Joan - Re: Is it true that we can never say we are cancer free like other cancers?

December 29, 2002

" jdaxthelm " wrote:

> Hi - and thanks in advance for any responses

>

> I thought I had read that - unlike other cancers - thycans can never

> say that they are " cancer free " but should only say " cancer

> supressed " .

>

> Is this true? What are the thought processes behind this statement?

I think that's the conclusion that many list members have come to, in the search

to define our situations.

Most cancers are considered cured after 5 years, but as you know, thyca can

recur just as readily in 20 years as it can in 2, and lifetime vigilance is

required.

I just read a scary statistic on the Genzyme web site that " as many as 35% of

well-differentiated thyroid cancer patients experience a recurrence within 40

years after initial treatment, and only

about two thirds of those recurrences happen within the first 10 years after

therapy. "

The emphasis of this statement seems to me to be a bit curious, perhaps slanted

toward the intent of the manufacturer, which hopes to be a part of all of our

lifetime monitoring. The sentence

might also be phrased as " ... only 10% [1/3 of 35%] of thyroid cancer patients

may be expected to have a recurrence after 10 years following therapy " .

Back to your question ... at the risk of splitting hairs, I think the word to

avoid is " cured " ; I'm not sure I've heard the term " cancer suppressed " used

much. In time, we all come up with a

phrase that feels comfortable to us. I tend to say I was treated for cancer,

thus avoiding the " I have " v " I had " cancer question.

OTOH, I don't know how many of the general population could truthfully say they

are " cancer free " , since so many of us have cancer cells we don't know about,

and wouldn't be discovered except in

autopsy.

Whatever you choose to say about your cancer status, you've got my support :-)

-

PS - recently wrote a thoughtful letter on this subject .....

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