Annette,

Any statistics you find are subject to interpretation. Bottom line, each patient is his/her own statistic. There are too many variables - age, physical condition, stage and location of disease, other disease, quality of treatment, post treatment habits, and even metal toughness - all figure into each patient's outcome. I suspect there is a bit of luck involved too. My personal opinion is that to look for hope in numbers is not the way to go. Ultimately, one either lives happily ever after or does not.

You may reassure yourself and your sister that NOBODY feels great four weeks out from treatment. The most important healing ingredient is time. Pain delays healing, so her doc should be made aware of that so proper meds can be prescribed.

Take a deep breath and know that things will look a whole lot better in a couple of months. If the odds are 50/50 or 60/40 or whatever, just decide that your sister will be on the winning side and let it go.

Good luck to you both!

Edited to say that I am more than 5 years out from a nasty tumor with nodal involvement and I feel absolutely great. Life is back to normal and has been for a long, long time. How your sister feels now bears no relation to how she will feel in the long run.