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Survival statistics for melanoma
Survival statistics for melanoma are very general estimates and must be interpreted very carefully. Because survival statistics are based on the experience of groups of people, they cannot be used to predict a particular person’s chances of survival.
There are many different ways to measure and report cancer survival statistics. Your doctor can explain the statistics for melanoma and what they mean to you.
Net survival represents the probability of surviving cancer in the absence of other causes of death. It is used to give an estimate of the percentage of people who will survive their cancer.
In Canada, the 5-year net survival for melanoma is 88%. This means that, on average, about 88% of people diagnosed with melanoma will survive for at least 5 years.
Relative survival looks at how likely people with cancer are to survive after their diagnosis compared to people in the general population who do not have cancer, but who share similar characteristics (such as age and sex).
Survival by stage
Survival varies with each stage of melanoma. Generally, the earlier melanoma is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome. Melanoma is often detected at an early stage.
|Stage||5-year relative survival|
Questions about survival
Talk to your doctor about your prognosis. A prognosis depends on many factors, including:
- your health history
- the type of cancer
- the stage
- certain characteristics of the cancer
- the treatments chosen
- how the cancer responds to treatment
Only a doctor familiar with these factors can put all of this information together with survival statistics to arrive at a prognosis.
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