Stage 4 Cancer Survival Rate

The word 'cancer' has become synonymous with terror and death. Even with the advancements in medical field, mankind has failed to come up with a cure for this disease. Yet, one can definitely keep it under control with the help of medications, surgeries and other advance cancer treatments. However, the success of treatment is greatly determined by the stage in which the disease is diagnosed. The earlier the diagnosis, greater the treatment options and eventually higher the survival rate. Also, some forms of cancer are easier to treat than others, hence offer better stage 4 prognosis. Any type of cancer is classified in five stages (0 to 4) according to the advancement of the disease.

Stage 4 Survival Rate for Common Cancer Types

The survival rate is often expressed as life expectancy in the next 1 year or five years. For example a five year survival rate of 40% states that out of 100 diagnosed cancer patients for the particular type, 40 people can live for 5 years or longer. It is very difficult to predict an exact survival rate, since the life expectancy of the person is highly circumstantial. A lot depends upon the care and treatment given to the patient as well as his own will power to conquer the disease. Stage 4 cancer is a condition in which cancer is in metastasized state, meaning, it has spread to distant organs.

Lung Cancer
Stage 4 lung cancer is not reversible but it is indeed treatable. Five year survival rate for stage 4 lung cancer is 50%, which is not bad compared to other cancer types. Unfortunately, after 5 years, this number drops to about 10%. One can prolong the life of the patient with proper medical treatments.

Colon Cancer
Colon cancer diagnosis is often delayed due to absence of definite symptoms. The treatment option at this stage include surgical removal of the tumor along with affected surrounding organs. However, this treatment option is not viable in case the cancer has spread to other organs like liver, lungs etc. Five year survival rate for this cancer is about 8 to 15%.

Liver Cancer
It is pretty rare in western countries but quite common in developing countries. If stage 4 liver cancer goes untreated, about 90% of patients will succumb to disease within a year. If a successful liver transplant with no complications has been performed, the patient may leave for another 5 years. About 36% people may live beyond that.

Brain Cancer
Brain cancer in one of the worst forms of cancer to treat. It spreads to spine and other tissues of CNS. Average 5 year survival rate for stage 4 brain cancer is less than 20%. However, in case of glioblastoma multiforme, a person may die within 9 months to 1 year after diagnosis.

Stomach Cancer
It is a leading cause of deaths due to cancer. Due to delayed symptoms, it is often detected in the later stages of the advancement of disease. A whopping 80% cases are diagnosed at stage 4, which reduces the five year survival rate to mere 5%.

Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is a dangerous type of cancer as it tends to spread very quickly. Moreover, only less than 10% of cases are detected in early stages in which the tumor is confined in pancreas. Since, most cases are detected when the cancer has affected lymph nodes and other organs, the 5 year survival rate for stage 4 pancreatic cancer is just around 4%.

Ovarian Cancer
It is pretty rare and affects 1 in every 100 women, as against breast cancer which affects 1 in every 10 women. The five year survival rate for stage 4 ovarian cancer is about 17%, but after that it rises to about 56%.

Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is a slow growing and mostly localized form of cancer which affects elderly. It is often detected in early stages in about 3 quarters of patients. Although, survival rate at stage 4 prostate cancer is about 33%, many of the patients die due to several other causes owing to old age.

Breast Cancer
One good thing about breast cancer is that it is often detected at a very early stage, which allows you to explore several treatment options. Stage 1 breast cancer has an excellent survival rate of 98 to 100%, which eventually drops down to 16% at stage 4.

Stage 4 cancer survival rates are subject to variation due to the involvement of factors such as age, sex, general health of patient as well as availability of medical facilities. Women and younger patients usually outlive their life expectancy prognosis.