I read survival rates and they say things like " 1 year survival rate 93 % , 10 year survival rate 64% ( those are for hodgkins lymphoma). Does that mean that after one year 93% of ppl are still alive, and after 15 years only 64% of ppl are still alive ? Or does it mean that if it hasnt been cured after 15years, theres only a 64% chance of cure ?
2007-09-23 20:29:18 · 5 answers · asked by Austin =] 3 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Cancer
well, let me add that I have hodgkins. And it is very cureable, so they dont look to just put me in remision. Is the reason the rate gets so much lower also have to do with the fact that alot of older people get it, and in 15 years they might just die beuase they are old.......?
2007-09-23 20:40:26 · update #1
It means everything you stated, except the part about on a 64% chance of cure.
2007-09-23 20:38:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
These are the statistics of how many people lived/died by a certain amount of time after being diagnosed. They use this to find out which medications/treatments have the best effectiveness by comparing the survival rates of different cancers, etc. It also gives you an idea of what are your chances of survival, though we don't like looking at it that way. We are individuals and we could do better or worse than the survival rate shown based on individual criteria for us. Your first understanding of what you are reading is correct, but keep in mind they don't know your specific situation.
2007-09-24 11:19:47 · answer #2 · answered by Simmi 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Survival rates are the chances that a person with that disease will still be alive at that time, e.g. 1 year after diagnosis. There can be treated and untreated survival rates, e.g. 1 year survival rate without treatment is 50% (only half diagnosed today will still be alive in 1 year without treatment), and maybe 60% survival rate with treatment at 1 year (60% of people diagnosed today and are treated will still be alive in 1 year). These are all statistics only, there will always be people who beat the odds.
2007-09-24 03:36:25 · answer #3 · answered by Linni 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the rates you presented means there's a lesser chance for someone with Hodgkin's to survive for more than a year. But it's not to say it's absolute because survival rates are also affected by YOUR lifestyle, genes, environment...pretty much everything.
It's basically just a number to quantify in "more concrete" terms how a condition affects a person, e.g., the survival rate for stage IV cancer is way lower than a, say, stage 1.
2007-09-24 05:47:17 · answer #4 · answered by oh yeah 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to understand that for most cancers there is no cure all that can be done is to put it in remission for a period of time, that period is quite unpredictable. if a doctor says you have 2 years that is his or her best estimate based on how far spread the cancer is in your body. From your above information it is put like that so as to not scare the population too much.
2007-09-24 03:37:37 · answer #5 · answered by DAVID W 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋