My sweetie and me read a local on-line forum, and granted, there are a few provocative trolls involved, but this one threw me into a tailspin of frustration! I believe Z just tried to ride along with it, though he was sleepless and fearful that week, more than he has been in a while. Someone posted a table of stats from The journal Clinical Oncology in December 2004 (Morgan, G. et al. (2004). Clinical Oncology 16, 549e560)saying: �The results of this study were astonishing, showing that chemotherapy has an average 5-year survival success rate of just over 2 percent for ALL cancers!�. Well, ack ack and ick. We both are smart cookies, trained in stats and all, and yet�.sheesh! I know stats can be manipulated and so I went and read the actual study and I think there are some �holes� in the way the poster summarized the info, and yet I am having a hard time putting this succinctly. I guess I am just needing to blow off some steam because this REALLY pushed my buttons about how vulnerable we all, who are involved with cancer, are to the ravages of fear and even guilt. The �everything �natural� is better� crowd are hard to argue with and normally I wouldn�t bother, except I did. Help me out, guys, I�m craving more ammo. My love did chemo and radiation and surgery in the prescribed manner and my research says, based on his diagnosis, his prognosis IS really good. I know I know I KNOW we never REALLY know�but come on!

Studies are only as goods as their methods and the integrity of their basic premise. Here, I think the basic premise is suspect. Inherent in such a study is the assumption that there are sufficient similarities between all cancers and all chemo protocols to make valid conclusions possible. IMHO, this is incorrect for numerous reasons.

Only certain cancers are treated curatively with chemo only (i.e. lymphoma, leukemia, etc). Many others (including OC) are treated primarily with surgery/radiation, with chemo used as adjunctive therapy to facilitate radiation and eliminate "stray" cancer cells. For these cancers, a much higher percentage of chemo only patients are being treated palliatively, so you would expect decreased survival.

I agree with you that it is infuriating when studies with marginal premises are then used to support improper inferences.

The very first thing my radiation and chemo doctors told me was to ignore the statistics I would find on internet forums (although I would believe statistics posted by Brian). The first thing my surgeon told my wife after the biopsy showed Stage IV with spread to lymph nodes: "There has not been time since the advent of Erbitux and IMRT for head and neck cancers to see if the old statistics are valid"
Yet I'd be lying if I did not say I still wince when I read the news releases about "no major improvement in survival rates for the last twenty years..."
Finally:One quote from Julie Silver's book ( After Cancer Treatment )that rang true for me and the advice I would give Z:
"We didn't choose cancer, it choose us. I don't think that any of us in this ever growing club, which initiates unwilling members are completely fearless. I wish that I could take away any fear that you have. I wish that I cold eliminate my own fears. But I know that I can't. Instead, what I suggest is to use whatever fear you have as a means of motivating yourself to do the best job that you can to heal. If you have to live with demons, make them work for you."
Peace and Love

My Nanny had tongue cancer 11 years ago...tumor was removed, no rad, no chemo, no neck dissection...Nanny is 91 years old.

My friends father fought cancer for eight years and then beat it! One year after treatment...fatal heart attack, 56 years old.

My Step-father had prostate cancer 4 1/2 years ago...no surgery, 40 plus rad txs, cancer free. 62 years old.

My GF had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 18 years ago, chemo txs, cancer free...35 years old.

My father had SCC on the cheek, 4 surgeries no other txs...cancer free almost 8 years...57 years old.

Friends Mother cervical cancer 5 years ago, surgery and chemo--at age 62 cancer back with a vengeance died February 2007.

My GF's father had tumor in the chest cavity summer 2007, chemo, no surgery..November 2007 cancer free. Not feeling well January 2008...passed away April 1, 2008. 70 years old.

Too many others to mention...more success stories and more sadness...a lot of relatives and a lot of friends relatives on both sides of the fence. If you wake up and are able to put your shoes on...you're on the right side. Every second alive our percentages of living longer gets worse.

My lousy taste buds are reminding me every day that I'm not pushing up daisy's yet! I have no idea what my chances are...wait...I'm breathing so my living percentage right now is 100 percent...Until the day I die it's going to remain 100 percent. And there is a 100 percent chance that I'm going to die...whenever that is....from whatever it may be from...

I'm going to get a cup of tasteless coffee...

ahh...Much better. Thanks guys. I posted Stephan Jay Gould's piece "The median isn't the message", and cited this forum as one of my life boats in this ocean of fear and guilt even, that I navigate in caring for my one true love: Z!. A few people even sent me "gratitude", which you can do with a quick click on that forum. I guess in the end there is no sense in trying to sway those that aren't open. Truth be told,those demons are mine and I just have to get them to work for me. I am so grateful for your support and witnessing. It's wonderfully essential.
L!
T!