Stage 4 Lung Cancer Survival Rate

To accurately put a number on claims of stage 4 lung cancer survival rates is a difficult task, because there are a lot of other factors and nuances that also come into play here. The numbers are released based on averages, and it heavily depends on the physical health, the severity of the symptoms, and the medical history of the individual who has been afflicted by lung cancer.

Lung cancer is a very widespread and commonly seen disease around the world, and this is primarily because there are many people who are heavy smokers. Tobacco and nicotine is the single biggest cause of lung cancer in human beings, and this is something that is unavoidable for a person who smokes a lot, or has been smoking for a long time.

Stage 4 lung cancer (metastatic lung cancer) is the most advanced stage of the cancer, and sadly, there is no cure for it. The only options that people do have for the condition are merely treatments that reduce the intensity of the symptoms. The cancer occurs due to the presence of a tumor in the lungs, and when this cancer reaches this stage, it means that it has begun to spread to other parts of the lungs and the body.

Survival Rate for Lung Cancer

Several environmental and genetic factors also come into play when a person contracts lung cancer, and all these factors together determine the survival rate. As mentioned before, stage 4 lung cancer is incurable, so it goes without saying that stage 4 lung cancer survival rate will be pretty low indeed. One of the crucial reasons why this happens is that people get this problem diagnosed only when they have reached an advanced stage of the disease. This leaves the individual with no other option than to live with the condition, and curb the symptoms as best as possible.

The survival rate for cancer implies the amount of time that an individual can spend living a relatively healthy life after he has been diagnosed with the condition. In the case of stage 4 lung cancer survival rate, it also implies the number of people who actually live beyond a certain point. This survival rate is pretty low, as has already been mentioned, and on an average an individual can expect to live for about 5 years after he has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Please note that this is an average figure, and there are some people who live for far longer than just 5 years. On the other hand, there are many cases who may not even reach this 5 year mark, before they succumb to final stage lung cancer.

Doctors and medical institutions also claim that once a person has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, he/she only has a 10% chance of surviving. This does not mean that 10% of the people live perfectly healthy lives. They also have to deal with intense forms of cancer treatment (which have their own side effects), and they will also display certain symptoms and conditions which will never truly go away. In short, their lives will never be the same again. Moreover, doctors also say that the median survival time for stage 4 lung cancer is 8 months. This is the amount of time that passes by when 50% of the people diagnosed with lung cancer pass away.

Dealing With Lung Cancer

If you, or someone you know and who is close to you, have been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, then coping with the condition is essential. Since the chances of survival are pretty low, you have to prepare yourselves for the worst, and do all it takes to enhance the quality of life while it lasts. Try to stay positive, visit support groups, ensure that all financial loose ends are taken care of, and try and reconcile all estranged relationships. This needs to be done, because stage 4 is the most advanced out of the four different stages of lung cancer.

All this is far easier said than done, but it is something that is inevitable and has to be done. There is no other way out. If you have undertaken some form of treatment through radiation and other methods, then you need to learn how to cope with the side effects of these methods as well. The low figures of stage 4 lung cancer survival rate make these treatments an option that will merely prolong the inevitable.

You need to be strong when dealing with such a situation, because it is going to be extremely taxing. Life goes on, and you must move on with it one way or another. The stage 4 lung cancer survival rate figures are disheartening, but all you can and must do is ensure that you live your last few months or years to the fullest.