Cancer is one of the most feared diseases in the world today. Many patients, having heard such a diagnosis, immediately begin to panic. However, sooner or later, patients are interested in how long they can live with fourth-degree cancer with metastases. There are more and more deaths from cancer. However, it is difficult to give a correct answer, since there is only dry medical statistics. The life expectancy of a patient diagnosed with cancer at various stages, both with and without metastases, is influenced by a large number of factors. Sometimes it happens that the patient does not die of cancer at all.
Statistics
Now you can only give approximate information about cancer of certain types. A tumor of a malignant nature, which is localized in the prostate gland, has the highest survival rate - 30%. Malignant formations in the breast do not end in death only in 15% of cases. With stomach cancer, one in five can survive. The most dangerous are inoperable liver and lung cancer - 6 and 10%respectively.
General information about the disease
In order to better understand the factors that affect the life expectancy of the patient, you need to find out as much information as possible about the disease itself.
Unfortunately, despite all the advances in modern medicine in the field of cancer therapy, experts have not yet established the causes of such an ailment and cannot explain why atypical cells metastasize even to the most distant organs. The following are listed as the most common and likely causes:
- genetic predisposition;
- bad habits;
- exposure to external factors (activities in the chemical industry, exposure).
The course of various oncological diseases has serious differences depending on where the tumor is localized. However, the patient often does not feel or simply ignores the symptoms, and therefore comes to the medical facility only in those cases when it is too late to do something, and the cancer can develop in an accelerated time. That is why the disease is most often diagnosed already at the fourth stage with the appearance of metastases. You need to know that the pathology develops especially rapidly in young people, since metabolic processes work quite well, and their metabolism is high. There is no need to talk about the fact that you can completely recover from cancer of the fourth stage, but you should not put an end to your life. No specialist will make his verdict,indicating the expected life expectancy for inoperable cancer, because he simply does not have such information.
Cancer of the fourth degree: how long do patients with lung damage live?
In lung cancer, the prognosis has significant differences, which is determined by the histological type of the tumor. Judging by the survival statistics of patients with small cell carcinoma, over a five-year period, this figure is not higher than 1%, and this is due to the extremely aggressive growth of this neoplasm. Large cell lung cancer has a higher rate of 12%.
The life expectancy of such patients with an inoperable stage of cancer is reduced due to the spread of this disease to neighboring systems and organs, metastases are formed. The course of the pathology is positively affected by resection of the whole lung or part of it. With the fourth degree of lung disease, the use of chemotherapy and radiation therapy can, to a certain extent, alleviate the suffering of the patient. In 70% of patients, the appearance of pathological fluid due to a metastatic defect of the pleura is observed. To pump out liquid masses from the pleural cavity, specialists perform thoracocentesis.
Fourth degree liver cancer with metastases
Malignant neoplasms in the liver progress especially rapidly and pass from the first stage to the late one in just 3-4 months. It is because of this aggressive growth that liver cancer has a very unfavorable prognosis, and this is reflected in the survival statistics,equal to five years. Its percentage is 6.
When oncological lesions of the liver of the fourth degree, all lobes and the portal vein are affected by the malignant process. Traditional assistance to such patients is that painkillers of narcotic origin are prescribed, as well as laparocentesis, that is, the elimination of fluid accumulated in the abdominal cavity. There are still a lot of deaths from this type of cancer.
In the advanced stages of liver cancer, life can be extended with innovative cancer treatment technologies: radiofrequency treatment and chemoembolization.
Malignant lesion of the stomach of the fourth degree
Metastatic gastric cancer has the highest survival rate of 15 to 20% compared to other cancers. Specialists diagnose the last stage if the stomach, an organ located nearby, and at least one regional lymph node are affected.
The most effective way to stabilize the oncological process in the stomach is chemotherapy injected into the artery. At an advanced stage, surgery may be performed if there is bleeding or bowel obstruction.
With exophytic growth of a neoplasm (when the lumen of the digestive canal is blocked), experts offer palliative surgery. Such an operation to eliminate the tumor restores the patency of food. 10-15% of patients undergo surgeryan operation during which a special tube for parenteral consumption of food is implanted.
Inoperable pancreatic cancer
Since there is no surgical treatment for patients with this diagnosis, the survival rate in this case is two percent. And vice versa - patients who underwent radical surgery have the opportunity to live up to five years in 15-20%.
For pancreatic cancer, the most common type of surgery is essentially the Whipple operation. Her technique is based on the fact that the head of the cancerous tumor is removed simultaneously with part of the stomach, gallbladder and duodenum.
Radical surgery cannot be performed on patients with malignant defects in adjacent vessels and multiple metastases. To improve the quality of life of patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer, specialists can drain the excretory ducts of the gallbladder. In addition, complex palliative care includes narcotic painkillers.
Prognosis for inoperable cancer is poor.
Fourth degree breast cancer
Survival rates for patients with grade 4 breast cancer range from 10% to 15% if a mastectomy is performed. To determine the size of the surgical intervention, the specialist needs a detailed tomographic examination of the affected area. When is the radicalintervention, which is especially true for women with lesions of the fascia of the breast and metastases in several clusters of lymph nodes, the doctor prescribes cytostatic agents at the maximum dosage. The general condition of the patient affects the prolongation of life in inoperable cancer. In particular, she has secondary foci of tumor development in the liver, lungs and kidneys. What to do with inoperable uterine cancer?
Uterine cancer grade four: life expectancy
Malignant neoplasms in the uterus at the last stage of oncogenesis spread beyond its borders and affect organs located in the small pelvis, and in some cases metastatic foci can be detected in distant tissues. With cancer of the uterus with metastases, the life expectancy of patients is largely due to the literacy of the prescribed therapeutic course. Most often, treatment is based on remote irradiation with further intracavitary radiation therapy. Unfortunately, cancer care, even on a large scale, contributes to a five-year survival rate of 3-9% of cases.
This is how dangerous inoperable cancer with metastases is.
Life expectancy for stage 4 prostate cancer
Symptoms may include bloody urine. The fourth stage of prostate cancer in any case involves metastasis of tumor cells to other systems and organs, which significantly affects the quality, life expectancy and prognosis, and also causes death of patients not fromthe disease itself, but from its accompanying complications.
How long do people live with inoperable prostate cancer?
Bone and liver are especially frequent sites of metastasis, which shorten the life expectancy of people with the last degree of prostate cancer. If metastases affect the bones of the spine, then back compression is formed. In patients with the fourth degree. This can cause the formation of paraplegia, that is, paralysis of the limbs, immobilization and severe pain.
When diagnosing metastases, the prognosis is much worse, even if surgery and chemotherapy are prescribed in a timely manner, and the patients are relatively young (after forty years). It is difficult to say how long a person will live in this case. It depends on the state of his internal organs, the quality of treatment, the presence of metastases, including also their presence in the bone. On average, this indicator is from one to three years.
So we've looked at grade 4 inoperable cancer.
