Stage IIb and 5+ years out, anyone?
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7 year survivor of Stage 2b here. If I had ONE more node, I'd have been Stage III. I was 43 and er/pr+++. Naturally, I was devastated, especially since I did not think I could get BC so young! I had a lumpectomy, chemo, rads, and tamoxifen, in addition to complementary treatments (acupuncture was a freakin' GODSEND after I had finished chemo and was doing rads - it got my energy back up to a manageable level!).
Through it all I continued my Master's degree studies and did a supervised practicum right after everything was finished and I had about 1 inch of gray and frizzy hair (yay for super-strength conditioner).
Here I am, seven years later, menopausal and heavier, though a low-carb diet and exercise program is taking care of that. My brain is back in its old glory, and my hair is past my shoulders, and thick and wavy again, woo hoo! I own a house, I have cats, I live my life. I don't post here much anymore, because I've moved past cancer, and just pop in to survivor's threads and occasionally in the alt meds forum. The only time I really think about cancer is during the dread Pinktober, and I give the middle finger to that!
Stage II sisters, take heart - there are lots of us long-term survivors enjoying our now-healthy lives.
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Hi Flannelette. Congratulations. I remember you from when I first came here looking for someone else with a big tumor. Us big tumor gals (mine ended up being 5.5cm invasive but 6.5 cm with the DCIS) and no nodes seem less common. I'm 2 years behind you. Hope they will let me get off the AI in 2 more years. My MO is hinting at 10!
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Diagnosed in 2009 Stage 2A 3/12 positive nodes. I also threw everything at it double mastectomy, chemo, rads and now femora. I'm five years out and feeling great!
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Congratulations nowaynotnow on your 5 year milestone and thanks so much for sharing .
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Just seen this thread............I was dx grade 3 with 3 affected nodes.... not a good prognosis .I was scared stiff when first dx.........googled too much.......saw all the statistics etc made my funeral plans etc etc
Here I am over 6 years out...........leaving the funeral plans on the PC..........leaving my hospital bag and wig on top of the wardrobe..........and just enjoying life again......
It's such a scary time when you're first dx, but it does get easier with time.........I go weeks without thinking of BC now.............
Life does get back to normal (a better normal)............
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Thanks for posting Happygran! Congratulations. I don't think we ever get tired of seeing posts like yours.
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CONGRATULATIONS Happygran - I can't wait to get to where you are now!!!
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Just thought I'd post. July 13th 2010 was my official diagnosis date. This August 31st will be my 5 year NED date. That's in 30 days. I'm playing the lottery.
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Yes, life does return to normal and we sometimes forget our wonderful sisters here who help during the early stages.
I was stage II with 4 positive nodes, ER+ and both my sister and my mother passed away from breast cancer.
10 years and counting. Every March from 2005 on has been celebrated!0 -
Thanks for sharing Lago, Happygran and Trenna. Just got my scan results and ultrasound results today and am currently NED. Even though I'm only nearly two years out, it's wonderful ladies like yourselves that have come on here to share your stories that give some of us in our early years hope. I don't know where I'd be without this forum.
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Happy for you Lago!!
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Just to say Hi, this is my first message (posted the same in the stage III forum, but found this one afterwards) since I just created an account. I was diagnosed in July last year and went through chemo, surgery and radiotherapy, and on the 1st of August started Tamoxifen. I was looking in the internet for long term survivors stories to fill up my tanks with optimism and hope, and got to this site and forum. And I just want to say, THANK YOU ALL that are sharing your stories years after your diagnosis, it brings us the not so long ago diagnosed a lot of strength and hope to go ahead, live our lifes day by day, and feel like the persons we were before that happened to us!
To tell you my story in a couple of lines: last July 2014 while having a shower, I noticed two enlarged lymph nodes below my left axila, a couple of months later a biopsy was made to it and proved cancerous....so the story began. They never found the tumor in my breast, only a benign one, something like sclerosing adenosis with papiloma cells, but not invasive cancer. So, as it seems, I had what is called "occult brest cancer". I had a Pathological Complete Response to chemo, so after it, in the path report after the surgery, it stated: 0 from 20 nodes had cancer, nor were invasive cancer cells found in the breast, but fibrosis scar tissue was found in 3 of the 20 nodes, so I guess it is considered that the cancer had reached these 3 nodes. But in the path report what is stated is, 0 from 20 nodes positive, which made me really happy the moment I read it! By the way, the size of the nodes that were enlarged before starting chemo reduced, but they didn't get back to normal, so I (and my onc too) thought tumour would still be found after the operation, but fortunately, everything was clean:-)! So I was not completely sure now if I have to put in my details in this web 3 nodes, or 0?
Really really hope to be able to write here in some time and give hope to newbies in the way I find it reading your stories!
Hugs to all from Spain! And all the very very best to all of us!
Kate
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To QueenSansaS:
Very glad for you and love the phrase in your signature!!!: There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. - Albert Schweitzer
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Happy for you Lago, too! And for all the others that come here to share!
Katerina
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hello stage 2 b....I am going to my oncologist this week I have had tamoxifen for 3.3 years. Have really suffered with connective issue/torn knees and heat. I have taken 1 month off of tamoxifen and the difference is quite remarkable. Would like very much to stop....but the alternatives are daunting. Has anyone had experience with arimidex or aromasin? I ask because I know that having experience with the alternative aromatase is surely important. So she will either continue with tamoxifen for the full 5 or switch to the others....thanks in advance
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I was 5 years out from diagnosis on May 13th. I am continuing on Tamoxifen although I have been officially menopausal for 5 years - no menstrual cycle after my first chemo treatment/hormonal levels reflect post menopausal. I am continuing on with Tamoxifen for 10 years - it will be 5 years Jan 1, 2016. I have gained an enormous amount of weight since treatment and I am going to have gastric sleeve surgery in December. My doctor doesn't want to move to a AI because of the complications and I am doing well on Tamoxifen. Praying for all of us "survivors" that we continue to make progress and find a cure!
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I never started with Tamoxifen although was peri-menopausal when I started chemo. My last cycle was 2 weeks prior to chemo. I started with Anastrozole (3 years). I finally had enough with the SE and took a break to see if it was from the drug. It was. Switched to Exemestane April 2014. Doing better on it. April 2016 will make 5 years total for me. My MO is more than hinting at 5 more years. She considers me high risk due to tumor size (I didn't have any node involvement).
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Hi gals!Great thread!Still here ,loving life.😍Still taking Femara ,was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and had to have one of my implants replaced. ...but other that that all has been well!
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Well, since I have 'mixed' treatment (medical and alternative) and since I am 4 1/2 years since my dx and feeling very well. I may be the oldest here (?) at 66 yrs. old when dx of lobular breast cancer and since I had not looked up any other options at the time I gave in to having chemotherapy with very dramatic outcome sending me to the emergency room 5 times and 3 of those time admitted. So, after all that I opted to go "alternative" and fight this disease with mainly juicing (carrots) and various supplements. So there is life after death...cause my family thought I was going to die at the hospital. Of course, getting out of the hospital I immediately started recovering my health by getting my immune system up and working. Today, I am still doing good, weight level and good for me, eating everything under the sun (85% veggies) and happy to see you all here working hard at 'your recovery' :-) I never did get a mastectomy to this day. Yes, still have the 'lumpy' left breast and am living with it! Maybe this is a first here....let me know if anyone else alive and well (feeling well?) even though they opted not to go the medical way, after terrible outcome in the beginning. I have a facebook page so look me up and see my Profile of what my experience was and why I quit. I still juice but every other day now, eat a Giant Salad every day, and right now having trouble staying away from sugar! Go figure...after all those years feeding my four kids sweets (candy, cake, pie, homemade stuff!!!), and now I have a "sweet tooth". We ALL know (?) that Sugar feeds Cancer, right? That was part of my education of this yucky disease and so reading here to stay encouraged to Keep Going with You All :-) Yes, I am 70 1/2 years old now...and enjoy living!
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Sugar feeds all cells. It is needed for all cell survival but best to get it naturally from foods like fruit.
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Stage IIb...4 1/2 years out. Looking forward to 5 this June. However, my ONC said that since I am ER/PR Pos, that the chances don't significantly decrease at 5 years, that you always will have a 2% chance of reoccurrence. Anyone hear any more about this?
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hi, stage IIB and six years out. Was diagnosed Dec 2009, had bilateral mastectomy with sentinel node biopsy Feb 2010, six rounds of TC chemo March - June 2010, started on tamox July 2010 and did 5 years, been on aromatase inhibitor (AI) anaztrozole since last summer. I see onc every six months and get basic blood work once a year. No scans except a baseline bone density test before starting the AI. So far so good. Wishing you all the best! ♥
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Hi all, another stage IIB here diagnosed October 2009. When I was feeling scared, I posted on this thread back in 2011 thanking those who let us know they were over 5 years out. Now I'm back as one of those with six years under my belt. Take care all!
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This thread gives me great hope! Thank you all for posting your stories and I wish you all many more years (decades!) of being cancer free.
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I was diagnosed in 2005 with stage IIb, 2 cm with 1 positive node. I also threw the kitchen sink at my cancer with bi-lateral, chemo, rads, oophorectomy, and 10 years of Femara ending in August of this year. So far so good. I remember quite well coming here looking for long term survivors with my diagnosis, and I see there are many of us. It is very important for newbies to hear from us as it gives them comfort and hope - I know it did me.
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LizM,
Bless you for returning to show us that the hope is real. There are so many people doing well. It's nice to be reminded of that.
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In 2012, I was convinced that I wouldn't make it past a year. This year, I am 4 years out! And NED as well! I have battle scars, physically and mentally (chemobrain), but I have made it this far. I plan on being here for my 5th, 10th, and beyond anniversaries!!
Kitten
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Congrats to everyone here. I'm coming up on 6 years! Just finished my 5 years on ESD. (We decided not to do the 10 years due to SE I'm dealing with… but if study results do come out that might change).
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Liz, good for you. I would like to know did you adopt any particular change in your diet and lifestyle as part of your longevity? I want to be on a plant based diet when treatment is over but wonder if anyone has positive experience in hope of prevent their recurrence. Thanks for any inputs and hope for many more healthy years ahead for everyone.
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