What does remission cancer mean?
What does remission cancer mean?
Remission means that the signs and symptoms of your cancer are reduced. Remission can be partial or complete. In a complete remission, all signs and symptoms of cancer have disappeared. If you remain in complete remission for 5 years or more, some doctors may say that you are cured.
What’s the difference between remission and cancer free?
Remission allows for the possibility that some microscopic, undetectable cancer remains in the body, while cancer-free indicates exactly what it sounds like: the patient is entirely free of cancer.
What does 100% remission mean?
Complete remission means that tests, physical exams, and scans show that all signs of your cancer are gone. Some doctors also refer to complete remission as “no evidence of disease (NED).” That doesn’t mean you are cured.
Does complete remission mean cancer free?
A complete remission means no signs of the disease show up on any tests. That doesn’t mean your cancer is gone forever. You can still have cancer cells somewhere in your body. Regular checkups will help your doctor make sure the disease isn’t active again.
Does cancer come back after remission?
What is a cancer recurrence? When cancer returns after a period of remission, it’s considered a recurrence. A cancer recurrence happens because, in spite of the best efforts to rid you of your cancer, some cells from your cancer remained. These cells can grow and may cause symptoms.
Is cancer cured or in remission?
Remission is a period of time when the cancer is responding to treatment or is under control. Some people think that remission means the cancer has been cured, but that may not be the case. In a complete remission, all the signs and symptoms of cancer go away, and cancer cells can’t be found by any tests.
What does remission mean in regard to cancer?
With regard to cancer, remission means there is no sign of it on scans or when the doctor examines you. Doctors use the word ‘remission’ instead of cure when talking about cancer because they cannot be sure that there are no cancer cells at all in the body.
Why is remission used to describe cancer?
With respect to cancer, however, being in “remission” means that we are waiting for “it” to return. If “it” does return, this recurrence is seen as the same cancer. Psychologically, this may lead us to feel defeated. For each new cold we beat, we implicitly think, “I beat it before, I can beat it again.”
What types of cancer can go into remission?
Infusion-related reactions.
Does cancer remission mean that it is gone forever?
To qualify as remission, your tumor either doesn’t grow back or stays the same size for a month after you finish treatments. A complete remission means no signs of the disease show up on any tests. That doesn’t mean your cancer is gone forever. You can still have cancer cells somewhere in your body.