Any Thai Cancer Survival Stories?

[Tokay]

I've yet to meet a local Thai who knows someone who has beat cancer. All I hear are stories of death. That leads me to ask, do they actually fight cancer here if you are Thai or is that only for the wealthy?

[Sheryl]

Thai government hospitals provide the full range of cancer treatment, including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy etc.

And there are Thai survivors of cancer.

However I think it is true that the overall survival rate is poor. This is not due to lack of treatment as much as to lack of early detection and prompt treatment. While the public health system offers the full range of cancer treatment, it does not adequately promote preventive measures such as regular screening, and few ordinary Thais have regular check-ups (and when they do, it is usually as a job requirement and a mere formality rather than a thorough check).

In general I think there is a tendency to deny or repress symptoms until they are severe. Of course, the idea that cancer is a death sentence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy: believing this, people do not rush to have potential warning signs investigated, with the result that by the time they are diagnosed, it is indeed too late.

Reminds me of an incident some years back when I accompanied a TV member (female, farang) to get a second opinion on abnormal results of a thin prep (pap smear). 2 different Thai doctors had recommended a complete hysterectomy. I knew this was excessive for possibel cervical cancer in situ so took her to see a western-trained specialist in gyn oncology who said that not only did she not need a hysterectomy, she did not need any surgery at all, just six monthly follow-ups. When we expressed amazement that other doctors had insisted on rushing into a hysterectomy he explained that this was common practice because Thai doctors are used to Thai patients "who will never come back for follow up, so it is safest to just remove the uterus altogether". !!!

[rachels]

i know a thai lady in her early 70s who about 4 month ago was in hospital on full oxygen and expected ti die anyday ( she has stage 4 lung cancer) however she is now at home and is traveling around with no problems, not sure of the treatments she used but i do know that she is alive and well.

[kohkoh]

i know a thai lady in her early 70s who about 4 month ago was in hospital on full oxygen and expected ti die anyday ( she has stage 4 lung cancer) however she is now at home and is traveling around with no problems, not sure of the treatments she used but i do know that she is alive and well.

My mom survives too. (51 years old/ Intestinal Cancer) and my uncle as well (lymphoma)

It took 1 year to heal and need to check again every few year

[kohkoh]

i know a thai lady in her early 70s who about 4 month ago was in hospital on full oxygen and expected ti die anyday ( she has stage 4 lung cancer) however she is now at home and is traveling around with no problems, not sure of the treatments she used but i do know that she is alive and well.

My mom survives too. (51 years old/ Intestinal Cancer) and my uncle as well (lymphoma)

It took 1 year to heal and need to check again every few year

[Mosha]

I know of one lady nearby who beat cancer, sadly another one has not been so lucky and her time is running out. Another friend of My wife's is up in Bangkok, she has no intestines left, and sadly her time is also limited.

[lopburi3]

In our recent experience treatment is indeed not up to standards and is openly admitted by hospital doctors. Post operative testing will be one thing at a time - patient is likely to die before testing is complete and treatment started. Proper testing will cost close to 100,000 baht at a different state of the art hospital - but with that you can at least start treatment. Chemo will cost 40 to 80,000 baht per session for lung cancer. Gold cards don't pay this so very few can afford.

This is a non smoker who lost older sister to lung cancer last year - another has probably less than one month to live - and now her - stage 4. Age 35-40.

Yes; cancer is considered death by most Thai as all have had family die from it.

And as Sheryl posted "the idea that cancer is a death sentence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy" seems even more than delay in treatment issue as from what I have seen on the web patient outlook seems to have a lot to so with survival time.

[phetaroi]

Yes, my Thai SO. Sort of.

About ten years ago diagnosed with aplastic anemia ("Though not a cancer, the treatment of aplastic anemia is often similar to therapies used for blood-forming malignancies such as leukemias and lymphomas").

Although the immune system remains somewhat depressed, ten year survival rate here in Thailand -- which has one of the highest rates of aplastic anemia in the world -- is quite good. Treated at Chulalongkorn University Hospital, including bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy.

No immediate clouds on the horizon, but we do worry about things like Swine Flu with the depressed immunity.