- Richard, 60

Seeking balance between survival and quality of life.

Richard is diagnosed with head and neck cancer. The guideline recommendation for treatment is surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Upon learning that the recommended surgery would remove much of his jaw, tongue, and larynx, Richard is hesitant because it would greatly impact his eating, drinking, and speaking abilities — severely impacting his quality of life. Ardynn and the real-world data it provided helped Richard decide to pursue a treatment plan different from the guideline recommendation – a decision that brought him great peace of mind.

Member Story - Richard

About

Richard is a physicist. He teaches at a university and enjoys traveling.

Priorities

Maintain quality of life. Continue teaching and traveling as much as possible.

Key Concern

Does not want to lose the ability to speak or eat normally. Concerned that surgery and chemotherapy will rob him of quality of life.

Treatment Decision

Radiation only

Richard is a physicist at a large company and an associate university professor. He greatly enjoys teaching and lecturing. In his free time, he enjoys traveling.

After a series of tests, Richard is diagnosed with head and neck cancer. The guideline recommendation for treatment is surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Richard meets with the surgeon and learns that the recommended surgery would remove much of his jaw, tongue, and larynx. He is hesitant to undergo this procedure due to quality of life
concerns — this would greatly impact his eating, drinking, and speaking abilities, making it difficult to continue to work and lecture, and significantly changing life as he knows it.

He seeks second and third opinions hoping to receive some clarity, but becomes overwhelmed by the options and conflicting information online. As an academic, Richard wants to understand the probabilities and outcomes so he can adequately weigh the quality-of-life tradeoffs associated with his treatment decision.

Then Richard learns about Ardynn — a benefit available through his employer. A cancer-specialized Ardynn advocate meets with Richard to learn more about him, his recent diagnosis and his goals, and shows him survival curves derived from the treatment outcomes of other people the same age, sex, race, cancer type and overall health status – including the 5-year survival rate without treatment. They discuss the benefits and tradeoffs of each treatment option in the context of what is most important to Richard, enabling him to truly understand his options and what each would mean to him. A report summarizing what was discussed allows Richard to easily share with his care team.

Outcomes for people like me

Richard’s Ardynn advocate prepares a report to share with him, which includes outcomes for people like Richard. This data – and insights derived from it – are unique to Ardynn, and helped Richard feel confident in moving forward.

Information about Richard

Diagnosis: Head & Neck Cancer
Age: 60
Sex: M
Race/Ethnicity: White
Comorbidity Score: None
Histology: Squamous Cell Carcinoma
T (Primary): T2
N (Regional): N0
M (Distant): M0
Subsite: Larynx
HPV: Negative

Real-world survival outcomes for people like Richard

Real-World Survival Outcomes
Real-World Survival Outcomes

Scroll to view columns >

Survival CurveGraphically DepictedAfter
1 yr
After
2 yrs
After
3 yrs
After
4 yrs
After
5 yrs
Total population
The purple line depicts estimated survival for similar individuals
99%99%98%97%96%
Similar patients, same type of cancer, no treatment
The teal line depicts estimated survival for similar individuals who did not receive treatment for their Head And Neck Cancer
71%56%48%42%36%
Treatments):Chemotherapy and Radiation
The green line depicts estimated survival for similar individuals treated with chemotherapy and radiation.
79%68%60%55%49%
Treatment(s): Surgery, Chemotherapy and Radiation
The yellow line depicts estimated survival for similar individuals treated with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
81%70%63%58%52%
Treatment(s): Chemotherapy
The red line depicts estimated survival for similar individuals treated with chemother
67%51%42%35%29%
Treatment(s): Radiation
The blue line depicts estimated survival for similar individuals treated with radiation.
78%65%58%52%46%

Treatment decision

With information and insights in hand, and after discussing his concerns about surgery and chemotherapy, Richard and his oncologist decide to forgo surgery and chemotherapy, electing only radiation therapy. This option allows Richard to remain comfortable — and able to do what he loves for as long as possible.

This story is illustrative based on a real Ardynn case; name and likeness of the member has been changed to respect their privacy.

“I was overwhelmed by conflicting information about my various treatment options. Detailed discussions with my advocate enabled me to truly understand my options and how each would impact my quality of life. I’m grateful that Ardynn was available to me.”

RICHARD

Real stories. Real impact.

-Diego, 62

“While I still have a hard time believing APL is happening to me, I am beyond grateful to have my Ardynn…

-Susan, 54

“There are no words to describe the value of Ardynn’s guidance and support. We feel fortunate to…”

-Steve, 57

“Seeing Ardynn’s proprietary outcomes data for people like me with the same type of cancer…”