Booklet: What You Need to Know about Ovarian Cancer

What the Future Holds

Patients and their families are naturally concerned about what the future holds. Sometimes they use statistics to try to figure out whether the patient will be cured or how long she will live. It is important to remember, however, that statistics are averages based on large numbers of patients. They cannot be used to predict what will happen to a particular patient because no two cancer patients are alike; treatments and responses vary greatly. Patients should talk with the doctor about their chance of recovery (prognosis). When doctors talk about surviving cancer, they may use the term remission rather than cure. Even though ovarian cancer can be cured, doctors use these terms because the disease can return. (The return of cancer is called a recurrence.)

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