Out of 100 people in this situation:
Resources for people with cancer and their loved ones
Fortunately, many insurance plans provide excellent coverage for cancer treatment.
Sometimes insurance may deny coverage for certain treatments. In those instances, people frequently look for options to fund treatment.
One that may be available to you is the sale of a life insurance policy, also known as a life settlement. To learn more about this option, visit our partner, Lighthouse Life.
3 questions to ask your doctor
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Ask your doctor about their thoughts on your 1, 2, 5 and 10 year survival rates to get a personalized estimate. The numbers on this site are survival rates based upon cases of other people with this type of cancer. Use these numbers to ask your doctor what would make your outlook the same or different.
Tip: Use the drop-down at the top of the page to change the survival length from 5 year to 1, 2 or 10 year.
Reviewed by Aaron Simon M.D. Ph.D, Radiation Medicine, UC San Diego
What is Stage and why do I need to know it?
Cancer Stage typically indicates the size of the cancer tumor and if the cancer has spread. "Localized" (also referred to as "Stage 1") means the cancer hasn't spread to other parts of the body. "Metastatic" (also referred to as "Stage 4") means cancer has spread to other, distant parts of the body. "Regional" (also referred to as "Stage 2/3") is somewhere in between "localized" and "metastatic" where the cancer has spread but not to distant parts of the body. Survival rates are typically lower for higher stages.
What is Grade and why do I need to know it?
Some cancers also have a grade. The grade indicates how fast the cancer is growing. Well differentiated means the cancer cells are more like normal cells and growing slower. Poorly differentiated means the cancer cells don’t look like normal cells and growing faster. Moderately differentiated grade means the cells are somewhere in between well and poorly differentiated.
What is Histology and why do I need to know it?
Histology type describes the tissue in the cancer. Cancer is treated differently depending upon histology type for many cancers. Outcomes and survival rates can be different by histology type so it can be useful to know your histology. Some histologies are less common and therefore may not be included in our database. Talk with your doctor about how your histology affects outcomes and survival rates.
Bottom line, confirming stage and grade of cancer with your doctor is important for understanding prognosis (outlook) and discussing treatment options.
Reviewed by Andrew Bruggeman, M.D. Radiation Oncologist, UC San Diego
Ask about things that will make you more comfortable: Treating your pain or side effects, or anything else that will improve your comfort. Doctors and nurses can't help if you don't ask.
Reviewed by Shoshana Ungerleider, M.D. California Pacific Medical Center
Questions to think about
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We recommend the following website for more information: Advance Care Planning
Reviewed by Shoshana Ungerleider, M.D. California Pacific Medical Center
These are personal questions best discussed with your family, friends, and care providers. But it's your life, so thinking about how you want to live it is something we believe we all have the right to do. Even if survival rates are good, stopping to think about what we want to do, who we want to be, and how we want to live is a perfectly good thing to do, no matter the diagnosis.