People talk about cancer survival in 2, 5, 10 year intervals. When does the clock start?

Does it start when the cancer is discovered? When they think the cancer started growing? If it has metastasized from somewhere else, does the clock start over again? My husband learned he had kidney cancer in 2007. He had a complete nephrectomy in October. The doctor told him that the tumor had probably been growing for two years before we found it. Last September the kidney cancer spread to the plural lining in his lungs. Now it has spread to his lymph nodes. If he has a 5 year expected survival rate, when did the clock start?

I’d like to see what Denisedds has to say about this if she sees this question. She is a tumor registrar – statistics expert. Stage IV renal carcinoma – what percentage five year survival rate did your medical oncologist tell you?

No experienced oncology doctor would say a person has five years to live. We never know that so far in advance. We usually quote percentage five year survivals for people in similar situations with various types and stages of cancers.

The “clock” as you put it starts when the biopsy diagnosis is made and the malignant disease is initially staged. The statistics do change when metastatic disease is later identified. You now know that the renal cancer cells had already spread to the pleura and the lymph nodes before the nephrectomy in 2007. The cancer cells were microscopic in the pleura and lymph nodes in 10/07 – too small to detect with any scans.

BUT – Statistics never tell us what one special individual will do. Statistics are averages from the experiences of a large number of people who are not really alike even though they have the same general diagnosis. No two people I saw with renal carcinomas were exactly the same. No two women with breast cancers are ever the same.

People may become too caught up in numbers or statistics from other people. No one can precisely predict the future of one person with statistics based on a large group of other people.

The urologist who did the initial surgery in October 2007 could not have known how long that primary tumor had been growing. He or she was just making a guess. Our thinking is that most tumors go through ~70% of their cellular divisions or growth by the time they reach 1 cm in diameter – about the size of a marble. Most of the growth of a malignant tumor – either a primary or a metastatic lesion – occurs before we can see the tumor mass with any scans.

Maybe your doctor meant that it may have been visible for two years before it was finally detected. That is the problem with kidney cancers (and pancreatic and lung and ovarian cancers). There often are no signs or symptoms until they are already advanced.

ASCO: Two-Year Survival Seen with Sutent in Kidney Cancer

Take Control of Your Cancer: $10.16 Cancer rates continue to skyrocket, and the overall survival rate for Stage IV cancer patients in the United States is a grim 2.1 percent. Clearly, the extensive use of expensive, sometimes ineffective toxins in conventional oncology protocols is a failing strategy. Even the few survivors of these harsh slash-and-burn treatments can have dismal quality of life, suffering with ailments such as nerve damage, heart muscle disease, and liver and kidney failure. And unfortunately, many conventional doctors discourage patients from exploring alternative treatment options. A featured doctor in Suzanne Somers’ bestselling cancer book Knockout, forty-year oncology veteran James W. Forsythe, M.D., H.M.D, offers a more cost-effective, personalized, and compassionate alternative to traditional cancer treatment in Take Control of Your Cancer: Integrating the Best of Alternative and Conventional Treatments. Dr. Forsythe’s integrative approach has yielded an astonishing 46 percent positive response rate in a 500-patient study. In Take Control of Your Cancer, you will find information on all stages of cancer, including: Warning signs of cancer How to pinpoint the causes of cancer and to avoid recurrence Preventative measures such as healthy diet and regular exercise Overview of how to choose what drugs and supplements to use How to take charge of your cancer treatment and maintain a positive attitude Successful case studies of 40 of Dr. Forsythe’s Stage IV cancer patients While Dr. Forsythe offers his patients conventional and alternative therapies on their own as well as an integrative option, Take Control of Your Cancer encourages cancer patients and their families to explore their treatment options and look for doctors who personalize treatment for optimal outcomes.

Survival: $12.91 Survival

Cancer $9.6 Cancer

"The Complete Cancer Survival Guide" by Peter Teeley and Philip Bashe – 992 Page Paperback Book $21.95 Diagnosis * Staging * Treatment Options * Procedures and Medications * Clinical TrialsWhen you are fighting for your life, you must be sure to know your enemy and have at your disposal the most effective weapons there are. Peter Teeley and Philip Bashe provide a complete arsenal of absolutely essential information for anyone diagnosed with cancer.Drawing on the advice and information provided by dozens of top specialists at all the major cancer centers in the United States, The Complete Cancer Survival Guide provides the most up-to-date, cutting-edge information available on how each of the 25 most common forms of cancer is diagnosed and staged, what the most advanced treatments are, and where to go throughout the country to be sure that the care you receive is absolutely the best there is.In down-to-earth language, THE COMPLETE CANCER SURVIVAL GUIDE maps out a practical game plan for obtaining the best care available. Drawing on advice provided by dozens of top specialists at all of the major cancer centers around the United States, the authors provide the most up-to-date information on which to base decisions about where to seek treatment and to make sense of the many therapy choices that may seem at odds with one another. THE COMPLETE CANCER SURVIVAL GUIDE is a bible on which to rely not only for learning about how to navigate the health-care maze and obtain the best care, but also for learning how to best care for yourself–physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. Testimonials: Named Best Consumer Health Book of 2001 by the American Medical Writers Association. “Teeley and Bashe provide a foundation of information that will facilitate and optimize cancer patients’ ability to extract the most from their medical care providers. This book offers a nucleus of information that will empower cancer patients (and their families and friends) to ask and understand the questions and answers critical to the diagnostic and treatment options available for their care.”–Larry J. Copeland, M.D., Professor and Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology, James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Ohio State University”The Complete Cancer Survival Guide is a comprehensive, practical, and very useful guide for anyone with cancer and for anyone who cares about someone with cancer. Peter Teeley and Philip Bashe draw on a wealth of experience to offer information and resources about the 25 most common forms of cancer. The guide is easy to use and is an invaluable reference for patients, families, and professionals.”–Diane Blum, Executive Director, Cancer Care”Reader-friendly, exhaustive, scientifically correct, and appropriately detailed. For those patients and family members searching for information regarding the vast complexities of cancer, this book provides encyclopedic coverage. My congratulations to the authors for a terrific addition to many people’s libraries.”–Charles J. Yeo, M.D., Professor of Surgery and Oncology, Johns Hopkins About the

Reduce Your Cancer Risk: $11.52 Cancer experts say more people than ever before are likely to develop the disease at some time, but due to early intervention, the chances of survival are also increasing. Reduce Your Cancer Risk, copublished with the American Cancer Society, combines comprehensive information about how to reduce cancer risk organized around a 12-Step action plan. Written by a patient-expert, a cancer research doctor, and reviewed by the ACS, the book covers everything from how to assess one’s cancer risk to the latest cutting edge research on lifestyle changes that can cut an individual’s risk factors. Separating fact from fiction about cancer, the book presents advice for the average reader and those who have above-average or family risk for cancer. As well as discussing important lifestyle changes, it discusses preventive health strategies based on the latest research and guidelines from the American Cancer Society.

Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor: $13.56 On the heels of Kris Carr’s acclaimed Learning Channel documentary and best-selling survival guidebook Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips comes this survivor’s companion. With this beautifully illustrated, go-anywhere resource, Kris redefines what it means to be a survivor. She invites all the Cancer Cowgirls (and dudes) out there to slide into the driver’s seat, turn on their own internal GPS, and become empowered participants in their own healing journey. Pairing her signature sass and smart, soulful, real advice with thoughtful exercises, new contributors, and space for writing and reflecting, Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor reaffirms that it is possible to live a real, fun, crazy, sexy life with cancer–that healing is about truly living.

Diabetes Survival Guide $10.16 The number of diabetics in the United States has increased 61 percent in the last decade. Now this classic, accessible guide has been completely revised with the latest medical findings and facts on diagnosis and treatment. Written by a leading diabetes specialist, Diabetes Survival Guide provides invaluable support, answers a variety of questions, and includes new information on: prediabetes: early warning signs for the millions at high risk for developing the disease the Metabolic Syndrome: risk factors that, along with genetic predisposition, sow the seeds of diabetes prevention: good news about the benefits of cinnamon, coffee, chocolate, black pepper, and other common foods and drinks diet: sensible, easy—to-follow suggestions about what, when, and how much to eat (and the choices are delicious!) new drugs: inhaled insulin powder, combination pills, insulin that lasts twenty-four hours, fast-acting “designer” insulin, and other milestones cutting-edge equipment: state-of-the-art insulin pumps, glucose monitors, and pen injectors complications: innovations for preventing heart disease, kidney failure, neuropathy of the feet and legs, and loss of vision stem cell research: the imminent possibility of using stem cells as a source of insulin-producing beta cells surgical options: transplantation techniques If you’re a diabetic or care about someone who is, this comprehensive guide and daily companion belongs front and center on your bookshelf and in your life. “In this succinct and thoughtful volume, Dr. Mirsky provides useful lessons to all patients struggling to understand diabetes and live long, healthy lives.” ——C. Ronald Kahn, M.D., president, the Joslin Diabetes Center “This book contains all the right questions and superb answers from the expert who happens to by my physician.” ——Mary Tyler Moore

Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips $12.2 An advice-from-the-trenches cancer survival guidebook for young women with cancer. Actress and photographer Kris Carr thought she had a hangover, but a Jivamukti yoga class didn’t provide its usual kick-ass cure. A visit to her doctor confirmed her “liver looked like Swiss cheese,” covered with cancerous tumors. She entered trench warfare (wearing cowboy boots into the MRI machine, no less), vowing, “Cancer needed a makeover and I was just the gal to do it!” She began writing and filming her journey, documenting her interactions with friends, doctors, alternative “quacks,” blind dates, and other women with cancer—sadly a growing group. These include hip, young women such as illustrator-author Marisa Acocella Marchetto (Cancer Vixen), Glamour writer-editor Erin Zammett (My So-Called Normal Life), MTV personality Diem Brown (Real World/Road Rules Challenge), model Sharon Blynn (founder, Bald Is Beautiful), and music manager Jackie Farry, among others. In August 2007, The Learning Channel will broadcast Carr’s unforgettable documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer. Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips gathers the lessons learned and advice offered from Carr’s own journey, as well as the experiences of her cancer posse. Full-color photos accompany personal stories and candid revelations in this scrapbook of advice, warnings, and resources for the cancer patient. Chapters cover your changing social life, dating, sex, and appearance; essential health tips on how to boost your immune system; recipes; medical and holistic resources; and information on young survivor support groups. The resulting book is a warm, yet informative tool for any woman newly diagnosed with the disease and for those who love them.

Dinner Survival $15.6 Dinner Survival

Kidney Desk $1408 Hand painted aviary scene on antique silver leaf base. Kidney desk with single drawer. Ships KD with legs screwing into table top.

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