So that leads me to the discussion of % percentages % and what that really means. For a little background it might help if you knew that I had a nasopharyngeal angiofibroma when I was 12. "Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a rare, benign, vascular neoplasm that accounts for less than 0.5% of all head and neck tumors." (http://www.utmb.edu/otoref/grnds/Angiofibroma-Juv-NP-070103/Angiofibroma-Juv-NP_070103.pdf) Then I had the first round of Hodgkin's lymphoma, and now the second is a confirmed case of NLPHL which has about 400 cases diagnosed in the US each year. I'm not sure what that makes the percentage, but I'd bet it's pretty small. Also consider that Zoloft passed the FDA approval and is prescribed regularly, with only a roughly 65% success rate when the placebo was at 55%, (I didn't double check my statistics on this but I do remember seeing 1 study with these numbers.) despite a host of negative side effect that include a number of cases of suicide.
So I have a slightly better chance of not having thyroid cancer than of Zoloft actually working. I don't find that very comforting. Add to that my experience of already being in the .5% of head and neck tumors and the 400/311800000 chance of NLPHL. What are the chances I would get both?? (Where is Jason when I need him, I was a TA for research class, but I am no statistician.) If I have already done both of those, a 20% chance is a virtual landslide in my experience.
That is really the point. What does the statistic mean and what is it useful for. As a patient, what is means is really nothing. What really matters is if I am in the 80 camp or in the 20 camp. The numbers really don't mean anything to any individual. Lance Armstrong (in his book "It's Not About The Bike") and other cancer survivors talk about how it is unfair to talk to newly diagnosed cancer patients about their likely hood of survival in percentages for just this reason. That doesn't mean that they aren't useful in making treatment decisions, but they are only one part of the equation. There are much less easily measurable, more subjective things such as quality of life, impact and permanency of side effects, and alternatives that don't fit neatly into the statistical medical model. That is why it is so important for patients to become informed, to look at options, and be a big part of their treatment decisions.
Whooah Nellie, stopping and getting down off my peach crate ;-)
That is really the point. What does the statistic mean and what is it useful for. As a patient, what is means is really nothing. What really matters is if I am in the 80 camp or in the 20 camp. The numbers really don't mean anything to any individual. Lance Armstrong (in his book "It's Not About The Bike") and other cancer survivors talk about how it is unfair to talk to newly diagnosed cancer patients about their likely hood of survival in percentages for just this reason. That doesn't mean that they aren't useful in making treatment decisions, but they are only one part of the equation. There are much less easily measurable, more subjective things such as quality of life, impact and permanency of side effects, and alternatives that don't fit neatly into the statistical medical model. That is why it is so important for patients to become informed, to look at options, and be a big part of their treatment decisions.
Whooah Nellie, stopping and getting down off my peach crate ;-)
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