It’s with aching regret that I recently read an online report in which Elizabeth Edwards detailed her initial breast cancer diagnosis. Edwards, the wife of Presidential candidate John Edwards, said that her tumor was 9 centimeters at the time of her diagnosis 3 years ago; her cancer has since recurred, and is considered incurable.

Those of us who’ve been through diagnosis understand how large 9 cm is. When a “fortunate” diagnosis is measured in millimeters, and anything over 2 cm is...