Learn the terms healthcare teams use after cancer treatment is complete, and why they hesitate to use the word “cured.”
Advances in cancer diagnosis, screening, and treatment have greatly improved the 5-year survival rates of most people with cancer over the last 30 years. Long-term survivors of cancer are more and more common, and research is increasingly directed at helping people live well after a diagnosis of cancer.
But even so, many oncologists still hesitate to use the word “cure” with their patients. We talk with Dr. Jeanne Ford about the difference between the terms No Evidence of Disease (NED), remission, cure, and cancer free. We also talk about survivorship and addressing concern about recurrence.
In this Episode:
- 03:11 | Travel-Vermont and Vermont Chicken Pot Pie
- 04:25 | The Trouble with Using the Phrase “Cancer Free”
- 10:20 | Why We Don’t Say Cancer is Cured
- 12:00 | How Dr Ford Explains NED to Her Patients
- 19:17 | What Does “Cure” Really Mean?
- 29:38 | How Do Native Communities Treat the Concept of a Cancer Cure?
- 32:51 | The Role of Hope, and How to Deliver Honest Information
- 37:28 | Addressing Fear of Recurrence and Uncertainty about Future
- 44:13 | Cancer Survivorship and Surveillance
- 46:03 | Outro
Related Episodes:
- Our Entire Cancer Series – Everything You wanted to know about cancer, but didn’t have anyone to ask!
- S1E23: Support Groups
- S1E08: Receiving Bad News
- S4E21: Don’t Call it a Battle: Why We Need to Change our Metaphors for Serious Illness
- S1E17: Survivor’s Guilt with Tarah Warren
References:
- The Problem With the Phrase ‘Cancer-Free’
- ‘Cure’ in Cancer: Should Oncologists Use the Word?
- Kiely, B. E., & Stockler, M. R. (2020). When Should Oncologists Use the Words Hope and Cure?. JNCI cancer spectrum, 4(6), pkaa066. https://doi.org/10.1093/jncics/pkaa066
- Lisy, K., Langdon, L., Piper, A., & Jefford, M. (2019). Identifying the most prevalent unmet needs of cancer survivors in Australia: A systematic review. Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology, 15(5), e68–e78. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajco.13176
- Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D., Wagle, N. S., & Jemal, A. (2023). Cancer statistics, 2023. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians, 73(1), 17–48. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21763
- Remission, cancer-free, no evidence of disease: What’s the difference? | MD Anderson Cancer Center
Resources:
- National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship – Many report that they feel especially isolated when transitioning from active treatment into survivorship…see NCCS’s survivorship checklist to help you along in your follow-ups and rehabilitation
- American Cancer Society – Survivorship: During and After Treatment
- National Cancer Institute – Office of Cancer Survivorship
- Cancer Care – Provides tons of information and remote support groups. This is a great resource for people who live in small communities to have a chance to connect with others that have the same diagnosis.
Recipe of the Week:
This week we travel to Vermont, home of the Old Fashioned Vermont Chicken Pie, a recipe over 150 years old! Visit Rock’s best recipes for the ingredients and how to make it. We think Bernie would approve!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/
Everyone Dies: and yes, it is normal!
Everyone Dies (and yes, it is normal) is a story about a young boy named Jax who finds something special on the beach where he and his grandpa Pops are enjoying a wonderful day. Pops helps Jax understand that death is a normal part of life. This book provides an age appropriate, non-scary, comfortable way to introduce the important topic of mortality to a preschool child. Its simple explanation will last a lifetime. Autographed copies for sale at: www.everyonediesthebook.com. Also available at Amazon
Mourning Jewelry
We offer a way to memorialize your loved one or treasured pet with a piece of handmade jewelry. When people comment on it and the wearer can say for example “I received this when my mother died” which opens the conversation about this loss. All our jewelry is made with semi-precious stones and beads, vintage beads, and pearls. You can choose between earrings or bracelets and the color family. Learn More
