of life.