Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Understanding Lung Cancer Survival Rate

By Anne Durrell

It is not easy to understand the figures about the lung cancer survival rate.

You really have to know what exactly they represent and how the figures are put together.

There are factors that influence how these rates are determined and what you see in the rates may not be exactly what you think.

The Fundamentals

Lung Cancer Survival Rate statements refer to a group of people suffering from one specific type of lung cancer, at a certain stage.

Survival statistics may also indicate rates for people suffering from lung cancer at any stage of the disease.

No matter if the person is in remission or still have cancer, usually the survival statistics relate to the survival rate after five years.

Understand that the lung cancer statistics are based upon average and a large group of people. And since every case is very different, so they only predict what the survival rate will be for a particular person.

Survival Rate Factors

As mentioned, many things influence lung cancer survival rate statistics. Some of the factors that can alter survival rates area:

* Stage of cancer

* Type of cancer

* Signs present

* General health conditions

* Diagnosis date

When a doctor informs his patient on the possible outcome of their cancer diagnosis, he usually give it upon what happens in the average case.

It is really an estimate and not an exact science.

The Average Survival Rate

For those diagnosed with early stage of lung cancer, the average survival rate is 49%, which means out of 100 people only 49 live for at least five years after diagnosis.

People diagnosed with lung cancer that has spread have only 3% of survival rate or only 3 out of 100 people live 5 years after diagnosis.

How to Use Survival Rates

Now you can begin to understand how lung cancer survival rates may be used since you already understand what lung cancer survival rate statistics means.

The most common use is to help people to understand what lies ahead for them in dealing with the possibility of their death and disease.

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