What is the Life Expectancy of a Person with Stage 4 Cancer?

When someone receives a diagnosis of stage 4 cancer, it often sounds like a death sentence. The first question patients typically ask their doctor is how long they have left to live. They expect to hear an answer measured in weeks or months and want to put their affairs in order before death. However, don’t rush to write your will! In the 21st century, successful treatment options exist even for stage 4 cancer. New 4 stage cancer treatment methods can achieve long remission and extend life expectancy by many years. This article will discuss modern treatment approaches used abroad and survival rates for patients with stage 4 cancer

Life Expectancy with Stage 4 Cancer
How long a person lives depends on the type of cancer. Some cancers are aggressive, have an extremely unfavourable prognosis, and limited treatment options. Other pathologies are well-controlled, with improved five-year survival rates in developed countries.
Examples of severe diseases with poor prognosis include:

• Pancreatic cancer
• Adrenal gland malignancies
• Hepatocellular carcinoma
• Gallbladder and bile duct cancer
• Small cell lung cancer
• Stomach cancer

For these conditions, most treatment options are ineffective. Doctors can extend patients’ lives by 1-2 years, rarely a few more, but only 5-10% of patients with these diagnoses live beyond 5 years. Ten-year survival is practically non-existent.
However, many cancers have a more favourable prognosis and higher life expectancy, such as:

• Colorectal cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Metastatic breast cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Endometrial malignancies

For these tumours, five-year survival rates in developed countries reach 20-40%, and for selected patients who are candidates for surgical treatment, it can reach 70%. Many patients live more than 10 years after diagnosis and treatment initiation.

Factors Affecting Survival
Besides cancer type, prognosis, and survival rates depend on multiple key factors that doctors consider when evaluating life expectancy and planning treatment:

• Tumour grade
• Disease extent (local tumour spread, presence and number of distant metastases)
• Overall health condition (ability to receive more aggressive treatment)
• Quality of medical care and availability of innovative treatment options

In developed countries, survival rates for stage IV cancer are significantly higher than in countries with lower medical standards. This difference is particularly noticeable in complex cases requiring sophisticated treatment approaches. If you want effective treatment, you may need to travel abroad. Although healthcare costs may be higher in developed countries, the stakes are too high to economize on your health when your life is on the line.

Response to initial treatment also significantly affects long-term survival. Patients who respond well to first-line therapy typically have better outcomes than those who don’t. This is why regular monitoring and prompt adjustment of treatment strategies are crucial for optimizing survival chances.

Treatment Methods for Stage 4 Cancer
At stage 4 cancer, treatment can slow disease progression, and reduce tumours, and additional therapy goals include relieving symptoms and improving quality of life.
Treatment options depend on the cancer type and spread. Some patients are still candidates for surgical treatment. For example, colorectal cancer patients may undergo cytoreductive surgery to remove tumours spread throughout the abdominal cavity. However, most patients receive only systemic therapy:

• Chemotherapy
• Targeted and immune therapy
• Hormone therapy
• Radionuclide therapy

For certain pathologies, local procedures are effective: radiation therapy for destroying metastases, and chemoembolization for depriving tumours of blood supply sources.
To bring cancer under control, significantly increase life expectancy, and improve quality of life, you can travel abroad. Advanced global clinics use the newest drugs and techniques, achieving excellent results in cancer treatment even at stage 4.

You can choose a clinic, check prices, and make an appointment through the Booking Health service. It features the world’s leading cancer centers. Booking Health team will help you make your choice and organize your trip.