What have you heard from your docs???

kdwers
kdwers Member Posts: 16 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
My husband was treated at MD Anderson for Nasopharyngeal Cancer. Stage IVC mets to lymph nodes and liver at diagnosis. He has been NED since finishing treatment Feb 2011. He just had Pet and MRI. Per our Dr, from studies done there, with patients at my husbands stage, 5 year survival is 10%., anyone at this stage have better news? Thanks, would like other opinions.

Comments

  • fisrpotpe
    fisrpotpe Member Posts: 1,349 Member
    #2
    simple for me
    it was simple for me, you either make it and survive or the worst. we are not survivors with numbers on our forehead. i believe your husband will make it.

    john
  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #3
    While I would never debate the numbers
    with MDAnderson, those numbers don't help you in the least. He had a bad cancer. It has been treated now, and he is NED. If it makes you feel better about his situation, the 10% numbers were obtained from collecting a group of patients from BEFORE treatment began, then following them over time. As this is not now your husband's situation, these numbers no longer apply.

    His survival expectancy is clearly BETTER than this, because of the fact he is, at least now, NED. That puts him in a different cohort than that group of patients that started out looking like him, but already has a recurrance. So his survival expectancy is actually better than the 10% you were quoted.

    My personal advice to you is to totally ignore these numbers. These boards (all of them) are full of posts from people who are unbelievably alive, surviving against all odds, living to post their incredible stories for us to read.

    Best regards to both of you.

    Pat
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #4
    Numbers....
    As mentioned....forget about them..

    Most of these were done at different times than now, and statistically you don't know the bulk of the median range...

    Age, physical condition going it, genetics, tobacco/alchol use...etc....

    There is way too many factors involved....concentrate on you and your husband and leave the worry off odds and statistics at the curb.

    Stay proactive, not reactive, stay positive in thought, faith, family and friends....

    Best,
    John
  • kdwers
    kdwers Member Posts: 16 Member
    #5
    Skiffin16 said:

    Numbers....
    As mentioned....forget about them..

    Most of these were done at different times than now, and statistically you don't know the bulk of the median range...

    Age, physical condition going it, genetics, tobacco/alchol use...etc....

    There is way too many factors involved....concentrate on you and your husband and leave the worry off odds and statistics at the curb.

    Stay proactive, not reactive, stay positive in thought, faith, family and friends....

    Best,
    John

    Your so Right!
    Thank you so much for responding to me! I know what your saying is absolutly true and right! We just got back from Anderson on Wednesday and their words are fresh and I start to "freak out" a little again! I needed to read your words to get a renewal of mind. We are strong in our faith and believe God is in total control. We also have the support of family and friends. I work in the medical field and therefore, I think I tend to pay too much attention to numbers! Thank you for reminding me of how stats work. I know many "beat the odds". We are so Blessed by the NED results.
  • Hal61
    Hal61 Member Posts: 655
    #6
    kdwers said:

    Your so Right!
    Thank you so much for responding to me! I know what your saying is absolutly true and right! We just got back from Anderson on Wednesday and their words are fresh and I start to "freak out" a little again! I needed to read your words to get a renewal of mind. We are strong in our faith and believe God is in total control. We also have the support of family and friends. I work in the medical field and therefore, I think I tend to pay too much attention to numbers! Thank you for reminding me of how stats work. I know many "beat the odds". We are so Blessed by the NED results.

    Small sample
    Even if the problems inherent in the stats as mentioned are thrown out , . . it amounts to a small sample. You said the figures came from patient groups from MD Anderson. That's a big place, but a drop in the bucket compared to the patient base across the country and around the world.
    As Longterm said, your husband has already placed himself in a higher percentage group by being NED. It's not only that the odds can be beaten, but they aren't valid, that is they don't accurately measure what it is they refer to. So pick your own number, and enjoy your life.
    best, Hal
  • wendywen
    wendywen Member Posts: 2
    #7
    Hi Kdwers,

    Hi Kdwers,

    Congratulations on your husband's successful NPC treatment!  His condition is VERY similar to that of my father's who was just diagnosed last week.  My dad has NPC, Stage 4C, with metastasis to the lymph nodes and liver.  You'd mentioned he was treated at MD Anderson.  My dad is currently being treated at UCLA, and we're considering getting a second opinion from MD Anderson.

    Who was your husband's doctor(s) at MD Anderson?  Were they good?  How many cases of NPC have they seen? 

    The trouble with UCLA is that they have not seen a lot of patients with advanced NPC since it's such a rare cancer here in the U.S.  Would love to understand how many cases of NPC MD Anderson has seen.  

    Thank you!

    Best,

    Wendy

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #8
    wendywen said:

    Hi Kdwers,

    Hi Kdwers,

    Congratulations on your husband's successful NPC treatment!  His condition is VERY similar to that of my father's who was just diagnosed last week.  My dad has NPC, Stage 4C, with metastasis to the lymph nodes and liver.  You'd mentioned he was treated at MD Anderson.  My dad is currently being treated at UCLA, and we're considering getting a second opinion from MD Anderson.

    Who was your husband's doctor(s) at MD Anderson?  Were they good?  How many cases of NPC have they seen? 

    The trouble with UCLA is that they have not seen a lot of patients with advanced NPC since it's such a rare cancer here in the U.S.  Would love to understand how many cases of NPC MD Anderson has seen.  

    Thank you!

    Best,

    Wendy

    welcome

    Wendy,

    Welcome to the H&N forum, sorry that you are here about your Father.

    This is an older post and Kdwers has not logged on since October 26, 2014 and most likely will not respond to your query.

    If you do seek to have a correspondence, you might try to start a new thread and see what happens.

    Good luck.

    Matt

  • wendywen
    wendywen Member Posts: 2
    #9
    CivilMatt said:

    welcome

    Wendy,

    Welcome to the H&N forum, sorry that you are here about your Father.

    This is an older post and Kdwers has not logged on since October 26, 2014 and most likely will not respond to your query.

    If you do seek to have a correspondence, you might try to start a new thread and see what happens.

    Good luck.

    Matt

    Thanks for the tip, Matt.  I

    Thanks for the tip, Matt.  I will post to a new thread!

Discussion Boards