A cure means that the cancer has gone away with treatment, no more treatment is needed, and the cancer is not expected to come back.

It’s rare that a doctor can be sure that cancer will never come back. In most cases it takes time to know if the cancer might come back. But, the longer a person is cancer free, the better the chance that the cancer will not come back.

More often, when treatment appears to be successful, doctors will say the cancer is “in remission,” rather than “cured.”

cancer remission

Remission is a period of time when the cancer is responding to treatment or is under control. Some people think that remission means the cancer has been cured, but that may not be the case.

In a complete remission, all the signs and symptoms of cancer go away, and cancer cells can’t be found by any tests.

In a partial remission, the cancer shrinks but doesn’t completely go away.

Remissions can last anywhere from weeks to years. Treatment may or may not continue during a remission, depending on the type of cancer. Complete remissions may go on for years and, over time, the cancer may be thought to be cured. If the cancer returns (recurrence), another remission may be possible with more treatment.

Credit: Cancer.org[1]

If you remain in complete remission for 5 years or more, some doctors may say that you are cured. Still, some cancer cells can remain in your body for many years after treatment. These cells may cause the cancer to come back one day. For cancers that return, most do so within the first 5 years after treatment. But there is a chance that cancer will come back later. For this reason, doctors cannot say for sure that you are cured. The most they can say is that there are no signs of cancer at this time.

Because of the chance that cancer can come back, your doctor will monitor you for many years and do tests to look for signs of cancer’s return. They will also look for signs of late effects from the cancer treatments you received.

Credit Cancer.gov[2]