Donna, this "chance of survival" business is a statistical construct. All it means is that in a group of some number of members who share a common condition, at the end of 5 years (or some other period), some percentage of that number will still be surviving (unlike the rest of that group.)

Unfortunately, it tells you exactly nothing about your chances as an individual in that group.

In every group of some size, individuals who meet all the group's requirements will fall outside the predicted outcomes (on both the high and low ends) but there's no data to help predict who those individuals will be.

It's frustrating for folks in our situation, but like everything else in life, it is what it is.


My intro: http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbt...3644#Post163644

09/09 - Dx OC Stg IV
10/09 - Chemo/3 Cisplatin, 40 rad
11/09 - PET CLEAN
07/11 - Dx Stage IV C. (Liver)
06/12 - PET CLEAN
09/12 - PET Dist Met (Liver)
04/13 - PET CLEAN
06/13 - PET Dist Met (Liver + 1 lymph node)
10/13 - PET - Xeloda ineffective
11/13 - Liver packed w/ SIRI-Spheres
02/14 - PET - Siri-Spheres effective, 4cm tumor in lymph-node
03/15 - Begin 15 Rads
03/24 - Final Rad! Woot!
7/27/14 Bart passed away. RIP!