Can I Survive Bile Duct Cancer? What Is My Prognosis?
Survival rates show the percentage of people with a certain type and stage of cancer who survive it for a certain period of time after they are diagnosed. A 5-year survival rate is the percentage of people who are alive 5 years after they are diagnosed. These are the people it includes:
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those who are free of disease (there are no signs of cancer)
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those who have few or no signs or symptoms of cancer
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those who are being treated for cancer
Many people included in the 5-year survival rate live much longer than 5 years after diagnosis. Also, because the statistic is based on people diagnosed and initially treated more than 5 years ago, it’s possible that the outlook could be better today. People who are newly diagnosed often have a more favorable outlook. That is because of improvements in treatment.
Survival rates are based on large groups of people. They cannot be used to predict what will happen to a particular person. No 2 people are exactly alike. Treatment and responses to treatment vary greatly.
Bile duct cancer treatment is most successful when the cancer is found in an early stage. When it is found early, people with bile duct cancer may have a 30% chance of surviving for 5 years. Only about 20% of bile duct cancers are found at an early stage. For this reason, most people with bile duct cancer have less than a 10% chance of surviving at least 5 years.
Online Medical Reviewer:
Alteri, Rick MD
Online Medical Reviewer:
Coleman, JoAnn RN, MS, ACNP, AOCN®
Online Medical Reviewer:
Sun, Weijing MD
Last Annual Review Date:
4/27/2008