Rethinking the Cancer Label: Not All Cases Are Created Equal

Two oncologists argue that the medical community needs to reconsider how we define and label certain early-stage cancers, as the current terminology often leads to unnecessary treatment, disfigurement, and psychological, relationship, and financial issues. They propose renaming very low-risk cancers to reflect their behavior more accurately, such as using terms like "indolent lesion of epithelial origin" or "preneoplasia" instead of the dreaded "C-word." By doing so, patients would be better informed about their condition and more likely to adopt monitoring and risk reduction strategies, reducing overtreatment and improving screening and prevention efforts.