Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma 5 Survivability statistics at present and my thoughts on Senator Thompson

I think I will probably get lots of grief from the info I have presented on the Hugh Hewitt Show and in my prvious post, linked to by HH. The questions he asked me about Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma based on the comments by F. Thompson supporters generated by Hugh's post on this issue will be used to challenge me.  Inparticular the ~40% I stated on Air.  This is were I got this number which does not reflect the new Monoclonal Antibody threatment with Rituxan which the former Senator received:

Understanding the Survival rate numbers for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma from the MayoClinic.com

• Survival rates are usually given in percentages. You might find that it's easier to understand the numbers in terms of people, not percentages. For example, the five-year survival rate for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is 63 percent. It might be easier to comprehend if you say it this way: For every 100 people diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 63 survived for at least five years after diagnosis. Conversely, 37 people died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma within five years.

• It's up to you and your doctor to interpret the numbers. You might think a 63 percent survival rate is positive, or it may frighten you as you think about your future. Your doctor can help you put the statistics in perspective and help you understand your individual situation.

Survival rate

To help you better understand survival rates, think in terms of people, not percentages. Each of these 100 circles represents someone diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The 63 yellow circles signify people who lived for at least five years after diagnosis. The 37 purple circles illustrate the number of people who died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma within five years of diagnosis. If you've been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, keep in mind that this number doesn't necessarily represent your individual chances of achieving remission or surviving for five years. The survival rate includes people of all ages, all stages and all types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

© 1998-2007 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Reliable tools for healthier lives," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

 

Therefore here is more FYI, all should have at their fingertips. In addition to Multiple Sclerosis,  Neil Cavuto did indeed have Stage IV Hodgkin's in the late 1980's(from WebMD). Senator Arlen Specter had Hodgkin's also and uses his experience to support Embryonic Stem cell Research

(from post-gazette)

• "U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter today called for the federal government to vastly expand funding for embryonic stem cell research......Mr. Specter, a longtime supporter of the research, spoke passionately on the Senate floor, bringing up his own recent battle with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph system.

  "That trauma and that illness could have been prevented," he said, noting that the federal government had promised to wage a "war against cancer" three decades ago.

  "If any of these embryonic stem cells could be used to produce life, none of us would advocate the research," Mr. Specter said. "But they will not be used to produce life.''

 

Remember that Hodgkin's lymphoma was one of the first cancers to be declared curable by combination chemotherapy.

 

 

From Wtop News:

• Thompson told Fox interviewer Neil Cavuto, who has battled Hodgkin's disease in the past and has multiple sclerosis, he has many friends in politics, some running for president, who have successfully dealt with cancer.
• "Some lymphomas are very aggressive, but people with slow-growing types, like Senator Thompson's, more often die from natural causes associated with old age, rather than from the disease," said Dr. Bruce Cheson, hematology chief at Georgetown University Hospital.
• After being diagnosed, Thompson received Rituxan, the first in a new generation of drugs that over the last decade has revolutionized lymphoma care. Rituxan is made of monoclonal antibodies, cells engineered to hunt down the cancer _ by recognizing an antigen on its surface _ and kill it without doing the harm to surrounding tissue that chemotherapy would.
• Ironically, more aggressive forms of lymphoma are the ones that are potentially curable if caught before the patient is too ill, said Dr. Mitchell Smith, lymphoma chief at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
• Indolent forms like Thompson's, which is known as "marginal zone lymphoma," are not curable. But they're easier to push into remission, repeatedly if need be, with doctors treating it as a chronic disease, Smith said.
• Doctors suspect average survival is increasing, thanks to newer drugs like Rituxan that have largely replaced the need for chemotherapy early in the disease.
• And Democrat Paul Tsongas ran for president in 1992, six years after lymphoma forced an end to his Senate career. Tsongas had undergone a radical bone marrow transplant and later, after his disease recurred, died form a complication related to treatment.

Famous People with noh-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Notable persons treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma include:

• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
• Tim Tobias, jazz pianist
• Gene Wilder, diagnosed in 1999, made a full recovery in 2000
• U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas
• Hussein of Jordan, former king of Jordan
• British soap opera star Anne Kirkbride
• Velvet Underground guitar player Sterling Morrison
• The former Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi of Iran (although this was probably chronic lymphocytic leukemia)
• Australian opera and musical theatre star Anthony Warlow
• Golda Meir former prime minister of Israel
• U.S. Nobel Prize laureate Jack S. Kilby, inventor of the integrated circuit
• Croatian basketball player, coach, and diplomat Krešimir Æosiæ
• Saku Koivu, NHL star, captain of the Montreal Canadiens
• British politician Menzies Campbell
• American political commentator and movie critic Steve Sailer, diagnosed with Stage IV NHL in 1997, made a full recovery after getting into a clinical trial, and has been cancer-free ever since
• Ernie Johnson Jr., American sports broadcaster for TNT and TBS
• Andres Galarraga, MLB first baseman
• Joey Ramone, lead singer for The Ramones
• Saul Bass, American graphic designer
• Scott Rentrop, professional stuntman of Louisiana
• Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox pitcher
• David Rocastle, English footballer
• Cesar Castillo, American Actor
• John Hartford, American country / bluegrass composer and musician. Died June 4, 2001; after long battle with NHL
• Mike Tetrault, blues musician
• Bruce Gary, famed rock drummer (The Knack, My Sharona). Died Aug 22, 2006 from NHL.
• John Cullen, NHL star, played for and captained the Pittsburg Penguins, Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Lightning

More Celebrities who have been diagnosed and survived from:

The Cancerblog

• University of North Carolina football coach Butch Davis recently received a shocking cancer diagnosis after a routine dental visit turned up a suspicious growth in his mouth. Pathology reports identify the cancer as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 
• Jon Lester survives the NHL cancer that took him out of the game of baseball and threw him into the arms of the medical system
• When World Tag Team Champion Rowdy Roddy Piper underwent back surgery for an injury he sustained during the World Wrestling Entertainment tour in Europe last month, the surgeons discovered two small marble-sized areas behind his stomach that gave cause for concern that he might have cancer. After biopsy, a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was made. Because the cancer was found early, Piper is optimistic that he will be able to wrestle cancer to the mat to complete defeat.
  
  "It seems like I have been fighting someone, something, someplace, in some manner, my whole life. But this fight, is one I am gonna win! Ever Forward." stated Piper on his blog.
  
• Michael Troy, guitarist, singer and songwriter, is a two-time Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer survivor whose music reflects the lives of New England's hard-working common folk. In 1998, he was diagnosed with cancer, and then again with a recurrence seven years later. After chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant by stem cell replacement, he is again cancer-free.

I hope this corroborating info helps all to understand the issues I've presented.  Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Indolent or otherwise, is dicey disease even wiht the new treatments mentioned.  God's Speed and Prayers for Fred Thompson, an impressive man, and all with this vile Cancer.

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