Stats are a melting pot. This cancer - oral tongue cancer was traditionally a smoker and a drinker / old mans cancer - so say 80 percent of the diagnosis are still attributable to old men who are heavy drinkers and smokers. Most of them have other issues as well that contribute to their health... Hypertension - poor circulation, lack of exercise, unwillingness to stop drinking and smoking etc... Even with treatment the statistics will not be representative of you assuming you are young and healthy and are not a heavy drinker or smokers. Basically they throw everything into the same pot and come up with a number - but it's slanted more heavily in one direction to begin with because you're not a member of the majority who get this cancer (I'm assuming) so statistics are very biased. And I've discovered through reading that a stage IV can eventually walk away from this disease just as easily as a stage I may find themselves in a serious fight for their life. It's all about your dr., how quickly they move, your overall health and the choices you make, your outlook, your nutrition, your anatomy and how aggressive the cancer is.

One stat I did read and take to heart was - 95 % of stage one and two were alive 5 years after if they quit smoking, and went for a short walk daily. The number was lower but not horrible for stage 3&4.

I felt like crap but my neighbor and i, and our pooches walked everyday! For 20 minutes!!! Except for maybe 2-3. Days when I was my worst!

With regards to the 5 year thing - I've heard if you hit the 1 year mark the odds of a recurrence drop pretty nicely, 2 years a recurrence can happen - but highly unlikely - 5 years - almost unheard of - a dr. Told me that and this - usually if you are going to get a recurrence it will be in the first 2 years. That said there are people here who've had recurrences after 2 years and 3 years. It really is all about you. good luck! You'll get through it.

Alison