Jennings: Advanced Form Of Lung Cancer Has A Relatively Low Survival Rate

Peter Jennings’ decision to “forgo surgery suggests a more advanced form of cancer for which long-term survival rates are relatively low,” Howard Kurtz reports on A1 of the WP.

The five-year survival rate for men with operable lung cancer is 45 percent — but the survival rate is under 14 percent for more advanced cancer that cannot be removed.

Here’s the key paragraph: “Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, said a decision by patients not to seek surgery for lung cancer “suggests they believe it’s already spread to a point where surgery does not offer a cure.” This is either because the cancer is at too advanced a stage or because it is a form called small-cell cancer — which occurs in about a quarter of such cases — and has already spread to other parts of the body, he said. Still, “chemotherapy can absolutely prolong life,” said Edelman…”

> Also: Newsday: “Lung cancer has proven extremely difficult to diagnose in an early stage and carries with it a stigma that people with other forms of cancer do not face, medical experts said Tuesday.”