Cancer is something I have dealt with more than I'd like, though not in myself. My best friend's three-year-old son died of a brain tumor. IIRC, his doctors suggested that if he got through six months cancer-free (which really means undetectable, of course), his odds of surviving would be dramatically better; at one year, quite good. He was cancer-free for less than three months, though. My father-in-law had non-small-cell lung cancer. The numbers they tossed around for him were that if you're cancer-free for five years, you're considered cured. He survived about two years after diagnosis. I think the difference between the two is that Kevin, the three-year-old, had a very aggressive, fast-growing tumor, while Wayne, my father-in-law, had a relatively slow one. Wayne's, unlike Kevin's, never metastasized. By the way, always be careful with statistics regarding how long people live after diagnosis. For most types of cancer, those numbers are only going up because of earlier diagnosis, not prolonged life, but the numbers get misused. (Along with Kevin's dad, I help manage of the larger cancer support mailing lists on the net.) Nick > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On > Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2001 8:17 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: 3 Months Cancer (aka, I will change subject headers) > > > > I will change subject headers > I will change subject headers > I will change subject headers > I will change subject headers > > Read ad nauseum as needed > > > > > Jeroen wrote- > > > I'll admit I'm not an expert on brain tumors, but er... > > > > > > Only three months from "first symptoms" till "beyond > repair" doesn't > > sound > > > very realistic. > > > > > > Having a grand dad that was "clear" of cancer three months > ago, and just > had > > a small brain tumor removed this week, "three months" is > relative (and I am > > not really fully objective on the subject). I did a bit of review on > tumors > > and for some 3 months is enough time to wreak havoc in some of > the types > (but > > far from all of them). Three months is also a nebulous term in > some ways > > since "three months from what", the first cancer cell, the > first symptoms > we > > recognize/ignore, etc.? We want so much for things to be > understandable > that > > we try and put concrete limits on things that are not always fully > > understantable. I am not speaking to/against the ethics, Zim > is right that > > this is a whole complex area all in itself. > > > > Dee > > > > >
