Cancer in remission usually means that, after some treatment, there are no signs of cancer in the body.
Cancer cells might still be there, but they might be too few to find, too few to cause any symptoms, or in an inactive state and not growing.
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Remission can be complete, meaning there isn’t any sign of cancer, or partial, meaning cancer has decreased or stopped growing.
Remission is usually a positive milestone, although not always a guarantee that the cancer won’t come back.
Regular monitoring during remission is still important, most of the time, to detect any signs of early recurrence.
Some cancer survivors may be considered cured after being in remission for a certain number of years.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Sam Edwards, via email) 'What does cancer being in remission actually mean?'
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