Yes there has been some progress in blood cancer treatments, t cell and what not. Much less so solid tumor. My mother had many quality months left had she not opted for chemo for uterine cancer. Chemo complications took her well before the cancer would have. Do your own research on the drug Aduhelm. Just a tiny blip of FDA incompetence / corruption to get that one approved. Here is something very troubling. There is a revolving door of high level FDA employees leaving for big Pharma jobs. It must have pained NPR to put out this report. Wouldnt happen in 2023. I’m glad you had success with your illness. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/28/495694559/a-look-at-how-the-revolving-door-spins-from-fda-to-industry
I'm sorry about your Mom. Cancer can be a horrible way to go, but on the other hand, I've sometimes heard it referred to as a "compassionate death." Why such a statement, you ask? Because it gives you one last chance to finish up things you otherwise might not have time to do (as in an instant fatal heart attack).
I don't mean to demean your Mom's pain and suffering. Chemo can be rough, and cancer even worse. As I commented previously, it gave me time to get things right and accept my path to death on this earth. I am eternally grateful for that. It certainly changed my life -- for the better.
The next thing I would tell ANY cancer patient is to get a second opinion from a top cancer center. There are probably less than 10 of those in the country. I was diagnosed and started treatment in a large regional hospital. I didn't have much choice as I was confined to a hospital bed and could not travel. As soon as I was able to move outside the halls of a hospital, I took myself to MD Anderson.
MD Anderson was an incredible experience. The diagnostic and treatment options are orders of magnitude better than any local onc doctor can provide. And then, there's the onc doc. Most are very good, but they are human, and they don't have access to all the tools -- tools like onsite research and the overall knowledge/experience. Plus, they can miss a putt because they are human.
I began my treatment journey with chemo, and in my case, it worked. By the time I was able to get to the real experts, I was moving toward remission. BUT, had I been diagnosed and treated from the very beginning my MDA doc would have had me on a BTK inhibitor as a trial drug (no trials ever discussed by locals). That drug was subsequently FDA approved and was the first of many drugs in the class.
I have gone to MDA for several years and always strike up conversations with other patients. A very large percentage of those people end up at MDA because their diagnosis locally was less than perfect (or worse), thus leading to less than optimum treatment.
Again. No matter what type or stage of cancer, if you are diagnosed locally, then, at a minimum, take yourself to a top cancer center for another opinion. That's the message.