Hi Beard_man and thank you for your post,

I am sorry to learn that you have gastro-oesophageal junction cancer (GOJ) , this must be a difficult time.

When doctors talk about survival rates this is from general data collected from the NHS, other health organisations, and researchers. They watch what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. 5 years is a common time point to measure survival. 5-year survival is the number of people who have not died from their cancer within 5 years after diagnosis.

These statistics are general and do not look at a person's individual situation. No one, including doctors, can say with any certainty what a person's outcome will be as this depends on many things such as; the stage of the cancer (its size and how far it has spread), type of OGJ, how well a person responds to treatment and how well a person is generally, whether or not they have any other health conditions.

Living with this uncertainty can be hard, and can cause a lot of worry because no one can predict, what will happen to you. Things like focusing on your well-being and keeping fit and talking about how you are feeling may help. You may also find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

Please get back to us if you need any more information or support.  

Yours sincerely,

Jemma