# How fast can cancer kill? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431 "2011-08-20T14:36:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iamnotbatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@iamnotbatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamnotbatman)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/21 "2011-08-21T04:54:01Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I don’t think those are the fastest. > > Without cites, I’ll say: > > Probably about the fastest is a type of lung cancer called [small cell lung carcinoma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small-cell_carcinoma) where, untreated, death is usual in weeks. > > Acute leukemia, untreated, can kill in days, although weeks is probably more likely. > > With treatment, I agree that both pancreas and brain (glioblastoma multiforme) have horrible prognoses. And, even with treatment, [non-small-cell lung cancer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-small-cell_lung_carcinoma) that has spread has an average survival of about nine or ten months. It doesn’t get much worse than that. > > Somewhat off topic, people may be surprised to learn that advanced [congestive heart failure](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_failure) also has an average survival of about nine months. So, it’s not just cancer that can kill quickly. As far as I can tell from internet searching, untreated small cell lung carcinoma has a median survival from diagnosis of “2-4 months”, while glioblastoma multiforme “3 months”. Seems about the same to me. I don’t know much about the worst kinds of acute leukemias, but it looks to me like about “3-6 months” untreated is the generic worst case scenario, but I may be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/22 "2011-08-21T08:05:40Z")
A friend of mine died of peritonitis caused by bowel cancer. He died alone and the cancer was never diagnosed- it was found by the coroner. So I guess it falls into the category of being found after death. He didn’t like doctors and never went to one for any reason. So he died without so much as an aspirin to assist with the pain. I can only imagine what he went through. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/23 "2011-08-21T10:16:56Z")
> [@iamnotbatman](#): > > As far as I can tell from internet searching, untreated small cell lung carcinoma has a median survival from diagnosis of “2-4 months”, while glioblastoma multiforme “3 months”. . . From the eMedicine/Medscape site (which may require registration): > [@eMedicine](#): > > Approximately 65-70% of patients with small cell lung cancer have disseminated or extensive disease at presentation. Extensive-stage small cell lung cancers are incurable, and patients with extensive disease have a median survival duration of 6 weeks. > > (emphasis added) ---
**Author:** ![Linux180](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Linux180](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linux180)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/24 "2014-11-05T07:12:23Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I don’t think the question is answerable; it’s too broad. Actually, it is answerable… There’s many different types of cancer and of the many different types, there are many different variations of those types… For example, Lung Cancer is a "type"of cancer and then Small Cell, Non-Small Cell(or Large Cell) and then Combined Small Cell/Non-Small Cell are variations of Lung Cancer… So basically, all the different types of cancer in general are broad, but the fastest killing types of cancers aren’t that broad at all… Take Small Cell Carcinoma and Large Cell Carcinoma for example… Large Cell Carcinoma progresses much slower than Small Cell Carcinoma and is less likely to spread to other parts of the body… But Small Cell Carcinoma grows and spreads much faster than Large Cell, and it has almost always spread to other parts of the body before it is found… I have seen Small Cell Cancer kill within a couple of weeks of diagnosis… When somebody dies from a rapidly growing Small Cell Cancer in a matter of 2 weeks after diagnosis, then doctors know that the cancer hadn’t been there much longer than the amount of time it took the cancer to kill them after diagnosis… How could they know it hadn’t been there much longer? Because after diagnosis they could watch how fast it grew from diagnosis to patient death… So, if a tumor was the size of a golf ball when they first found it and it doubled in size and killed the person in 2 weeks, they can pretty much know how long it had been there, because the cancer started and grew at the same speed it grew after the diagnosis… All cancers are going to grow at a steady continuous rate of speed from start to finish… ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/25 "2014-11-05T14:11:54Z")
The opposite question is also interesting. I have a friend who at age around 70, and as a result of various complaints, was examined and found to have a very rare cancer growing at the base of his spine. They guessed it may well have been congenital. After an incredibly long operation (they suspended it after about 20 hours and then came back and took another 8 to finish) they excised it. I assume they were trying to save as much of his leg nerves as possible. For the better part of a year he used a wheel chair, then for months a walker, now he gets along reasonably well with just a cane. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/26 "2014-11-05T19:05:18Z")
> [@Linux180](#): > > I have seen Small Cell Cancer kill within a couple of weeks of diagnosis. And as someone has mentioned earlier in the thread, you can die from cancer before being diagnosed. Also, you’re three years late to this discussion. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/27 "2015-12-30T10:52:44Z")
Do cancer really kill people in days or months? This news article seem very biased. Motorhead’s Lemmy died two days after ‘aggressive cancer’ diagnosis. > **[Motorhead's Lemmy died two days after 'aggressive cancer' diagnosis](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3376998/Motorhead-frontman-Lemmy-dies-70-cancer-battle.html)** > > Lemmy, frontman of rock band Motorhead, has died just two days after being diagnosed with How can any one die days or months after diagnosis? It just seems odd. Most cancers take year or more to kill you. I have never heard of any cancer that kill you in days or months. Even cancers of prostate, pancreatic, bladder, lung and mesothelioma take year to kill you. To me it seems this guy had symptoms and never gone to doctor and when he did go it was too late. The story seems very biased he could had symptoms for over a year. But the story is making out he only had symptoms for day or two. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/28 "2015-12-30T10:54:47Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > ^Yep. I know a guy who was diagnosed with some bone marrow cancer postmortem. He was found dead, no antemortem signs. How can people die at home? If they have cancer and weak and at home and symptoms start to get bad why do they not go to the hospital? It just seems odd. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/29 "2015-12-30T12:51:54Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > How can people die at home? If they have cancer and weak and at home and symptoms start to get bad why do they not go to the hospital? > > It just seems odd. The bone marrow cancer led to weakness (from anemia) that the guy likely just attributed to “ain’t getting any younger”. There was also a lack of platelets, which allowed a bleed out into his abdomen. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/30 "2015-12-30T13:15:46Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > Do cancer really kill people in days or months? > > This news article seem very biased. > > Motorhead’s Lemmy died two days after ‘aggressive cancer’ diagnosis. > > [Motorhead's lemmy died two days after 'aggressive cancer' diagnosis | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3376998/Motorhead-frontman-Lemmy-dies-70-cancer-battle.html) > How can any one die days or months after diagnosis? It just seems odd. Most cancers take year or more to kill you. > > I have never heard of any cancer that kill you in days or months. Did you actually bother to READ any of this thread? Any at all? In which actual medical doctors explain EXACTLY THIS?? As for the “two days” thing, obviously the cancer had been present for some (indetermined) amount of time before diagnosis. As for why he didn’t go to a doctor sooner, you’d have to ask Lemmy. But it’s hardly beyond the realm of belief that someone wouldn’t go to a doctor until they’re close to death. P.S. You don’t seem to understand what the word “biased” means. “Printed facts that I, personally, find somewhat surprising” is NOT the definition. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/31 "2015-12-30T13:34:15Z")
Former NFL player Gene Upshaw died three days after diagnosis from pancreatic cancer. I haven’t read anything that indicates when or whether he noticed anything abnormal, just that when he went to the ER with breathing problems, that was the diagnosis. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/32 "2015-12-30T13:38:10Z")
> [@Al\_Bundy](#): > > Of course cancer always takes some time to develop internally. Some cancers are faster than others. There are cases where the individual is able to lead a normal life without even knowing the cancer is developing. I suppose it’s even possible to die suddenly of cancer and have the autopsy determine that fact. Your first symptom could be death. I think immediate death is rare today from cancer, but I have seen some fairly swift deaths. I’ve always wondered what happens in your body though to cause sudden death, or death within days, from cancer. I’ve had a dog and an uncle who died very quick after a diagnosis and were only symptomatic for 48-72 hours. I never did get a clear answer in either case of what exactly it was that killed them. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/33 "2015-12-30T17:11:08Z")
> [@Linux180](#): > > All cancers are going to grow at a steady continuous rate of speed from start to finish… I don’t think that is correct. If I remember correctly cancer cells will accumulate mutations over the lifetime of the cancer that gives them an advantage at a particular location over time. There is also the idea that some cancer cells that metastasize will re-seed the original tumor site and have a growth advantage due to, I think, added mutations that allowed them to survive in the alternate location. This could result in a slow growing cancer that hangs around for quite some time before it has the ability to really take off. Hopefully someone with more medical knowledge than I have can weigh in on this. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/34 "2015-12-30T17:38:21Z")
You are correct that cancers do _not_ grow steadily. In fact, even if we had perfect diagnostic tools, we could not usually pinpoint a definitive point in time when a cancer “starts”. In a healthy body, cell proliferation is carefully controlled, cells grow in the right places and in the right quantity. Cancer arises when the control mechanisms are compromised, and cell proliferation gets out of control. The cause is always DNA mutation. However, since there are numerous checks and balances, and also several DNA proofreading and repair mechanisms, perhaps 6 or more significant mutations must hit some combination of these mechanisms before there’s a problem. However, once dysfunctional cell proliferation starts, things can escalate, because cell division requires copying the whole genome. If DNA proofreading and repair mechanisms are already somewhat compromised, and the cell keeps dividing and copying its DNA, a lot more pathological changes in the DNA are likely to arise. And within a neoplasm, cells are undergoing crude natural selection - those cells that divide fastest will proliferate most. By the time a cancer really “gets going” the genome of the cancer cells will often look completely bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/35 "2015-12-30T22:13:38Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I’ve always wondered what happens in your body though to cause sudden death, or death within days, from cancer. I’ve had a dog and an uncle who died very quick after a diagnosis and were only symptomatic for 48-72 hours. I never did get a clear answer in either case of what exactly it was that killed them. I think you asking people die of cancer or in some case people die of cancer complications like stroke, blood clot, infection or brain hemorrhage so on. In these cases people diagnosed with cancer and than die at home or weeks after they are diagnosed. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/36 "2015-12-30T22:15:32Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Former NFL player Gene Upshaw died three days after diagnosis from pancreatic cancer. I haven’t read anything that indicates when or whether he noticed anything abnormal, just that when he went to the ER with breathing problems, that was the diagnosis. Was it some strange type of pancreatic cancer? Most people live year or two if they have pancreatic cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/37 "2015-12-31T00:05:26Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > Was it some strange type of pancreatic cancer? Most people live year or two if they have pancreatic cancer. This may well have been a pulmonary embolism. Almost every cancer can predispose to causing blood clots in the legs, which can lead to pulmonary embolism, which can be rapidly fatal. \*\*Karl Gauss \*\*mentioned this upthread. Pancreatic cancer is especially noted for this. This is called Trousseau sign, after the doctor who discovered it. Nowadays, if we use eponyms at all, we prefer to name a disease or condition after patients instead of doctors. That’s okay for this one; he diagnosed his own pancreatic cancer this way. > **[Trousseau sign of malignancy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trousseau_sign_of_malignancy)** > > The Trousseau sign of malignancy or Trousseau's syndrome is a medical sign involving episodes of vessel inflammation due to blood clot (thrombophlebitis) which are recurrent or appearing in different locations over time (thrombophlebitis migrans or migratory thrombophlebitis). The location of the clot is tender and the clot can be felt as a nodule under the skin. Trousseau's syndrome is a rare variant of venous thrombosis that is characterized by recurrent, migratory thrombosis in superficial Ar... ---
**Author:** ![Torontonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/45deac/32.png) [@Torontonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torontonian)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/38 "2015-12-31T00:10:32Z")
peter steel died of pulmonary embolism too ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/39 "2015-12-31T00:12:33Z")
Burkitt’s Lymphoma is extra-ordinarily fast growing and I’ve heard it can kill someone within days of diagnosis, often by compromising the airway and preventing breathing. > **[Burkitt Lymphoma: Diagnosis, Prognosis, Symptoms, and Treatments](https://www.webmd.com/cancer/lymphoma/burkitt-lymphoma-prognosis-diagnosis-treatments)** > > WebMD explains Burkitt lymphoma, a rare disease found mainly in Africa. It also can respond very quickly to chemotherapy. There was a movie called “Medicine Man”, with Sean Connery. A child was imminently dying of a tumor, but was dramatically saved by a preparation of “forest stuff”. I felt it was BS (and of course it was). Buuut…later I thought Burkitt’s lymphoma could be like that, I think. > **[Medicine Man (1992) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104839/)** > > Medicine Man: Directed by John McTiernan. With Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco, José Wilker, Rodolfo De Alexandre. In the beautiful and dangerous Amazon rainforest, dissimilar people must make their choices between business, science, and love. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431/40 "2015-12-31T04:38:29Z")
My bro was told in late March that he had an ulcer. Two weeks later he was told he had stomach cancer. Six weeks later he was dead. It was not a good six weeks. He was 48. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-cancer-kill/593431.md?page=3)