Best Of

@betrayal , thank you so much for replying. And I love your cutie dogs. I adopted two dogs and two cats last year. Sadly I will not be with them for a while since I have to stay in a bigger city in a temporary apartment during treatment. Still, seeing photos of animals being happy genuinely makes me smile in the middle of all this.

I'm proud of you for having the endurance in your journey. You're a strong woman and hope nothing surprising occurs and you are healthy in your late late granny days :))

About your question. When I look it up, my specific cancer is usually quoted as having a 75 to 85 percent five year survival rate. What I was trying to say is that survival is not always the same as living a normal, full life. Many people eventually develop metastasis and spend those later years not really at their best. I think I was just questioning the way these numbers are presented and the constant optimism around them. Maybe this is simply how I cope. I really admire people who choose not to look ahead and stay optimistic. I think I am someone who needs to understand the risks and be mentally prepared for every possibility.

Another thing I realized is that my doctor was not fully honest with me. I found out more by pushing my husband and reading on my own. Both my husband and my doctor said I was stage 2, but it turned out to be more complicated. I live in an Eastern European country where full disclosure is not legally required in cancer cases. It often depends on what the doctor thinks will protect the patient’s morale. I can handle the truth, so I do wish they had been more direct, even though I understand their intentions.

Like you said, I try to hold on to the brighter side. The slower growth rate is a real advantage. I am also looking at how much treatment has advanced even compared to five years ago. There is a new drug currently in trials for ER positive cases that looks promising. I am hoping it becomes available in time.

@teka , thank you for sharing. If you are comfortable, would you mind talking a bit more about your journey, specifically what was found, at what stage, and what type it was? I cannot access your profile to see whether you have already shared this in other threads. Ten years is a long time to live with this diagnosis. Congratulations, truly. When I see women who are much, much younger going through this disease, my heart hurts, but it also puts the illness into perspective for me.

Cindy, the garbage dump (can't think of a better term) in Park Rapids, MN, has an area where people put usable items they want to get rid of. I haven't been there, but dh has. I think some local people go there to "shop." We have some charity places here where people donate furniture and clothing and kitchen items. I like the idea of recycling.

On Monday and Tuesday mornings, the forecast is for freezing temperatures in the teens. We will have to run a dribble of water in the kitchen sink. Plumbers will be busy for a week or two repairing broken water pipes. Even the "south shore" of Lake Pontchartrain including New Orleans will have to protect pipes. Normally it's just the north shore.