Is Chemotherapy Advisable Before Diagnosing The Kind Of Cancer?

Posted on Mon, 20 Jul 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 Answered on

Mon, 10 Aug 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Is it normal for a doctor to star chemo for a cancer patient before finding out what type of cancer the patient has? My sister was recently diagnosed with stage 4 Lung Cancer and is currently in normal condition(coughing, some fatigue). They did a tissue test recently to find the cancer type and we just found out that the results were actually inconclusive(initially they thought it was breast cancer in the lung). The doctor said that they want to do another biopsy, but also gave her an option to start chemo now. Is this normal? Shouldn't they know the type of cancer before starting treatment?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Muhammad Sareer Khalil (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
It would be ideal to know the type of cancer

Detailed Answer:
Hello and Welcome

I appreciate your concern

Diagnosis of lung cancer should be determined with sputum cytology and bronchoscopy. For the centrally located lesions, needle aspiration biopsy can be recommended. For unresectable lesions, chemo and radiation can be initiated. Resectable small cell carcinoma are treated with chemotherapy. So, yes, it would be ideal if the type of cancer is known before chemo is initiated. If the cancer is unresectable and aggressive then chemo/radiation can be initiated in consult with your oncologist.

Wishing you best of health

Thanks

Please consult your doctor before deciding on any further course of action.

For future follow up / correspondence you may ask me directly at the link given below

http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/Funnel?page=askDoctorDirectly&docId=68107

Dr. M.S. Khalil

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar