Compliance
Related to the above is treatment compliance. Some people just "give up", refuse treatment for their cancers, or do not alter there behavior. These people are entered into the database of patients and if they die earlier than patients that agree to therapy, they are still counted in the population prediction of survival. By refusing a treatment option such a chemotherapy an individual often will often affect their prognosis. This individual is still entered into the 5 year database.
Future Research
These estimates are based on data from thousands of cases of this type of cancer in the United States each year, but the actual risk for a particular individual may differ. It is not possible to tell a person how long he or she will live with a particular cancer. Because the survival statistics are measured in five-year (or sometimes one-year) intervals, they may not represent advances made in the treatment or diagnosis of this cancer.
I hope the above postings shed some light on being an individual rather than a statistic.
Adapted from an e-mail from Dr. Robert Bayer, oncologist at Delnor Community Hospital, Geneva, IL.
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