When is cancer terminal?

Terminal cancer: Usually when you have tried all known treatments/bone marrow transplant for the cancer and the cancer keeps growing in spite of ongoing treatment, though new treatment are always being developed. Hope the individual wins against cancer.

There is no cure: Doctors call cancer terminal when they have done all possible treatments for a cure and the cancer still progresses threatening the life of the patient. In any illness really when there is no hope of cure and death seems inevitable we call it a terminal illness.

Very broad subject..: There is no "simple" answer. There are ever evolving treatments for cancer. One would consider cancer to be terminal when there are no treatment options that remain due to recurrence, extensive metastasis to other organs, or lack of responsiveness to the existing options. Hope & belief are important aspects of a cure - the term terminal tends to diminish them and should be used with caution.