Would you delay cancer surgery to go to the Olympics?

In some unfortunate news, one of the U.S. Olympic Team swimmers has been diagnosed with testicular cancer. In what I think is somewhat surprising news, he has decided to delay his orchiectomy so that he can participate in the games first.

Interestingly in this article they quote one doctor who says this delay is probably okay and one who unequivocally thinks that a delay is unacceptable. I have to say my first gut instinct is to think that for a diagnosis made on June 18th, waiting until mid to late August is probably too long. But, of course I am also of the school of thought that if a patient understands the risks involved they can choose to deviate from the standard plan.

In other interesting news, it appears that U.S. breast and prostate cancer survivors live the longest compared to the rest of the world. In fact, women with breast cancer had 10% better survival in the United States relative to Europe and men with prostate cancer had a shocking 34% improved survival in the United States! Men with colorectal cancer lived longer in Japan, for women the survival was best in France. A lay analysis is here. Algeria was the country with the worst survival. The researchers correlate this with the improved access to newer technology in the United States, and argue that this data should be used for more equitable distribution of resources for cancer patients worldwide. However, continued disparity was seen amongst black patients, a reoccurring fact that by now should be addressed with some financial and research efforts.