lkc

I meant bone building med.

Deb, Great to hear you're on the mend.

God Bless

Hi Ladies, I have to jump in.

I rec'd my stage IIIC dx May 05., lots of pos nodes, er/ pr neg, her pos,dismal dismal dismal prognosis.blah, blah,blah. I had a wonderful med team. My onc was my moms onc ( she died of BC mets 18 mo before my dx) He had faith in me, and held fast that I would be OK. My surgeon ( moms's aswell ) was doom and gloom, but he was the top guy and I loved proving him wrong.

I absolutely believe that having a positive attitude can affect survival. Remember, stress decreases our immune system.( and yes,I  know some ladies with great attitudes do not do well) However,  We have to  believe we'll be OK. Also remember that oncs are scientificially trained med professonals. They go by stats, and  recently the BC game has been changing alot , so forget stats. We are also  so vulnerable when we are newly dxed and going though tx. It's perfectly normal to go to " the dark side" , but try not to stay there. My advice is hang on to the positives in life, take it day by day, reconnect with your faith ,  be kind to  yourself at this time.There is so much hope for us now.

I eventually had my left breast removed , prophylactively. Bilateral recon, and now am pretty much back to myself, and think about BC only occasionially. You will get there.

God Bless,

Hey Texas,

I had a similiar story. Onc thought I was a stage I. ( I was diligent about mammos and SBE, etc.)

my nodes didn't show up on my PET scan.

Anyway, wound up with a stage IIIc dx at age 49 premenospausal, lots of pos nodes ;12 out of 114, er/pr negative & her positive

blah , blah, blah, that was 3.5 yras ago. I am fine and hav emoved on with my life and you will be  too.

Take GOOD care of yourself  at this time; surround yoruself with POSITIVE people only . DON'T read stats  ( they're old and are not reflectiove of current txs )Connect with yoru faith.

You will be ok.

PM me if I can help.

Deb has been  on my prayer list.I pray that she will get bettter and  finally gets a break.

Most of all I pray for her and your family's peace.

God Bless,

Ladies,

I had a hard time with chemo. What I held onto duringhtose hard days was what a doc advised me. " It will be hard, but REMEMBER its the treatment NOT the disease that is causing the discomfort.

God bLess

Hi Girls,

My signature has my stats. I am 3.5 yrs out, reconstructed a, NED and back to life as normal! This is a great site for support and accurate info. It was a lifeline for me on a daily basis. Now I check in occasionlly  to give support where I can.

I am not going to say its going to be  easy, but it is doable! Take good care of yourself and keep  in mind that Herceptin  is our magic bullet.

God Bless.,

Hi Diana,

Yes, you are right. There are No overall or disease free survival stats out there yet.You are correct about Herceptin, only being given to Stage IV ladies initally. I was dxed with stage IIIC  IDC May 05. I  started Herceptin in Oct 05 and have yearly PETs and am absolutley fine.

This is still a new and scary time for you, but it does get so much easier. My advice is try not not get  tied up with the staging, and nodes thing . These are simply annotated for treatment purposes.

Be careful about reading too much as MOST of the stuff out there is outdated and therefore not applicable.

It's a wild ride,but you'll be OK.

Hi , I am sorry to that you had to join us. This board was a lifeline to me when I was dxed.

Now,I only come on" occasionaly" sotthat tells you how far I've come.There ar alot of us outthere doing great.

Please rememeber that the txs are hard but very doable and you will be ok. Stay positive and keep only positive people around you now. Have trust inGod and you med. team. and take this time to take care of yourself first and foremost!

God Bless.

Dear Kari,

Words fail  me.... I am very sorry for the news you received. My mom had so many nodules in her liver , they couldn't count them, Her prognosis was less then 6 mos and she went on (with a extremely good quality of life for almost 5 yrs ) and she was in her 70s!

The liver is amazing and we can all live with fractional amounts of Liver function. Your ducts may be blocked ( as my moms were ) .

Please know you are loved and I pray for your peace.Also know that it aint over til the fat lady sings, and your vaca sounds wonderful.

God Bless.