Have you heard of a doctor telling a newly diagnosed patient that they had "the good kind" of cancer

TOUGHERTHANIT

I have breast cancer, nothing good about it, but my friend was just diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Her doctor told her to not worry too much about it because thyroid cancer was the "good kind". I don't believe there is a "good kind". I started looking around to see what he was talking about and I came across this article about thyroid and it is described as the goo one.

Physicians Struggle to Communicate Positive Thyroid Cancer Prognosis to Patients

https://www.docwirenews.com/docwire-pick/hem-onc-picks/physicians-struggle-to-communicate-positive-thyroid-cancer-prognosis-to-patients/

Dawsonsmom

I think they mean by “good” is more responsive to treatment and better odds for NED. When I was dxed with breast cancer, my breast specialist said, “ if you’re going to get breast cancer, this is the one to get bc it responds better to treatment.”

beachbum5817

I have never been told this by a doctor. TOUGHERTHANIT, I agree that there is no good cancer. However, I agree with Dawsonsmom's take on it, as well. I think what the doctor should do is just give you the information pertaining to your particular cancer. I know that some of the statistic are not up to date, but that was what I wanted to know.

carm

Hello,
I am an oncology nurse and it's hard to believe that there can be a "good cancer," but with thyroid cancer...there is. There are 5 types of thyroid cancer: (1) Papillary thyroid cancer develops from follicular cells and usually grows slowly. (2) Follicular thyroid cancer also arises from the follicular cells but rarely travels to the lymph nodes. Both papillary and follicular have differentiated cells which is that the tumor cells look much like normal cells so very little mutation and much easier to treat and are considered the "good kind." (3) Hurthle cell cancer arise from Hurthle cells and is more likely to spread to the lymph nodes. It is a rarer type but also considered a slow grower. (4) Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is more a genetic type so it can be found in other family members along the genetic line. It is not common, and the cells look different than normal cells. It has a small chance of spreading to other nearby organs. (5) Anaplastic thyroid cancer is the most aggressive type...very fast moving and considered the worst type and has undifferentiated cells; highly mutated. So the two most common types are papillary and follicular and are considered curable often treated with radiation and continued use of endocrine therapy like levothyroxine tablets. I hope this helps to clarify. Best of luck to your friend.

ChildOfGod4570

Oh yes, this is true, there is no such thing as "good cancer", but there is more treatable cancer. When I was diagnosed, my oncologist said if I had to get breast cancer, I would up with a good one in that it is highly treatable and has a high survival rate. HUGS and God bless

Bengal

Yes! One of my doctors told me exactly that. "If you're going to get cancer, this is a ' good one'.". Meaning, I guess, that it is treatable and survival rates are high. But, to the person who has been diagnosed , is any kind of cancer "good"?

TOUGHERTHANIT

Thanks for your answers, after I posted this I searched a little more and found exactly what you are saying. Still, I think they need to find a better analogy to use rather than "good kind".

Jbro

As a survivor of both Breast and Thyroid cancer I can honestly say there's no such thing as "good" cancer. In my case both were successfully/easily treatable and I'm doing well. That said, NO cancer is good. I've had six breast surgeries and have at least one more to go. I had a total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine treatment. None of this is easy!

BobsProstate

I heard that from my doctor about prostate cancer. He said that I would die from something else long b before I would die from prostate cancer. His logic was that prostate cancer usually progresses slowly and is controllable. But, it's not good, and it can and does kill lots of men each year.

ChicagoSandy

There's really no such thing as a "good" cancer, just "least bad." I have one friend who is 50 yrs. NED for thyroid-cancer; another is a 10-yr prostate survivor (low Gleason score, but still had surgery); yet another just celebrated his 5-yr-NED thyroid "cancerversary." When I got my path report (Stage IA, Luminal A) back after lumpectomy for IDC, my surgeon told me that it was basically "as good as it gets for invasive ductal." And a friend had a BMX for hormone-negative DCIS--since neither chemo, radiation nor endocrine therapy was necessary, her surgeon pronounced her "essentially cured."

po18guy

Have been told that I had two lymphomas that were 'not good' and 'challenging' as well as a bone marrow cancer (MDS) in which the transplant doctor just grimaced - it was known to transform to Acute Myeloid Leukemia, in which case I would not be here.

Dina

Dawsonsmom - my oncologist used the EXACT same words!

Debs3can

When I received the call telling me I had breast cancer, the doctor used the exact words! Of all the breast cancers "you have the good one"!

centered1

It doesn't matter what type of cancer you have. That word alone "Cancer" is devastating. I can't imagine any doctor having the audacity to tell his cancer patient there is a 'good cancer', and he has it.

Dawsonsmom

While I agree there is no “good” cancer, from the perspective of a cancer specialist who sees so many tragic cases, I can understand how they would view some as “good”. They have to have secondary trauma from treating so many difficult cases. I give them a break for finding any glimmer of positivity re: the beast.

legaljen1969

When I was first diagnosed with DCIS, I thought my plan was to have a lumpectomy followed by radiation and then hormone therapy. I had meetings with my surgeon, with the radiation oncologist and finally with the medical oncologist. By the time I got to the medical oncologist, he was telling me that my DCIS was basically a "Stage 0 cancer" and there was some thinking that they didn't really even like to call it cancer. He was telling me that if I had to have cancer this was the way that would probably offer me the least invasive treatment options and would be very treatable. I don't know that a mastectomy later I feel like it was not invasive, but considering my Oncotype DX score showed no benefit to chemo- I have been able to avoid chemo and radiation in favor of hormone therapy.
All in all, I think he is right. No-one wants cancer. None of it is "good" but there are some that are more easily treatable and do not need lengthy invasive and scorched earth treatments.
My oncologist has been very encouraging and he is very conservative in his treatment approach. I am thankful for that because I always like to try the most conservative/ least invasive option first.

JenInTX

I got told this when I first met my breast surgeon based on the biopsy that was done. After my mastectomy, we found out that yes, I had the "good" kind, bur also had a much more aggressive kind also. So, there goes my hope that this will be an easy diagnosis. And of course, it was because now I'm stage 4. It still makes me angry to think that she got my hopes up so much and then we just got slammed with the truth after my mastectomy.

legaljen1969

JenInTX, I am sorry to hear that your BC has gone to Stage 4. That is a tough diagnosis to take in. My initial biopsy showed that things were very contained as well, just simple Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. I was scheduled for a lumpectomy. By the time I got to having my SAVI scout implantation for the lumpectomy, there was already more disease than they expected.
Then by the time I got the pathology for the lumpectomy, they couldn't get clear margins and we had to move to mastectomy. All my doctor had for me for almost two months was bad news.
If you have a good treatment team, perhaps there is someone who can talk with you and explain things better or give you a more realistic viewpoint on what is to come.
My surgeon is very straightforward and has, for the most part, been my bearer of bad news. My oncologist has been my bearer of "better news." Make sure your treatment team is all on the same page.

legaljen1969

Let me clarify by saying the diagnosis is the same. IT is what it is, but sometimes the way the treatment is laid out or how to proceed may be viewed as "simpler" or "more complex" by one particular member of the treatment team. Maybe surgically your case is more complex, but maybe treatment wise it is not as invasive. Or maybe it's the other way around. I don't mean there is dissent within the treatment team.
It's like being taught the same subject matter by different professors. There are different points of view and sometimes one has insight into the treatment and even the emotional aspects of the disease that another member does not have.

cheryncp

Yes, I was told that because there are oral targeted therapy drugs that have a good success rate with the gene mutation that I have