Can You Survive a Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis? An Experts Weighs In

Also referred to as metastatic or advanced, it refers to cancer that has spread to other organs or parts of the body. The reason doctors diagnose cancer by its stages (from 0 to 4) is to have a common language for discussion as well as to make a determination for the best and most appropriate treatment.

Stage 4 cancer is a serious diagnosis. But especially now in the age of immunotherapies and other new therapies, some stage 4 cancers, “can have really profound, durable responses to treatment,” Dr. Irene Kang, who specializes in medical oncology at USC Norris Cancer Hospital, told SurvivorNet.

Let's take a closer look at some specifics.

Is Stage 4 Cancer Curable?

Distant metastasis (when your cancer spreads) alone does not necessarily mean a cancer is incurable. “Unfortunately at this point in time, in the vast majority of cases, a cancer spread distantly is a cancer that we can’t cure  but there are some exceptions," Dr. Kang tells SurvivorNet.

For instance, "Not all breast cancers are the same, and not all stage 4 breast cancers are the same," she says. "You can have a cancer that spreads distantly to many different organ systems or you can have a cancer that’s spread, let’s say, to just one or two sites."

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As another example of a stage 4 cancer with a better prognosis, she cites colon cancer that’s only spread to one site in the liver.  “That may be a cancer that we can still cure,” Dr. Kang says.

Overall, she notes, "with the help of new therapy, it’s becoming possible to have long-term disease control with treatment,” in the case of some advanced cancers.

What Is the Life Expectancy of Stage 4 Cancer?

Stage 4 cancer life expectancy depends in part on the type of cancer. For instance, the American Cancer Society cites stage 4 breast cancer survival rate at 22 percent over five years, and about 14 percent for stage 4 colon cancer. Similarly, stage 4 ovarian cancer has a five-year survival rate of about 17 to 20 percent.

Other types of advanced cancers have different outcomes. Stage 4 lung cancer survival rate is less than 5 percent, but new treatments give us hope for better results.

Facing Stage 4 Cancer as a Mother

Stage 4 pancreatic cancer has a survival rate of 1 percent over five years. The average patient diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer will live for about one year, according to Johns Hopkins.

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Not all stage 4 cancer is terminal; how long you can live with stage 4 cancer varies with the specifics of each individual case and the available treatment options.

Stage 4 Colon Cancer: “Not All Patients Are the Same”

What are the Variables That Affect Stage 4 Cancer Prognosis?

One person's stage 4 cancer diagnosis does not necessarily come with the same prognosis as another person's stage 4 diagnosis.

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“There’s a lot of things that go into prognoses," Dr. Kang explains. These include the type of cancer it is, the treatment options, and the response.

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"There are disease-specific factors, as well as patient-specific factors,” she says. The latter would include general strength, and underlying health issues for instance, if the patient already has diabetes, it would make certain treatments more difficult.

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