When you have cancer, or care about someone who does, “cure” may be the word you want to hear more than any other. It’s also a word most doctors won’t say.
Unlike other diseases, cancer has its own language: There’s no cure for it, but there are treatments that may be able to cure some people of some cancers.
When you understand the difference, it makes all the difference.
Understanding Cancer
“Fruit” is a general term you use to cover many different kinds: apples, cranberries, pineapple and more.
Likewise, “cancer” is a catch-all word for more than 200 types, including cancers of the bladder, brain, breast, colon, eye, kidney, liver, lungs, ovaries, and skin.
When you have cancer, abnormal cells develop, divide, and destroy healthy tissue in your body. Some types grow slowly; others spread quickly. Each kind starts in a different part of your body and has its own grades, stages, and symptoms.
Because every kind of cancer is different, there’s no one-size-fits-all cure. But sometimes, people may say they are cured if their cancer seems to go away with treatment. But it’s not quite that simple.