• Question: How long after being diagnosed with cancer, is the usual lifespan of a person?

    Asked by ilovetomhardy to Clare, Mariana, Pedro, Robert, Susanne on 14 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Susanne Muekusch

      Susanne Muekusch answered on 14 Nov 2012:

      Hi ilovetomhardy,

      There is no easy answer to your question, because not all the cancers are the same. In fact, they are quite different. The survival time of the patient depends on

      1. The type of cancer.
      2. How advanced the cancer is at the timepoint of diagnosis.
      3. How well the cancer responds to treatment.
      4. Individual factors like the general physical condition etc.

      The survival time after the cancer is diagnosed can therefore lie somewhere in between a few weeks until years. Some cancers can be cured, so the patient eventually dies off cancer unrelated causes.
      I hope that helped!

    • Photo: Clare Taylor

      Clare Taylor answered on 14 Nov 2012:

      It is very difficult for doctors to estimate something like this. We are all different and our bodies respond differently. Often treatment affects the immune system and patients are at higher risk of getting infections. Unfortunately, some infections are life-threatening when the immune system doesn’t work properly, so along with the things that Susanne pointed out, lifespan and survival is not easy to predict.

      Very occasionally you hear amazing stories where people have defied the odds and lived much longer than they had been told they would. No-one can say why this happens, but those lucky few sometimes get years longer to live.

    • Photo: Robert Insall

      Robert Insall answered on 14 Nov 2012:

      Dear Ilovetomhardy,

      Just following this up – because it sounds like you may know someone who has cancer – CRUK have a very good set of web pages dealing with the question you ask. Go here:

      http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/

      Then choose the particular cancer you want to know about, then choose “survival statistics” from the page that comes up.

      It’s pretty dry stuff – it doesn’t pull any punches about bad ones – but it does give a really clear picture.

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