Success Stories!
Comments
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I just found this thread and will return to it everytime I have a down day. It is so inspirational and full of hope to hear survival stories of women with BC and positive nodes.
I have a SIL (lives across country and I only met 3 times) but was told she had BC in 1989 with a recurrence 2 years later. She had double mastectomy but I don't know details or treatments. She is doing fine now at 17 years later and about age 60. (I admit being hurt I never received a card or phone call from her when she knows I have BC. But I guess some women are unable to discuss a painful experience.)
My mother's neighbor had BC at least 30 years ago. She had 1st mastectomy with a recurrence shortly afterwards and 2nd mastectomy. She is doing fine.
Also, my friend's mother had BC about 25 years ago and it sounded very bad from her description with possible melanoma involvement and breast discoloration. She underwent mast, chemo and radiation treatment and now is 75 doing well.
Sometimes you get more support and hope from perfect strangers. I was getting chinese takeout when an older gentleman recognized my bald head under my hat - - he told me not to worry and that I would be alright. These are the folks I will never forget - - the strangers who nod and give you that smile of understanding that they know what you are going through. They can really help me make it through those rough days. Joann0 -
back to the top for newcomers...
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Good idea to keep bumping this topic for newcomers Carmelle.I had mastectomy in 1992 and opted to have 2nd mast. 6 months later as a precaution. I would have loved to read success stories back then.Never had a recurrence and am doing well. Still have original implants too!
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Can anyone offer any stage IV success stories? My mom was diagnosed with a reccurence to her bones in August. She is triple negative and I'm desperately seeking hope for her.
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I just heard another today. "Friend of a friend" four years NED with mets, Keep them coming!!!!
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darification - I read a book 'A cancer battle plan' by Anne Frahm with David Frahm regarding diet and rebuilding the immune system. The author was stage 4 and the book is her journal and battle plan with excellent diet and recipe suggestions.
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Another mom I know recommended a doctor for me to go to after having been diagnosed and treated for bc.( I was confused on how I should live after the tumor was removed and chemo.) Her husband had stage four cancer (not sure of type but in major organs of body) he is now a survivor of over ten years. I first read Dr. Mitchell Gaynor's books
and then paid him a visit. He has helped me to survive too.
I am a two year survivor.0 -
i'm alive.8yrs. i was diag. in 1998 stage 3 with 13 possitive nodes. i had a adult stem cell procedure it was in trials then. i was 32 healthy no family history and hormone possitive. you can do it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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ForHisGlory, that is wonderful! I am very worried about a good friend of ours who was recently diagnosed with cancer in her spine, kidneys and mouth. So far she's had radiation to shrink the tumor and I'm assuming they will do chemo as well. She's in her mid 30's.
Catherine0 -
Hi, I have breast cancer. was diagonosed stage IV from the start with mets to the liver, 4 lesions largest was 2 and a half cm. i was put on Femara have been on it for just about a year,had MRI in october of 06. I am now NED.I had surgery right breast(mast.)and Femara as my only treatment. I have truly been Blessed. There is hope for stage IV wemon.this is a great thread.
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Congrats. Always glad to hear this kind of story. Prayers for continued NED. Virginia
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keeping thread active for newbies.
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moving to top forholidays.
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I would hope that this thread would have a place of its one on the main listings. We NEED to hear of the these successes and need to go back to them often.
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Today I had a conversation with our attrney's secretary. When I told her about my diagnosis, she told me that she is a nine year survior of Stage IV. She had one reaccurance a few years ago, but has been NED since then and is feeling very well. She has some pain from the meds she is on, but she says it is not bad. She looked great.
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Thank-you Risetolife...hope is one great gift!!!!
Sometimes we can get down about cancer, everyone tells me, "You never know, you could get hit by a bus" This is supposed to help? Well, last weekend my neighbor got hit by a car, flew through the air, landed on the pavement...Imagine all the injuries she could have gotten, but she is fine, didn't even break a finger. Lots of bumps and bruises though. I guess we all have that angel over our shoulders when we need them.0 -
I love this thread! Here are some more - all shared with me since my diagnosis:
- my HR manager shared that she had bc 8 years ago - lumpectomy/rads/chemo. Must have been triple neg - no menopause, no tamoxifen. She's doing great.
- Friend has two aunts diagnosed 20 -30 years ago. One must have bone mets because she was on medication for "bone cancer", but she died at 91 of something else.
- my friends aunt was diagnosed when she began dating the uncle 13 years ago. She stopped taking his calls, but he persisted, and said he was in for the journey (what a guy)! She did have chemo - lost all her hair. She is still healthy and they are married.
- Friend was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago at 47 - 1 positive node. Her 39 year old sister was diagnosed the same week - 2 positive nodes. They are both doing well.
- Another friend's sister diagnosed 4 years ago at 37 - very agressive cancer. She is on tamoxifen and doing well.
- Lady I met for coffee - diagnosed in 1992, had chemo/rads. Recurrence in the same breast in 1995 - had a second lumpectomy - no further recurrances.
When I went to get my prosethsis, the store had a book for sale written by a lady in Edmonton AB. She was diagnosed with 21(!!) positive nodes in early 2000. She is still around - I know because the cheque to purchase the bood was written to her.0 -
I wonder why no one is mentioning Betty Ford as a success. I know she had positive nodes, and did read she had chemo therapy which was rather new in 1974. I have wondered if the loneliness of BC also contributed to her drinking problem.HRT was also popular by then. Beth
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Here is another one. I read this woman's story in a publication at the Cancer Centre. She was 35 yrs old and went in with severe back/neck pain. They x-rayed and were astounded that she had walked in. Her bones were full of mets from bc. Doesn't sound like a success story so far, but.. She had surgery to repair her neck - it had broken and she needed bone grafts and wore a "halo" till it healed. Had chemo/herceptin for the cancer - not sure what surgery. 6 years later she is still going and apparently doing quite well. This to me is a worst nightmare beginning, but the treatments she was given worked.
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back tpo top for more stories...
Michelle0 -
A good friend of mine is currently in the hospital with cancer in her mouth, spine and near her kidney. She's currently having chemo. She's only 37 too and is the mom of my daughter's closest friends.
Catherine0 -
Has anyone heard of the British woman, Jane Tomlinson? When she was originally dx with mets, she was given max 6 months to live. She is still alive 7 years later, has raised thousands for bc research ( she recently cycled across the States to raise money) and works as a radiologist. I met her briefly a couple of years back before my own dx. She is now an inspiration to me. Whenever I feel down, I think of her and what she has gone through.
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My girlfriend had bc 7 years ago. She had lumpectomy, 15 nodes removed, was on AC and Taxol (3 weeks apart)and was hormone pos so she started on Tamoxifin. That made her sick so she stopped and hasn't taken any hormones. She is fine. No cancer. NED!
Cousin was diagnosed with DCIS 6 years ago. She did rads and Tamoxifin. She is NED.
Another cousin had bc. I don't have the details but that was 5 years ago and she's NED
By the way..they all look great!
I was diagnosed over a year ago and I'm okay too!!!
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Let's BUMP this back up and start the inspiration flowing through this thread....
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1) Stage 3, Triple Negative, Too many nodes to count and celebrating 4 yrs today of being NED!!!
2) Grandmother diagnosed @ 60 and lived to 90!!!0 -
I was talking with a friends wife the other day, and she told me that she was dx with Stage IV 15 years ago. She went through the whole works, mastectomy, chemo, radiation.
She is not just stable but NED and has been for at least 14 years.0 -
I hope I am not out of turn posting here. When my dh and I were discussing the PBM he told me about his MIL from his 1st wife. She had a mast with chemo over 20 years ago. She never had recon. I called her the other day to ask if we could talk about it. What a wonderful lady! After all, I am her daughter's ex's new wife and she talked to me like a long-time friend. She said she has to talk about it now and again. She also told me my dh was the one who took care of her after surgery and took her to most of her chemo appts because her daughter couldn't deal with it. She said I have the right man to help me through it all and to come back and talk any time. She said it takes guts to take off perfectly healthy tissue to help prevent cancer from starting and she told me to keep up the vigilence. She is my true inspiration.
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This is the best thread. I just found it today and what luck as it has been a bit of a blue day. I get my port and start chemo this week and all I could think of is that this is the beginning of the end. Every post I read here gave me such hope. Thank you so much. KSH
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bringing this back to the top for the newbies.
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I'm not long term, but I'm nearly 5 years out. I had a bad pathology with large tumor, positive nodes, extensive angiolymphatic invasion, triple negative and more. So far so good.
This is not bc, but my mom had colon cancer that was large enough that the lump could be felt. She had become so sick she had to see the doc. They felt the lump and sent her directly to the hospital. A couple days later she started bleeding. She had colonectomy, no chemo or rads...and that was 18 years ago. No recurrence. She is now almost 82.
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