Lung Cancer Stage 4 Prognosis

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women and accounts for 15 percent of all new cancer diagnoses, according to the American Cancer Society. The prognosis for a cancer patient is related largely to what stage the disease is in when it is discovered

Identification

• Cancer is a disease marked by malignant tumors, which are cells that multiply and grow at a rapid rate. Lung cancer is a term used to describe any type of cancer that occurs inside or on the structure of the lungs.

Features

• Stage 4 cancer is classified as a situation in which cancer cells have spread beyond the lungs into another system of the body, such as the stomach, colon, or pancreas.

Prognosis

• The American Cancer Society reports that the five-year survival rate for patients with stage 4 lung cancer is 2 percent.

Factors

• The survival rate is an average feature based upon studies of patients who have dealt with lung cancer. The actual life expectancy of a person with Stage 4 lung cancer is related to a number of factors, including their age, gender, the characteristics of their tumor, where the cancer has spread to, the treatment choice and a person's general health.

Considerations

• An oncologist, a medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis or treatment of cancer, can provide a more accurate and individualized prognosis than clinical averages.