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#36245 01-08-2003 04:23 PM | Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 36 Contributing Member (25+ posts) | OP  Contributing Member (25+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 36 | i wanted to know that once a diagnosis of oral cancer is made and the drs. say you have a 60 or 80 percent survival rate, does that mean survival rate of curing where the current cancer is or is that the percentage rate for surviving the cancer with no recurrences ever. | | |
#36246 01-08-2003 05:48 PM | Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 4,912 Likes: 52 OCF Founder Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | OCF Founder Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 4,912 Likes: 52 | I wish that doctors would not do this. First of all they do not know for a certainty what chance of survival you have. They may make a best guess based on their experiences, (one doctor I joke with about this calls it "precision guess work") but given the uniqueness of each individual; they could be very far off base in either direction. Even if a statistician were to offer you a percentage based on the only reliable numbers we have (the SEER numbers
Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
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#36247 01-08-2003 06:53 PM | Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,140 Likes: 1 Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | | Patient Advocate (1000+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,140 Likes: 1 | Well said, Brian! I don't think it would be too often to post this reply once a month or more frequently to make people realize that the only statistic that counts is their own, meaning that I, for example, am my own stat and what happens to anyone else has no bearing on how I do.
Thank you for saying so well what is so important to every patient and family member.
Joanna | | |
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