Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen)

[Perdita]

Yes, looks like Diane has stomach cancer and if she had not had been injured the way she has been, it would not have been discovered for a while yet, presumably .... blessing in disguise ..??

[sarah c]

indeed, this cancer may not have been discovered if they hadn't had to operate....?

[Kim]

Yes, looks like Diane has stomach cancer and if she had not had been injured the way she has been, it would not have been discovered for a while yet, presumably .... blessing in disguise ..??

It would certainly be an original way to go. Usually we are expected to sweep characters' wrongs under the carpet. I haven't been enjoying Chas lately and I think I'd feel slightly better towards her if she had ultimately prevented Diane's death.

[Perdita]

I have always liked Chas even when I did not approve of her actions at times. I hope that she will get the understanding and support she needs from all of the Dingles and Bartons although there will no doubt be more spiteful comments from Emma, if not worse ...

[tammyy2j]

I hope Diane survives, I don't want her to die especially as Val is gone too

[Telly Watcher]

Friday's Nov 27th Emmerdale episode showed Diane being told that there are signs that she has cancer but results of a biopsy to confirm this have not yet been received,. Spoilers says that Diane needs further surgery and treatment but there isn't any official long-term spoiler for Diane yet. We really need to know what type of cancer has, how far Diane's cancer has spread and how advanced it is. Luckily, it seems that the cancer has been caught much earlier than it would have been if Diane hadn't been stabbed by Chas on Wednesday, Nov 25, 2015.

The survival rate for stomach cancer (which I assume is what Diane has now) depends on how far the cancer has spread. There are 4 stages of spreading. If the cancer is found to be only inside the stomach (Stage 1), then 63% of patients (about two-thirds) are expected to live for at least 5 years after they are diagnosed. Finding stomach cancer so soon (Stage 1) is quite rare, however. If doctors find the stomach cancer has spread to areas near the stomach or to nearby lymph nodes, the five-year survival rate drops to about 28% (about 3 out of 10) of patients. The further away the cancer has spread from the stomach then the lower rate of survival (as low as 4%, so next to nothing, for 5-year+ survival). Overall, someone diagnosed with any type of stomach cancer will have an average survival rate of 28% for living for at least 5 years after diagnosis, so 7 out of 10 patients diagnosed with any type of stomach cancer will die within 5 years.

I suspect that Diane will have an early stomach cancer diagnosis for Stage 2 and to have a survival chance of about 3 in 10 by 5 years.

Actor Elizabeth Estensen [Diane] comes from County Durham, Yorkshire, is now 66yo and joined Emmerdale in 1999. Maybe this actor is now due for retirement and this Emmerdale cancer storyline is the last one before Elizabeth retires?

Sources:

Can I Survive Stomach Cancer? What Is My Prognosis?
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
2015
>
Here are the five-year relative survival rates for stomach cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute:
- If doctors find the stomach cancer in early stages when the cancer is still only in the stomach, the five-year survival rate is about 63%.
- If doctors find the stomach cancer when it has spread to areas near the stomach or to nearby lymph nodes, the five-year survival rate is about 28%.
- If doctors find the stomach cancer when it has spread far away from the stomach, the five-year survival rate is about 4%.
- For all stages of stomach cancer combined, the five-year survival rate is about 28%.
These survival rates are adjusted to account for the fact that some people may die of causes other than stomach cancer.
>
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/Encyc...ntentID=BStoD7

Cancer Research UK
April 2014
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/abou...stomach-cancer

Elizabeth Estensen
wikipedia.org, 2015
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Estensen

[Telly Watcher]

During the Monday Nov 30th episode, the doctor tells Diane that she has adenocarcinoma. However, Diane has been found early at Stage 2 compared to about 52% of patients who get diagnosed at Stage 4. Stage 4 patients are the ones I think the doctor was referring to when he said "they're lucky to survive another year".

For Stage 2, Cancer Research UK say "more than 5 out of 10 people diagnosed (56%) will live at least 5 years. So on this basis and with treatment, Diane has a better than 50-50 chance of living at least 5 years.

Diane: It is cancer isn't it? For definite?
Doctor: I'm afraid so.
Diane: Oh no.
Doctor: It's called adenocarcinoma and it's aggressive. We need to operate.
Diane: Cut it out?
Doctor: That's right. Today. Ideally, we'd start you on pre-surgery chemo but we can't risk waiting.
Doug: Why?
Doctor: Well most people who present with this type of cancer, they're lucky to survive another year. But we've caught yours early, it's only at Stage 2 and so is very treatable.
Diane: Treatable? So the operation won't be the end of it?
Doctor: It's likely you'll need to undergo chemotherapy. The nurse will be around in a couple of hours to prep you for surgery. Get some rest before then.

For comparison, the American Cancer Society has two Stage 2 categories = Stage 2a (more than 4 out of 10, 46% 5-year survival rate) and the more advanced Stage 2b (more than 3 out of 10, 33% 5-year survival rate), but of course the American results are for a different population with different eating and exercise habits (lifestyle factors) and different environmental factors, etc, compared to UK.

Sources:

Diagrams of stages of stomach cancer are shown in:
'Stomach cancer', wikipedia, 2015
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomach_cancer

'Statistics and outlook for stomach cancer', Cancer Research UK, 2014
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/abou...stomach-cancer

'Survival rates for stomach cancer, by stage', American Cancer Society, 2015
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/stomach...survival-rates

[Perdita]

Emmerdale's Diane Sugden prepares to sell her share of the Woolpack next week but will be met with resistance from an unhappy Chas Dingle.

Diane (Elizabeth Estensen) made the decision to sell her half of the pub a while ago, leaving Chas - who owns the other half - concerned about what it means for her.

Pushing on with her plans to sell up, Diane is pleased when Charity confirms that she now has the money to buy her half.

​However, this doesn't go down all that well with Chas, who is naturally unhappy about having Charity as a new business partner.

A stressed Chas explains to Diane that she doesn't want to be left running the pub with Charity, knowing full well that they will be unable to work together.

As Diane contemplates what to do, Doug is relieved when she announces she is finally signing the pub over, but will it be to Charity? And how will Chas react if this is the case?

Emmerdale airs these scenes on Tuesday, May 10 and Wednesday, May 11 on ITV.

Digital Spy

[tammyy2j]

Did Chas not ask Charity to buy it so why unhappy now?

[Perdita]

I think Chas and Diane were never too happy about Charity taking over the share of the pub but it seemed an easy option at the time as Charity pretended to have the money ... so far it is clear she is unable to raise the funds and Diane is getting impatient as she wants to move on with her plans for the B&B, which is understandable