Cancer Prognosis

Cancer prognosis refers to a medical opinion about the likely course and the outcome of the disease. The prognosis gives an idea of the chance that a patient will recover or have a recurrence. Prognosis of cancer will include the duration of the cancer, the chances of complications, probable outcomes as well as the prospects of recovery. The prognosis will also include the recovery period, survival rates, death rates and the outcome possibilities in the overall prognosis of the disease.

Some of the factors that affect a prognosis for cancer are the type and location of the cancer and the stage of the disease. Another factor that affects cancer prognosis is the grade or how abnormal the cancer cells look and how quickly the cancer is likely to grow or spread. Other factors that may affect the prognosis are a patient’s age, the patient’s general health and his or her response to treatment. During prognosis, doctors put into consideration all the factors that could affect the patient’s disease and treatment. They then try to predict what might happen.

The doctors base the prognosis on information researchers have collected over many years from people with cancer .The doctors use statistics based on groups of people whose situations or conditions are most similar to that of an individual patient.

A doctor will give a favorable prognosis if the cancer is likely to respond well to the treatment but if the cancer is likely to be difficult to control, the doctor’s prognosis may not be that favorable. It is important to note that cancer prognosis is just a prediction and therefore a doctor cannot say with certainty what the outcome will be in an individual case.

By: Mercy Maranga

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Mercy Maranga Reports on Health and Fitness issues. Visit Her Site here for more information on cancer and its treatment Cancer