# How do you feel about the term "cancer free"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 26, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752 "2017-11-26T14:24:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/21 "2017-11-27T03:33:30Z")
I’m a member of the club as well (colon cancer), and the term cancer free was bestowed on me not by myself or family, but by two different oncologists. My first oncologist went on maternity leave near the end of my chemo, which was 12 rounds over 24 weeks, then left the clinic. I was actually declared cancer free after my surgery but before starting chemo, based on an MRI of my abdomen and a CT scan of my chest. My oncologist said there was a very high chance it would recur without chemo, but gave me the option. Which, not being a dummy, I said that of course I’d do the chemo. A month after the end of treatment I had another ct scan followed by a visit with my new oncologist, who also said I was cancer free - adding “for now”. He said statistically I have a 2 out of 5 chance that it will recur eventually. “The good news is that means a 3 out of 5 chance it will never recur.” So, I figure if my oncologists are O.K. with the term, so am I. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/22 "2017-11-27T04:45:42Z")
More generally, I don’t really like this use of “-free” meaning that something is absent. If I go shopping an buy a box of “Tide, scent-free”, I expect to get the scent without paying extra for it. Or maybe get the whole box of Tide without paying for it. Free means free! And all these “sugar-free” beverages? Is there some limit to the amount of added sugar I can get at no extra cost? A common phrase in the news these days is “fact-free”. Well, I get most of my facts, real or fake, on-line these days, from web sites that I don’t have to pay for. I wouldn’t want to get cancer even if it was for free! In Spanish, they have distinctly different words for “free” as in absent, and “free” as in you don’t have to pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/23 "2017-11-27T06:56:08Z")
NED is a great term. I like that much better than cancer-free. A great book is _The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer_, by Siddhartha Mukherjee. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/24 "2017-11-27T07:59:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The alternative “in remission” recognizes uncertainty, but is it a valid substitute for “cancer free”? To me it is although I will add “long term” to the equation now and then. Any time I think about cancer-free or hear it I am reminded of a friend who owned and operated a big smelly cigar store by CCAC North. He was diagnosed and treated in college for a nasty form of cancer and declared cancer free. And he was through some tough yearly exams for a total of 18 years. And then one year it was not only back but with a vengeance and his funeral was about two months later. I’ve been in remission way longer than him but its one of the reasons you will never catch me saying I’m “free”. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/25 "2017-11-27T08:59:12Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Well, some people do seem to be effectively cured. I know a kid who had leukemia; diagnosed at age 9, underwent treatment for two years, and declared free of detectable cancer. He had to go a year without a recurrence before he could start human growth therapy. The radiation therapy he needed to combat the cancer destroyed his ability to make HGH, so he stopped growing taller. HGH can promote cancer cell growth (because it promotes all cell growth), though, so he couldn’t take it to grow taller until he was free of detectable cancer cells. > > At almost 12, he finally started HGH. He looked like he was still 9 years old, but he started to catch up really quickly, and by his bat mitzvah, he was almost at tall as a normal 13-year-old. I thought I had some idea of what a bat mitzvah is, but you’ve shaken my confidence. Could you explain, please? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/26 "2017-11-27T12:55:29Z")
My guess is “typo”, given the proximity of “r” and “t” keys on the QWERTY keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/27 "2017-11-27T13:10:40Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I thought I had some idea of what a bat mitzvah is, but you’ve shaken my confidence. Could you explain, please? > [@Broomstick](#): > > My guess is “typo”, given the proximity of “r” and “t” keys on the QWERTY keyboard. IOW generally a boy’s ritual reading of the Torah at age 13 is called “bar” mitzvah, which translates as “son of the commandment.” A girl’s is “bat” mitzvah or “daughter of the commandment.” The plural is “b’nai” mitzvah or children of the commandment. (It’s a plural like “attorneys general.”) I don’t know if \*\*kaylasdad99 \*\*was questioning the Bar/Bat thing or something about the boy’s height (“shaken my confidence”)? Maybe he can clarify? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/28 "2017-11-27T13:30:14Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > … **LSL Guy**. Do you mind if I ask what your occupation is? … My occupations are airline pilot and software developer. Both of which are quite mechanistic and the very opposite of touchy-feely. I have assisted other people in wrassling with cancer for over 20 years now. So although I’m not a member of the club (except for trivial skin cancers that IMO don’t count), I’ve audited the course a few times. Hugs to all. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/29 "2017-11-27T15:28:06Z")
As a contrary position, I’ll point out that “cancer free” can be fairly close to literally true in unusual situations. My wife is cancer-free. She had a stage 1a granulosa cell ovarian cancer which was detected and removed (along with both ovaries and uterus). The cancerous cyst was removed intact and unruptured, and lymph node sampling and abdominal fluid registered as completely clear of cancer cells. Granulosa cell cancer is weird: it’s cleanly self-contained in the interior of the cancerous cyst. It’s incapable of metastasizing until the cyst ruptures. As long as it remains encapsulated, removing the cyst removes the entire cancer. She’s in a regime of low-frequency surveillance, but most of her medical interaction is just followup to the rather extensive surgery. She is completely free of granulosa cell ovarian cancer and (due to having both ovaries removed) will never have that cancer again. She’s cancer-free, within the reasonable bounds of “free of any known cancer.” ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/30 "2017-11-27T18:00:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My occupations are airline pilot and software developer. Both of which are quite mechanistic and the very opposite of touchy-feely. > > I have assisted other people in wrassling with cancer for over 20 years now. So although I’m not a member of the club (except for trivial skin cancers that IMO don’t count), I’ve audited the course a few times. > > Hugs to all. I don’t know why I ASSumed you read the books as part of your job!! My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/31 "2017-11-29T01:30:14Z")
I could only WISH cancer were free. With or without insurance it’s expensive as fuck. I’ve been in remission (no signs or symptoms) for five years now, so that qualifies me as cancer free according to my oncologist. However, I’ll still be paying off my copayments for another few years. I don’t mind using layman’s terms like “cancer-free” when nonsensical medical blather is technically more correct. Precision isn’t that important for light conversation. Same with imprecise or overused labels like “survivor.” I got cancer; I didn’t die. If some want to add special connotation to that, it’s on them not me. ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/32 "2017-11-29T02:13:37Z")
No issue with the term here. Negative PET (and Gallium, back then) scans and the fact that I’m still alive are good enough for me. Stage IV lymphoma, “cancer free” since 2002. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/33 "2017-11-29T02:20:58Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think “cancer-free” is intended as, and OK as, a loose term. > > If someone just paid off a massive $90,000 college-loan + credit-card + car-loan debt, he can fairly exult and proclaim himself as “debt-free” even if he technically still owes Jake $17 for lunch yesterday. I call myself “debt-free.” I have no mortgages, car loans, or student loans, and I don’t carry month-to-month credit card debt. That doesn’t mean that at some particular moment in time, I don’t have a balance on a credit card, but I always pay it before the cycle is over, and never pay interest. So yea, “loose term.” > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I never heard NED, but I like it. Strikes me as accurate. Yeah. Good term. “He’s a NED.” > [@Broomstick](#): > > My guess is “typo”, given the proximity of “r” and “t” keys on the QWERTY keyboard. I meant bar mitzvah. When the kid was 13. ---
**Author:** ![Virginia\_Ruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Virginia\_Ruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virginia_Ruth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/34 "2017-11-30T17:23:04Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I like NED (no evidence of disease). Many snappy replies occur to me when people ask, “Did they get it all?” or “Are you cured?” but I confine myself to “As far as I know.” This is the term I hear most often in the cancer community. My husband was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma in March of this year, and we’ve been working on getting him to NED ever since. Hopefully these chemo treatments he’s going through are just CYA as all his PET scans thus far have been clear. Of course, we’ve been told that for the scan to show anything the amount of cancer must at least be the size of a pen tip. Anything smaller won’t show up. He is finishing his third week of six chemo treatments today, and he’s already been through surgery to remove the tumor and radiation. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752/35 "2017-11-30T17:38:35Z")
It beats the alternative. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-the-term-cancer-free/802752.md?page=1)