What it means for your prognosis
One of the questions many people ask when first diagnosed with cancer is about their prognosis.
What is a cancer survival rate?
Cancer survival rates or survival statistics tell you the percentage of people who survive a certain type of cancer for a specific amount of time. Cancer statistics often use an overall five-year survival rate. For instance, the overall five-year survival rate for prostate cancer is 98 percent. Cancer survival rates are based on research that comes from information gathered on hundreds or thousands of people with cancer. An overall survival rate includes people of all ages and health conditions diagnosed with your cancer, including those diagnosed very early and those diagnosed very late.
Your doctor may be able to give you more specific statistics based on your stage of cancer. The five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with lung cancer that has spread (metastasized) to other areas of the body is 3 percent.
Overall survival rates don't specify whether cancer survivors are still undergoing treatment at five years or if they've become cancer-free (achieved remission).
Other types of survival rates that give more specific information include:
Disease-free survival rate. This is the number of people with cancer who achieve remission. Progression-free survival rate. This includes people who may have had some success with treatment, but their cancer hasn't disappeared completely.
How are cancer survival rates used?
You and your doctor might use survival statistics to:
• Understand your prognosis. Develop a treatment plan. Statistics can also show how people with your same cancer type and stage respond to treatment.
What can't cancer survival rates tell you?
Cancer survival statistics can be frustrating because they can't give specifics about you. The survival rate for people with your particular cancer might be based on thousands of people. So while cancer survival rates are meant to give you a general idea of most people in your situation, they can't give you your individual chances for remission. This can be frustrating and for that reason, some people choose to ignore cancer survival rate statistics.
Survival statistics don't take into account other medical conditions you have. Survival rates have other limitations. People included in the latest cancer statistics were diagnosed more than five years ago. The effects of any recent treatment discoveries won't impact survival statistics for at least five years.
Understanding the numbers
Survival rates are usually given in percentages. Conversely, 37 people died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma within five years.
Ask questions if you need more information.
Your doctor can help you put the statistics in perspective and help you understand your individual situation. You might choose to ignore cancer survival rates
If you have a very localized cancer and you are using statistics that include many people with a more widespread cancer, then that data may not apply to you.
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