Brain Cancer Survival Rate
How High is the Brain Cancer Survival Rate?
Brain cancer is one of the most incurable cancers that exist, and leaves you wondering if there will ever be an in increase in the brain cancer survival rate. There is no cure for brain cancer, and technology has only advanced so far, leaving doctors with much to talk about in terms of searching for a better way to treat it, or go at it with what they have available to them.
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Statistics on the Survival Rate
The key with the brain cancer survival rate is the duration of a patient’s symptoms. However, the mortality rate is at its lowest when someone is young, and increases dramatically each decade as the patient gets older. Once the patient is 55 or older, things look pretty bleak. In addition to the symptoms, the location of the tumor also makes things challenging when determine a survival rate. Each case is different, and it only falls second to pancreatic cancer on the survival chart.
The preoperative size of the tumor can also play a part in this issue too, making it difficult to maneuver around it. There is a 5 year survival rate of 70-85% as long as the tumor hasn’t spread, leaving possibility for a surgical resection of the tumor. If the tumor has in fact spread, then the five year survival rate drops down to 30-40%.
What Causes Brain Cancer?
Brain cancer is still a mystery to many who have lost loved ones to its death sentence. Even those families who didn’t have any candidates for cancer in their life were still cropping up with brain cancer. One such deadly form of brain cancer is referred to as a glioblastoma. There is no cure for this, and most certainly brings a death sentence from the time of its diagnosis. It is so aggressive, it doesn’t leave anyone with much of a chance at life.
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There are several factors that contribute to a five year survival rate with a patient. The location and size of the tumor are the starting point for determining how to handle this and what to do about it. The stage of the cancer and the overall health of a patient will also help to determine the outcome of one’s condition. Thankfully, when a brain tumor is non-cancerous, it can be removed without a hitch in most cases, and the patient can make a full recovery.
The brain cancer survival rate is usually based upon a five year time span. This means the percentage of patients that are alive in five years after the diagnosis was given. Just keep in mind that survival statistics are based upon a large number of people, so they should not be used to determine that of another patient. Every person heals differently, and it is not fair to compare the condition of one healthy to that of an unhealthy patient.
We do know that right now, one in three brain cancer patients does go on to survive for at least five years. African-American patients have a better chance of survival than Caucasians. Keep in mind that a patient’s age is also a contributing factor to their survival as well. This is not strictly based upon one factor, but many factors. A combination of chemotherapy and radiation has helped to show improvement in the life of patients, by adding time to their lives. If anything, it can for awhile improve their quality of life. We do know that patients that choose not to get treatment, are not likely to have a chance of survival like this.