Why do some women consider themselves “cured” of breast cancer?
The word “cure” is used very loosely nowadays, usually based on 5-year survival rates. The risk of recurrence of breast cancer is greatest in the first two years after diagnosis, and 19 out of 20 women diagnosed by mammography are alive five years after their initial diagnosis. Many women who have experienced breast cancer live to a ripe old age and die of something else but, as most of us know, being free of cancer five years after treatment is not a guarantee against recurrence.
