The five-year survival rate for esophageal cancer means the percentage of people that lived for at least five years after their diagnosis of esophageal cancer.
Cancer research has progressed by leaps and bounds in the last few years. Cancer, even an advanced stage, does not mean a death stage anymore. Survival in esophageal cancer depends on your overall health, symptoms, and stage at the age of diagnosis and existing comorbidities.
Survival rates for any disease are calculated in terms of how many people survived for at least five years after the disease diagnosis. These data are derived from a study that observed a particular set of people for five years after their diagnosis. The five-year survival rate for esophageal cancer means the percentage of people that lived for at least five years after their diagnosis of esophageal cancer. Survival rates can’t exactly tell you how long you will live, but these may help give you an idea of how successful your cancer treatment will be.
Survival rates differ depending on at what stage your cancer has been diagnosed. These stages have been defined by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
How is esophageal cancer treated?
Doctors will consider few factors before planning on any therapy for esophageal cancer. These factors include
- The type of cells in cancer
- age
- overall health
- personal preferences
Treatments include
- Surgery (to remove the tumor or cut the unhealthy esophagus with or without the upper part of the stomach)
- Chemotherapy (anticancer drugs to shrink the tumor)
- Radiation therapy (focusing high-beam energy on the tumor to destroy the cancer cells)
- Targeted therapy (using medications that target processes responsible for cancer)
- Immunotherapy (using medications that involve your immune system to fight cancer)