Anita, this is right up my alley (and I am 3+ years from diagnosis). I have copied a post I made in 2003, but it is still valid. Ready?
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I was a math major in a long past life and the area of statistics was of particular interest. I can make them say anything anyone wants.

So. Each of us is a particular set of circumstances that is unlike those of any other person. We are only our own statistic! If we seek appropriate treatment in an appropriate time frame, if we follow all recommendations, if we have a positive attitude and faith that we will survive, odds are good that we will.

The oft quoted statistics include those non-compliant patients who continue to smoke and chew and drink, the people who went in with other disease like heart or cirrosis or diabetes, or just advanced age. Also those who have chosen alternative and unproven treatments outside recommended mainstream procedures. All of this has absolutely nothing to do with most of us.

The odds are not good, but I might be run over by a bus tomorrow. The key here, and this is VERY important, is that nobody can see into the future. I repeat: nobody can see into the future. What this means is that to spend time and energy worrying about what you cannot know is to degrade the quality of life. We need to celebrate the fact that we have, for at least a while and perhaps for a very long time, defeated a terrible enemy. Life is for NOW. Life is for LIVING. Life is NOT for obsessing over those things we cannot change.
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I am now down off of my soapbox but you can see this is a hot button issue for me. I don't want to see anyone making themselves sick over numbers that mean nothing.

I will add to this the provision that we all go to our follow-up appointments, because if there is a recurrence, the earlier it is found, the better chance there is to again defeat it.

Joanna, former stage IV, who hopes this helps