The “battle” against cancer
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* Paul J. Byrne

Downar is to be praised for his brave call to abandon the outmoded language of warfare in the “battle” against cancer.1 Our job is to help people with cancer survive their illness as well as possible for as long as possible. We do them a terrible disservice by suggesting that their individual strength of character and ability to endure suffering will pull them through. To do so ignores all the evidence about both low and high mortality rates for various cancers despite maximal therapy and patient commitment to be cured. So much of the influence on survival either predates diagnosis or depends on early diagnosis and treatment for so many cancers. We must avoid the risk of adding insult to injury by mindlessly blaming the patient for lack of response to treatment. As a lucky survivor of colon cancer, I credit the expertise of my physician and surgeon for my survival rather than my own “inner strength.”

## Reference

1.  Downar J. Cancer: it’s time to change the sign. CMAJ 2010;182:1588.
    
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