MRF-Logo2019-Horizontal-RGB
Five-year survival
REGISTER
The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Content within the patient forum is user-generated and has not been reviewed by medical professionals. Other sections of the Melanoma Research Foundation website include information that has been reviewed by medical professionals as appropriate. All medical decisions should be made in consultation with your doctor or other qualified medical professional.

Five-year survival

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Five-year survival

  • Post
    • November 28, 2011 at 2:35 pm
    Karolina
    Participant

      I may ask a silly question but I don’t quite understand what five-year survival refers to. What does it really mean? Does it mean that there is no data available what it happening with patients after 5 years since the cancer is diagnosed or does it mean that patients do not survive more then 5 year or patience who have survived 5 years with no further cancer diagnosis, are fully healed or what?

      I may ask a silly question but I don’t quite understand what five-year survival refers to. What does it really mean? Does it mean that there is no data available what it happening with patients after 5 years since the cancer is diagnosed or does it mean that patients do not survive more then 5 year or patience who have survived 5 years with no further cancer diagnosis, are fully healed or what?

      To clarify, I am reading various articles about desmoplastic melanoma and in every publication reference to five-year survival is provided and all statistics are based on 5 year. Why is  this 5 years so critical?

      K.

    Viewing 5 reply threads
    • Replies
        • November 28, 2011 at 3:56 pm
        Janner
        Participant

          5 years is just a standard used often in the medical (cancer) community.  5 year survival is the percentage of people tracked with that type of cancer (or subgroup i.e. type or stage) that have survived 5 years since diagnosis.  If they lose track of someone, they are not included in the numbers.  So out of everyone they track with those particulars, the stats show the percentage of people who are alive after 5 years.  5 years isn't any magical number in terms of long term survival, it's just a convenient end point.  Survival stats are historical figures only and do not reflect a person's chance of surviving the disease.  New treatments wouldn't be included in older survival data so the numbers are inherently skewed.

          Best wishes,

          Janner

            • November 28, 2011 at 4:01 pm
            Karolina
            Participant

              Janner,

              thank you very much for this. Now I know…

              • November 28, 2011 at 4:01 pm
              Karolina
              Participant

                Janner,

                thank you very much for this. Now I know…

                • November 28, 2011 at 4:01 pm
                Karolina
                Participant

                  Janner,

                  thank you very much for this. Now I know…

                • November 28, 2011 at 3:56 pm
                Janner
                Participant

                  5 years is just a standard used often in the medical (cancer) community.  5 year survival is the percentage of people tracked with that type of cancer (or subgroup i.e. type or stage) that have survived 5 years since diagnosis.  If they lose track of someone, they are not included in the numbers.  So out of everyone they track with those particulars, the stats show the percentage of people who are alive after 5 years.  5 years isn't any magical number in terms of long term survival, it's just a convenient end point.  Survival stats are historical figures only and do not reflect a person's chance of surviving the disease.  New treatments wouldn't be included in older survival data so the numbers are inherently skewed.

                  Best wishes,

                  Janner

                  • November 28, 2011 at 3:56 pm
                  Janner
                  Participant

                    5 years is just a standard used often in the medical (cancer) community.  5 year survival is the percentage of people tracked with that type of cancer (or subgroup i.e. type or stage) that have survived 5 years since diagnosis.  If they lose track of someone, they are not included in the numbers.  So out of everyone they track with those particulars, the stats show the percentage of people who are alive after 5 years.  5 years isn't any magical number in terms of long term survival, it's just a convenient end point.  Survival stats are historical figures only and do not reflect a person's chance of surviving the disease.  New treatments wouldn't be included in older survival data so the numbers are inherently skewed.

                    Best wishes,

                    Janner

                    • November 29, 2011 at 10:45 pm
                    CKasper
                    Participant

                      This is just a standard line the Doctor give you.  I'm a very long time survivor, my cancer started in the 1980s and I got the oh, the standard lifespan with this type of cancer is usually 5 years.  I'm still hear.

                      • November 29, 2011 at 10:45 pm
                      CKasper
                      Participant

                        This is just a standard line the Doctor give you.  I'm a very long time survivor, my cancer started in the 1980s and I got the oh, the standard lifespan with this type of cancer is usually 5 years.  I'm still hear.

                        • November 29, 2011 at 10:45 pm
                        CKasper
                        Participant

                          This is just a standard line the Doctor give you.  I'm a very long time survivor, my cancer started in the 1980s and I got the oh, the standard lifespan with this type of cancer is usually 5 years.  I'm still hear.

                      Viewing 5 reply threads

                      Tagged: 

                      • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
                      About the MRF Patient Forum

                      The MRF Patient Forum is the oldest and largest online community of people affected by melanoma. It is designed to provide peer support and information to caregivers, patients, family and friends. There is no better place to discuss different parts of your journey with this cancer and find the friends and support resources to make that journey more bearable.

                      The information on the forum is open and accessible to everyone. To add a new topic or to post a reply, you must be a registered user. Please note that you will be able to post both topics and replies anonymously even though you are logged in. All posts must abide by MRF posting policies.

                      Popular Topics