Positive nodes with long term survival
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I'm not quite 2 years out from diagnosis, but I plan on living until I'm 90 and then dying in my sleep. My oncologist seems to think that's a perfectly reasonable plan.0 -
Just to say it is seven years exactly since I was diagnosed. Ziggy like you I plan to live a very long time, my aim is to grow old disgracefully.
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Alyson, I may have to steal that line - "my aim is to grow old disgracefully."
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Alyson, that is a great expression! I love it! And with God's help, that it is my plan as well.
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I plan to move forward from my complete healing and hit triple digits.
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Now, Mariasnow - that's a good plan. Let's all meet in 2030 or so on a beach somewhere to plan a reunion in 2050.
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Bump
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Ziggy, I like your long term plan
Oceana
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I'm a big fan of it too!
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My goal and everyday pray is let me take my kids to college than whatever comes. so plan to be around for a long time. Love you all.
Healing from inside out, it will happen.
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lovujja....
Your goal and prayers were the same as mine......when I was first diagnosed back in 2004 I would go to a chapel every day after work.....
My children were in elementary school (1st and 3rd) and my oldest was in seventh grade.....I would pray to Mary to just let me get them off to college....Just let me raise my children.... as a mother herself I hoped she would understand.
With 17 nodes positive .... a huge tumor.....tumor in my skin and popping out of nodes....it seemed like an impossible prayer to be answered.
Well today....nearly 10 years out.... I have one out of college......one in college and my baby is a junior in high school...... so give or take 15 more months...my impossible prayer will be answered.
I feel incredibly blessed as I have such amazing children....but of course I now want a Prayer RE-do. I want more time....I want to see them get married etc.
))So watch what you ask for
)))))I wish for you that your prayers are answered too!
Jacqueline
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Jacqueline,
YEEHA ! We love to hear it, continued good health and seeing the grand kids grow up....
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Wow Jacqueline! U are an inspiration to me...I have two little girls 7 and 5...want to see them get to college AND get married! I was looking for what treatment you did and don't see it listed...do u share at all? Thanks so much!
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Just went to my closest friend's granddaughters Bat Mitzvah and cried wondering/hoping if I'd be there at my granddaughters in 10 years ! I'm determined to make it!!!!!!
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When I was diagnosed in 2011, I wept too, thinking I might not get to meet grandchildren. But then Aubrey Rose was born last July, and her presence has filled me with love and hope. I'm determined to make it too, babs!
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comin up on 9 years stage IIIC 12 /14 nodes.
All good now and happy as a clam!
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Ikc - Awesome! You are always a souce of encouragement!
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sbelizabeth Aubrey Rose will make you win this battle. She's gorgeous!! Cherish and love her forever!
Ilc. Love hearing its coming up on 9 years. Fills me with hope!
Babs
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Congrats ikc did you do anything to get there? Like special diets, or supplements?
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hi all! I've enjoyed reading the strong of posts. I am fairly new to this game. Last June I felt a lump in my left breast - the only one I had as I was only born with 1 - had a mammo and ultrasound and was told it was nothing and no biopsy was needed. 3 months later the exercise was repeated. On jan27 this year I felt a large lump under my arm. A few weeks ago I was told that there were cancer cells in my lymph nodes and this past Monday u had a mastectomy and all lymph nodes removed. My question is - when u record the tumour size is this in reference to the tumour in the breast or nodes? I have no diagnosis yet but expect to get that at my follow up appt on April 2. I've convinced myself that I'm a stage 3 but have nothing to base it in other than what I read on cancer sites. I am one of those women that had no symptoms. I wasn't losing weight. Didn't lose my appetite. Still active. So I am hoping that this is somewhat positive. To this day I still feel like me other than recovering from surgery. I do know that the mass under my arm felt fairly large but the lump in my boob felt no bigger than 2cm. The surgeon said that I could have had a partial mastectomy but I chose to relive the whole thing. I look forward to hearing from u!! :-)
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Footballnut, so sorry you have join us here. But it sounds like you are approaching this journey with a level head. Don't let anyone second-guess your treatment decisions. No cancer is exactly alike, just as no woman is exactly like another. Usually, the tumor size is just that - the tumor, not adding the lymph nodes. Often, even when there are cancer cells in the nodes, there is not a measurable tumor there. The staging is based on the size of the tumor & the number of nodes with cancer. Stage IV would include metastases beyond the breast & lymph nodes.
About grandchildren:
When I was diagnosed, I also feared not living long enough to see any grandchildren. I didn't want to exert any pressure (only one of our three children was married or even in a steady relationship), so only my husband knew this. But about a year later, my son & daughter-in-law let us know they were expecting! They were really cute about telling us - they took us out for dinner to celebrate Mother's Day & gave me a small wrapped gift. I opened it to see a framed picture of the ultrasound! Took me a minute to realize what I was looking at....
Several months later, I cried (real tears, but tears of joy) on that early-morning drive to the hospital to await my first grandchild's birth! Now he is 7 years old, an active (and smart) first-grader, and I also have three granddaughters added to the mix! (I still need to see my youngest son married & starting a family.)
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good morning optimistictraveler!! Thank you for your note. I love your website!! Very inspiring!! How did you develop it? I want to start one of my bone sharing my story which starts with being born with 1 arm and breast. So now I'm boobless and I've told my hubby that if he wants to feel a boob he can touch himself!! Lol. Tx for the clarification of assessing the tumour size. Here I am 4 days after surgery trying yo do my range of motion exercises. I was told in late January that it looked like something was in 1 lymph node and spreading to a 2nd but imagine that between then and this past Monday is must have spread to more. Oh well. Whatever will b will b. I love your attitude towards life. I find at times that I'm very positive and then get down again like this morning. :-(
Perhaps because I feel tired this morning. I'll bounce back!! :-)
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I believe a woman on another one of my forums sums everything up so nicely...
My own belief/theory/understanding is that there are really only 2 stages of cancer, not 4: people whose cancer has not spread past the initial tumor (whereby surgery alone would be curative) and people who have circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor stem cells (CSCs) in the blood (who are thereby at risk for recurrence/metastasis). This explains for me why most people diagnosed stage 1 do not have recurrences but some do - those that do have CTCs/CSCs in the blood even though they were labelled stage 1 by conventional criteria.
The lab RGCC in Greece can detect CTCs and CSCs in the blood. They have found these cells even where the initial tumor is only 2mm, leading to the conclusion that cancer goes into the blood a lot sooner than one would think. My German doctors and the doctor who founded this lab believe that as long as you have CTCs/CSCs you are not cured, only in remission. This makes logical sense to me. The more you have, the higher your risk of recurrence, because the more of these cells you have, the greater the odds that one of them will acquire the gene(s) that gives them the ability to invade other organs.
It's extremely difficult to get rid of the CSCs in particular, but they are working on it. In the meantime, with the right supplements, nutrition and even medicines (such as chemo under certain circumstances) we can kill off or bring about apoptosis of many of the CTCs. Through epigenetics we can even down regulate some of the genes in the CSCs. This is why eating right, exercising and taking the right supplements is so important. This is my understanding of the notion of remission vs cure - you are cured when you have zero CTCs and especially zero CSCs. Most people who have had cancer will always have some CTCs and CSCs for the rest of their lives. The goal is to die with your cancer not from it. Although they are making strides on getting rid of CSCs and this will truly be a cure if they can do it.
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Everyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer has CTC´s and CSC´s circulating, its whether you are healthy enough to destroy those cells before they develop their own blood supply......which they do from 2mm upwards...I had my CTCs done last year at RGCC and am doing them again now to see if there has been any change as a result of my regime.
I was also told that people who have never had cancer have CTC´s but these get destroyed, so presumably people with cancer differ in that we also have CSCs circulating?
I know it sounds silly but in the past after blood tests my blood was always quite dark looking (ie less oxygen) but yesterday i needed a test done and the blood was a lovely bright red colour........maybe I am kidding myself but it seems to me I am healthier at a deeper level despite all my colds and flu type viruses this year.....
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Very happy for you dear, will kick cancer's ass together forever
. I am doing very well as well so far but worrying hasn't gone but getting better though.
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What a blessing !
My dream is to see my two kids to go college, they were 3 and half and 4 and half when I was diagnosed and now they will be 13 years old and 12 years old in this summer. God has been good to me so far and I have done my part as well. Yoga, rehydration, eating fruits and vegetables, avoiding sugar and exercise and exercise. Love you all.
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My oncologist has a current patient with 42/42 positive nodes who is 15 years disease free with stage III. I didn't want to be too intrusive, so I didn't ask specific questions about her, but she said she eats well, practices yoga everyday and has completely changed her diet to a low glycemic index one. Good for her!
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That is so encouraging
. I also have been trying to eat low glycemic and alkaline diet for almost 6 years now and do exercise regularly. When I eat alkaline and low glycemic diet I am more energetic and happy.0 -
Sorry to burst your bubble lily, but may I ask what were you doing prior your blood test? Bc sometimes it is due to the body's demands, or it depends on which blood vessel your blood was taken. Bright red color is expected when it is arterial and deep red when it's venous
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12 nodes and hormone positive right here! I've just reached 9 years.
Life is good. I'm happy and healthy and living my life. Bring on 10 years!
I had daughters aged 9 and 6 when diagnosed. My 18 year old left for College last week and 15 year old is a great kid.
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