Success Stories!
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A bump in honor of Elaine ~
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I do not come here often anymore, but I have a couple of favorites that I check on from time to time----and this thread is one.
What wonderful, inspirational stories.
We all need the hope they provide.
Now allow me to provide some:
My dad's cousin was diagnosed at age 32 in 1986. She had a mastectomy and chemo. She'll be 60 this year.
My sister's BFF from high school's mom was diagnosed in 1982 in her early 40s. She had a mastectomy. She's 76.
My wife's nurse at the Wellness Center we both go to was diagnosed 15 years ago with nodal involvement. Going strong.
Let's join them!
Bless all you beautiful, wonderful strong ladies!
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bless u too Colt ! . Bump
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my husbands aunt 10 year Ned . Diagnosed at 40 with an invasive tumor, celebrating her 50 birthday this year.
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A bump in honor of Diana !
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It's 11 years for me this week...began this thread in march 2003.
Feeling as if a distant memory now. My body is completely back to normal...except 49 is not as easy as 38
To all the newly diagnosed women it really does get easier , at first every month after treatment and then every year.
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Carmelle - thank you soooo much for posting you 11 years of suvivorship!
Your story would help and encourage other sisters on the stage 3 thread - would you consider posting there as well?
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Hi Carmelle:
How many years of Arimidex were you on?
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Michele, cherrie, carmelle...thanks so much for sharing the positive. I'm so happy for you all and plan to return here year after year myself with good news. Kim
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Wonderful news Carmelle!
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Scrolling through these pages, I see a lot of surgery of all types and some chemo, but no radiation therapy. Maybe I am missing something, but does lack of rads add to our longevity?
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bumping it up !
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hope not, infobabe. I had it all, including radiation.
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So did I!!!
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I wanted to tell you all about my mother who discovered a lump in her breast in 1978. She went into the hospital, prepared for surgery and didn't know if she'd wake up with a breast or not. Evidently, everything was done at once 36 years ago - biopsy and immediate surgery if pathology discovered cancer. She woke up and a nurse told her that she had had a mastectomy and the doctor told her that out of 10 lymph nodes removed, 4 had cancer cells.
I don't know what type of cancer she had, the grade or stage. I don't think she even knew at the time. Without the internet or access to the information we have now, I'm sure she didn't know, either. All any of us knew was that she had BC. I remember visiting her a couple of days after surgery and she said that she "didn't mind dying", but "she worried about everyone else." She was 60 at the time.
She went on to have 6 weeks of radiation. She was first told it would be 5 weeks, but the doctors told her after a while that since she was tolerating the radiation well - no burning, nausea, etc., that they'd like to add a week. They also evidently had her enter a clinical trial. She didn't call it this - but from her description of the signing of waivers, etc. (I have her journal from this time), it seems to have been a trial. She was only the 8th person at her Boston hospital to have a procedure of having her lymph nodes injected with dye and then x-rayed (as she believed) - to see if the radiation were curing the cancer.
She recovered well - going back to work during her last two weeks of radiation - and then going to Florida for vacation as soon as her treatment was over. She made sure to cover up in the sun as her doctor recommended. She hardly mentioned cancer or treatments in her journals which she kept for the rest of her life, except to mention her yearly check-ups with her RO where he "checked every inch of her body - even the bottoms of her feet".
She went on - not only to live to take care of the rest of us she "was worried about". She welcomed about six more grand-children, 10 great-grandchildren, and 1 great great grandchild to the world. All cherished her and were cherished. She died two years ago at age 93, achieving the oldest age of anyone in her family, even outliving her two younger siblings who passed away of something other than BC. She, herself, died of old age issues - not BC. She's been my inspiration and I hope her story can inspire some women who are concerned. She would like nothing better than to help!
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mayanne, such a wonderful story about your mom. thank you so much for posting
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Mayann, thanks for the story of your mom. I love these stories! God bless her.
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What an inspiring story! A friend of mine's mother and grandmother survived, respectively, 20 and 30 years after mastectomies, and neither passed from BC. I made the choice to have a bilateral last May as a prophylactic response (before A Jolie went public, I might add). I had a very small IDC with no nodes and low grade e+ that had not been in evidence 2 years before. But I also had some LCIS and DCIS mixed in whch was found on the initial path . My doctor did not like the variety of non-invasive items that showed up on my path, so rather than do lumpectomy-which was going to now require a re-excision and rads (5 weeks) and then not be pretty sure I was ok after- I chose the more radical step. (The other breast remained clear throughout.) I saw some pretty happy looks on my doc's face and I knew I had made the right call. When done, he actually said to me, 'I believe your cured of this.' He is a 30 years' experience breast surgeon. Nice to hear, and I know we can't know...that one little stray cell could be planting-but I'm following the latest, which is 5-7 years on anestrozole; daily vitamin D of 2000 units-and ibanidrate for the esrtogen loss to the bones; and just trying to be more healthy in food choices. I have yet to be successful again with exercise as I was in he past, but I'm heading there. With the BMX i was able to avoid rads and after scoring zero-yes, zero-on my onco DX by oncologist said no chemo for me. I feel like for now, i dodged a few bullets, but I have a long way to go. Reading these posts has helped confirm my choice and given me more hope. Thank you so much! I'm 56 by the way. And so thrilled to read stories where posters got to keep their loved ones for many years. I now see cancer as an occasionally chronic condition that has many more signposts than other diseases. One positive thing about it.
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THANK YOU, all of you, for your wonderfully inspiring stories !
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Bump . . .
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Friend had an orange sized triple neg tumor at 34. Had to have a lumpectomy because could not wait for healing of mast. to start chemo. Lived. Is now 52. Had it again in other breast..not triple neg. Mast. and is now a 5 year survivor....unbelievable
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bumping !
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Bump . . .
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Bump !
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Bumping for Sherri ~
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Bumping for Joan ~
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