Survival rates do not indicate if a cancer is cured or if treatment is completed.
Survival rates are also statistics looking at a broad range of people.
They do not necessarily predict how an individual with a particular subtype of cancer will do.
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Learn about the common definitions describing survival with cancer, and the limitations of statistics.
The different terms tend to be used in different options and with cancers that have different prognoses.
Survival rates may be given as 1-year survival, 2-year survival, 5-year survival, and so on.
Many clinical studies report median survival rather than survival rate, especially in advanced cancers.
This is particularly true with breast cancer, in which late recurrences are common.
But a drug that reduced the risk of recurrence would show a superior disease free survival rate.
An example is the easiest way to describe this.
This is important in evaluating potential treatments.
Statistics also often group subtypes of cancer together.
If youve been recently diagnosed with cancer, keep in mind that there are many reasons to feel hope.
By the time survival rates are published, the statistics are frequently several years old.
There have been many recent advances in treatment, and an example may help explain this much better.
Also, there are many clinical trials currently underway, and more in the works.
National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.Understanding cancer prognosis.
