This video is part of NCI’s Understand Your Cancer Prognosis video series published on YouTube on Feb 14, 2018.

If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer it’s natural to wonder, “What are my chances of recovery? Can I be cured? What is the likely course of my disease?” If your cancer is advanced, you may ask, “How long do I have to live?” These are all questions about your cancer prognosis. Produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), “Understanding Your Cancer Prognosis” is the main video in the NCI Prognosis Video Series, which offers the perspectives of three cancer patients and their doctor, Anthony L. Back, M.D. — an oncologist who is also a national expert in doctor-patient communication. View the main video to learn key points about prognosis and how to talk about it, and to gain valuable insight from the personal ways each patient has approached questions about their future. To see the related videos and to find other helpful information about how to understand your cancer prognosis and cancer survival statistics, go to http://www.cancer.gov/prognosis.