To think she lied about having cancer

[burgerandfries]

Friend of a friend apparently diagnosed with cervical cancer 2 months ago. Underwent a few sessions of chemo over a few weeks and is now completely cured.

She still has all her hair and has seemingly been well all this time (see her on school run almost every day)

I've never directly known anyone suffering from cancer so I don't know if this is normal or not but it seems a bit to me. She is known for lying exaggerating quite often and relishes in attention.

Sorry if I'm being totally naive here but AIBU to think she made the whole thing up?

Did she mention chemo specifically? Really Early cervical cancers can be 'cured' with just radiotherapy and surgery which doesn't cause hair loss.

Yes specifically mentioned chemo, there were around 3 or 4 times she went to the hospital for it over a period of 6 weeks or so. Definitely no surgery!

I've had cervical cancer and i didn't have chemo or radiotherapy - just had the cancerous cells removed (very early stages). Also, not everyone loses hair during chemo and i am not sure but not all chemo drugs cause hairloss.

why on earth would you question your friend????

Ah ok. So maybe an earlier stage with combined chemo/radiotherapy with drugs that don't cause hair loss. See Cancer Research UK they slamdunk a lot of myths.

A direct quote

'Most people think that chemotherapy drugs always cause hair loss. But some don't cause any hair loss at all, or only slight thinning. Other types of chemotherapy may cause complete hair loss, including your eyelashes, eyebrows, underarm, leg and sometimes pubic hair. '

www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/treatment/cancer-drugs/side-effects/hair-loss-hair-thinning-and-cancer-drugs#drugs

It's not your business, why are you bothering with this?

Early stage cervical cancer is often treated with so called targeted chemotherapy drugs. These do not have the traditional side effects associated with CHOP and other regimens. More info below:

Targeted Therapy for Cervical Cancer

As researchers have learned more about the changes in cancer cells, they have been able to develop newer drugs that specifically target these changes. These targeted drugs work differently from standard chemotherapy (chemo) drugs and often have different side effects.

For example, for tumors to grow, they must form new blood vessels to keep them nourished. This process is called angiogenesis. Some targeted drugs block this new blood vessel growth and are called angiogenesis inhibitors.

Bevacizumab (Avastin®) is an angiogenesis inhibitor that can be used to treat advanced cervical cancer. It is a monoclonal antibody (a man-made version of a specific immune system protein) that targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein that helps new blood vessels to form.

Friend of a friend Theo it's my friend that thinks she could have lied about it.

But from what you said it sounds very possible that she was in the very early stages and had cells removed. Although she has never mentioned surgery, just chemo.

What if this was a woman who lied about being pregnant & then faked a miscarriage??

To be honest I wouldn't go through the ins and outs of my healthcare with anyone who isn't a good friend. Maybe she doesn't rate your friend highly? A fair assessment considering she told you all about it & her suspicions!!

Well your friend (not the one with cancer)sounds like a cunt.

When I had treatment none of the school parents knew the exact treatment. Only really trusted friends knew the ins and outs of everything.

There's also a few different procedures to remove cells and not all require surgery.

What a nasty way to think - 'she hasn't been ill enough, and still has hair, so she must have made it all up'. Your friend is no friend to her :-(.

He isn't but thanks for the insight. It's not that people have been gossiping about her, she has put regular updates on Facebook.

Mine was successfully treated by surgery.
It was caught early as I was already being treated for abnormal cells.

I had several people who were openly sceptical so I stopped talking about it and managed without any support.

I have another serious (unrelated) chronic illness and I can tell you it really shows you the nastier side of human nature. The upside is that it weeds out the shallow, callous ignorant people from your life.

I was worried it would come across that way loverly that's why I apologised in advance for perhaps being naive. Thank you for everyone that has given useful information.

Saying this as someone who works in health care- cervical cancer treatment especially early treatment of chemotherapy won't cause hair loss, as it is a chemotherapy called Cisplastin which causes little to no hair loss. The main side effects are actually kidney related.

Also the radiotherapy involved is an internal form as a pessary and the person is kept in isolation for three days every 2-4 weeks she might be exhausted and just managing to do the school run. But don't rush to judgement please.

A lot of the patients I have met who have had this front line treatment for early cervical cancer said they felt like frauds because of the no hair loss.

my aunt had chemo for breast cancer and didn't loose any of her hair apart from feeling tired as she went through the weeks of treatment
i think your friends a bit rude for even suggesting it this mother needs support as does her child it will be a worrying time for them

A lot of the patients...said they felt like frauds because of the no hair loss

Isn't that just sad and awful? Is it because of charmers like op and friend who then have a little bitch session about how the cancer patient doesn't look sick enough?

I have a chronic illness too YNK so I understand you on that.

I suppose it's lack of knowledge and understanding of certain conditions, illness and disease that cause scepticism.

I'm sorry that you had no support but I'm glad that you were successfully treated.

"Chemo" is presumably just a convenient short hand for people who have no business knowing the details for the treatment that she has received?

Thank you Ph

Not that at all Red I've asked, I've been educated. I'm not bitching.

My aunt has been undergoing treatment for terminal lung cancer for almost 12 months now and hasn't lost her hair. That's not an indicator of the validity of her illness.

She still has all her hair and has seemingly been well all this time (see her on school run almost every day)

One of the things I remember about my late Aunt who had Lung Cancer is that she kept most of her hair through chemo suprisingly.

She looked well enough most days too, didnt stop the Cancer from finally getting her though. She passed away 8 years ago.

OK. I obviously took that emoticon, the "lying" strike through and the 'relishes attention' the wrong way.