Once upon a time, there was a great deal of fear associated with the "C" word. Survival rates were extremely low and once a person got such a diagnosis, it was very difficult to fight off an overwhelming sense of dread. Fortunately, getting diagnosed with testicular cancer is no longer akin to a death sentence. In fact, the survival rate for testicular cancer is quite high with nearly all patients being completely cured after a course of treatments.
What Does Cancer Survival Mean?
When a patient is diagnosed with cancer, doctors may use numbers to explain the condition. They may say things like, "you have a 1, 2, or 3-year survival rate." This is not to say that you will live one, two, or three years after diagnosis but instead it explains the number of people who were still alive after the one, two, or three year time period.
Understanding Cancer Stages:
To determine how long can people live with testicular cancer, your doctor may also tell you that you have stage 1, 2, 3, or 4 cancer. Each stage of testicular cancer has a different survival rate. It explains the extent of the cancer in the body.
Stage 1 indicates that the cancer is only found in the testes and it has not spread to other parts of the body. Nearly all men when diagnosed at stage 1 have a five-year survival rate.
Stage 2 indicates that the cancer has begun to spread to the lymph nodes nearby. Even though it has spread, there is still about a 95% 5-year survival rate.
Stage 3 means that the cancer as already spread to other lymph nodes in the body (possibly those in the armpit or the neck). Still, there is an 80% 5-year survival rate for most men.
Stage 4 is an indication that the cancer has now reached other organs in the body. This is called metastatic cancer and it now is classed as a stage 3C cancer. Even with that kind of spread, with proper treatment, when it comes to testicular cancer, approximately 80% of men will survive for at least 5 years with it.
The fact is that with modern scientific research, the prognosis for a full recovery from testicular cancer is quite good. In determining how long can people live with testicular cancer, statistics show that nearly all men will survive for at least one year after they have been diagnosed and approximately 98% of them will survive for five years or more.
Testicular cancer is not like other cancers. Once you are in remission it is very rare for the cancer to return. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to expect that most could expect as much as a 10-year survival rate.
It is important, however, to note that these figures are merely estimates of a possible prognosis. Since all cancers do not react the same way to treatment and patient's do not respond the same the figures given are merely estimates determined by the average results of previous cancer patients. To know how long can people live with testicular cancer, you must work with your doctor to determine the exact cause of treatment for your cancer and determine the specific prognosis for you.