Welcome to OCF Elisabeth. One of the observations to make about statistics is they are often from studies 5 or more years old. So a doctor saying someone in your condition with this treatment has an xyz% cure rate, is often basing it on old numbers, and the prognosis today might be much better than that.

Every cancer journey is different, and you have complications of your own that you have to work through with the doctors. I can understand your concern about the harshness of the treatment, it can be pretty brutal. Again with the caveat I'm not a doctor but we do know a few things about this cancer. It is very treatable, it responds very well to radiation and the prognosis is very very good compared to other cancers. Its aggressive, and thats why they would want to start treatment as soon as they can.

If you are considering leaving it untreated, have a very clear discussion with the oncologist and have a good understanding about what it means for your quality of life for your last 12 months.

I'm not an expert I just say this stuff from the heart Elisabeth. Your story is very close to home for me and I'm sure many here. Love and prayers from Australia for your journey and please let us know how you are going.