I can see how you'd end up with that interpretation but I was actually talking about Hodgkins, so in that case the placebo arm would in fact be basically a deat

I can see how you'd end up with that interpretation but I was actually talking about Hodgkins, so in that case the placebo arm would in fact be basically a death sentence. You've got an aggressive cancer, and you've decided (or your treatment arm has decided) to just let it take its course.