I think the problem is that this conversation is lacking in precision of language. Amongst doctors the word cancer carries minimal value. Describing a mass as (

I think the problem is that this conversation is lacking in precision of language. Amongst doctors the word cancer carries minimal value. Describing a mass as (in simple terms) a locally invasive carcinoma or an encapsulated adenoma gives a much better idea of expectations and a basis for factual claims. In fact the entire point of a histopath report is to give descriptive language that sufficiently grounds the findings in a usable level of detail for treatment/prognosis/etc. Saying "cancers are X" will just invite anecdotal comments that refer to completely dissimilar processes.