Good Cancers and Bad Cancers
Bob Riter
bob@crcfl.net
I routinely talk with people who have just been diagnosed with cancer. They're struggling with treatment decisions and the realization that life is suddenly different.
I also talk with people with advanced cancer who are coming to terms with a poor prognosis and the realization that, in all likelihood, they will die prematurely because of that cancer.
It is particularly devastating to receive both rounds of bad news at once-that you have cancer and that a cure is unlikely.
In the regular world, all cancer is bad, but in oncology offices, there are good cancers and there are bad cancers. I realize that "good cancer" sounds like an oxymoron, but cancer professionals often think in those terms. Good cancers are generally curable.
Of course, if it's your cancer, it's never a "good cancer," a "garden variety cancer," or any other term that seemingly diminishes your fears or the disruption of your life.
Breast cancer and prostate cancer are the most common cancers (aside from skin cancer), and they're generally "good" cancers. People who receive these diagnoses undergo treatment and then return to their normal lives. In all likelihood, they will die many years later of something else.
But people who are diagnosed with the "bad" cancers often die from those cancers. New treatments are increasingly able to extend lives - often for many years - but a cure is the exception rather than the rule.
There are, however, survivors of even the worst diagnoses. I love meeting people who were treated for "bad" cancers years ago and are still going strong. There are no absolutes.
And many cancers fall somewhere in between being a good cancer and a bad cancer on the spectrum of cancer survivability. In some ways, people with these cancers have the most difficult time of all because statistics don't provide a clear roadmap for what's ahead.
I find that patients diagnosed with bad cancers often accept the news better than do their loved ones.
Patients generally accept the reality of the situation AND maintain their sense of hope. Reality and hope aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, the patients who keep reality and hope in balance almost always seem to have an easier time - emotionally and physically - than those who lose that balance.
And loved ones who maintain a similar balance are the best companions for this difficult journey. Every patient with cancer has days of confidence and days of fear. Loved ones who listen and support every day are special treasures.
from the Ithaca Journal, October 31, 2009
