title: Living outliers: experiences, insights and narratives of exceptional survivors of incurable cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Unexplained prolonged survival given a diagnosis of incurable advanced cancer is a puzzling phenomenon that recently has attracted more scientific research. The purpose of this study was to add to the understanding of how exceptional patients perceive and explain their unusual experience.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited patients for interviews from a population registry, patients with advanced lung or pancreatic malignancy who experienced exceptional survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In total, 15 participants were interviewed. The main recurrent themes in most of the interviews were patient-doctor communication, family support and the patient's proactive attitude. In this study, patients attribute their longevity to relationships with their doctor and their family - not the type of treatment they received. Further research on this phenomenon is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555, USA.|The Integrative Medicine Unit, The Institute of Oncology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, Israel.
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frenkel
authors.affiliation: The Minerva Center for End-of-Life Studies, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Sky
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: David Yellin Academic College, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Ariela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Popper Giveon
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sapire
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University & Sharon-Shomron District, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Doron
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hermoni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001293:Attitude to Death; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D012944:Social Support; D017741:Survivors
keywords: alternative medicine; cancer care; cancer survival; complementary medicine; hope; patient–doctor communication; prognosis; spontaneous neoplasm regression; spontaneous remission