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While cancer itself isn’t a cure, treatments for some types of it can eliminate all evidence of the disease and reduce the chances of recurrence. That means that many people with incurable diseases like cancer can live healthy, full lives, free of symptoms and without the need for long-term treatment.
Some oncologists use the word “cured” to describe a patient’s situation when they have a cancer that is associated with high five-year survival rates. But not all oncologists feel comfortable using the term, even when it is likely that a patient’s cancer will never come back.
To explore clinicians’ attitudes and perspectives about when they are comfortable using the word “cured” in their practice, we surveyed oncology clinicians (n = 180) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute via e-mail. Participants responded to a 19-question survey with three case scenarios. We found that more than 70% of the respondents were hesitant to tell patients they are cured, while nearly 90% indicated they would feel comfortable telling a patient they were cured when the risk of recurrence was under 5% or essentially zero. The majority of the respondents also felt that continued annual follow-up visits are needed. These findings indicate that the use of the word cure by oncologists is a complex matter with many factors to consider.
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