Understanding
Prognosis and Cancer Statistics
A prognosis gives an idea of the likely course and outcome
of a disease.
Many factors affect a person’s prognosis, including
the type, location, and stage of the disease, as well
as the person’s age, general health, and response
to treatment.
Survival rates indicate the percentage of people with
a certain type and stage of cancer who survive the disease
for a specific period of time after their diagnosis.
Survival rates are based on large groups of people.
Doctors cannot be absolutely certain about the outcome
for a particular patient. In fact, a person’s prognosis
may change over time.
People
facing cancer are naturally concerned about what the
future holds. Understanding cancer and what to expect
can help patients and their loved ones plan treatment,
think about lifestyle changes, and make decisions about
their quality of life and finances. Many people with
cancer want to know their prognosis. They may ask their
doctor or search for statistics on their own.
A
prognosis gives an idea of the likely course and outcome
of a disease—that is, the chance that a patient
will recover or have a recurrence (return of the cancer).
Many factors affect a person’s prognosis. Some
of the most important are the type and location of the
cancer, the stage of the disease (the extent to which
the cancer has metastasized, or spread), or its grade
(how abnormal the cancer cells look and how quickly
the cancer is likely to grow and spread).
Other
factors that may also affect the prognosis include the
person’s age, general health, and response to treatment.
When doctors discuss a person’s prognosis, they
carefully consider all factors that could affect that
person’s disease and treatment, and then try to
predict what might happen. The doctor bases the prognosis
on information researchers have collected over many
years about hundreds or even thousands of people with
cancer. When possible, the doctor uses statistics based
on groups of people whose situations are most similar
to that of an individual patient.
The
doctor may speak of a favorable prognosis if the cancer
is likely to respond well to treatment. The prognosis
may be unfavorable if the cancer is likely to be difficult
to control. It is important to keep in mind, however,
that a prognosis is only a prediction. The doctor cannot
be absolutely certain about the outcome for a particular
patient.
Survival
rates indicate the percentage of people with a certain
type and stage of cancer who survive the disease for
a specific period of time after their diagnosis. Often,
statistics refer to the 5-year survival rate, which
means the percentage of people who are alive five years
after diagnosis, whether they have few or no signs or
symptoms of cancer, are free of disease, or are having
treatment. Survival rates are based on large groups
of people. They cannot be used to predict what will
happen to a particular patient. No two patients are
exactly alike, and treatment and responses to treatment
vary greatly.
Cancer
patients and their loved ones face many unknowns. Some
people find it easier to cope
when they know the statistics. Other people find statistical
information confusing and frightening, and they think
it is too impersonal to be of use to them. The doctor
who is most familiar with a patient’s situation
is in the best position to discuss the prognosis and
to explain what the statistics may mean for that person.
At the same time, it is important to understand that
even the doctor cannot tell exactly what to expect.
In fact, a person’s prognosis may change if the
cancer progresses, or if treatment is successful.
Seeking
information about the prognosis is a personal decision.
It is up to each patient to decide how much information
he or she wants and how to deal with it.
