SURVIVAL
predictions given to women suffering from advanced breast cancer are wrong three quarters of the time, warn experts.
Oncologist Dr Belinda Kiely told delegates at the Lisbon conference: ‘A single number estimate is rarely accurate and conveys no hope of a possible longer survival time.’
Dr Kiely and University of Sydney colleagues suggest that instead doctors provide best, worst and typical scenarios. They said patients found this was more helpful, easier to understand and more reassuring.