Unfortunately, the final, accurate staging of your mother's cervical cancer can only be accomplished after her surgery has been completed. The longer that she puts off surgery, the greater the risk that her cancer will continue to spread, and the greater the chance that it will become incurable.
The 5-year survival rate for stage III cervical cancer is in the 40 to 50% range, with proper treatment (remember, though, that this is a "statistical average"). When cervical cancer spreads to distant organs (stage IV), the average 5-year survival drops to below 20%.
Without treatment, your mother's cancer will continue to grow and to spread (this is a 100% probability). Therefore, I hope that she will reconsider her current decision regarding treatment.
Sincerely/ Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
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