5 year survivors, post your screen name here!
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Mzzhope....8 years! Congrats. Hope you are doing well
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Hello all you wonderful ladies! And congrats on all your amazing milestones!
We just posted a request for Survivorship Stories -- would love to have some of you contribute!
Survivorship generally refers to life after immediate treatment (surgery, chemo, radiation), though a patient may still be on ongoing treatment (hormonal therapy, targeted therapies, complementary methods, etc.). To coincide with an new, upcoming section on the main Breastcancer.org site on Survivorship, we're looking for stories from members who have gone through the active treatment rollercoaster and are now experiencing life after a diagnosis. Specifically, we're wanting to hear your experiences with longer-term side effects of diagnosis and/or treatment, such as sexual issues, weight gain, chemo brain/chemo fog, bone and heart health, exercise and nutrition issues, menopausal issues, lymphedema, infertility, neuropathy, joint pain, skin/hair issues, relationship issues, work and career hurdles, and emotional issues including fear of recurrence.
Some things to think about for your story: Have you gained a new perspective on this other side of treatment? What life lessons have you learned? What advice would you give your newly-diagnosed self? How does your "old" self compare to your "new" self? What impact has your breast cancer diagnosis made on your life? If you've become a Breast Cancer Advocate, what is your mission and how are you fulfilling it?
If you're willing to share your perspective of your life after diagnosis and treatment, or your life on active, maintenance or on-going treatment we'd love to hear from you! Please send your story via PM to the Mods along with a picture of yourself or something that represents you, and a note about how long since you've been diagnosed. Seeing these stories will surely inspire our new members, along with members just going through treatment now, to see that you CAN get through active treatment and get to a new normal on the other side, even if that includes maintenance or ongoing, lifelong treatment.
Your story will be included with the other Members Stories photos on the main site, and may also be used in part throughout the website and/or in fundraising or event materials.
Thank you for considering!
--The Mods0 -
5 years ago today - my surgery........lots of ups and downs since then but very happy to be here to celebrate my anniversary. Thank you BCO and ladies for all your knowledge. XO
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Congratulations, Drdolittle, yes happy to be here too with you and the ups and downs, about 6 years now for me.
Dsgirl
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Congratulations on hitting the five year mark DrDolittle!
Thanks for sharing and here's to many more years:)
x x
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Congratulations Dsgirl!
Thanks for dropping by to give much needed inspiration
x x
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Thanks Songbird68 - you will be here before you know it !! Laurie aka drdolittle
Thanks dsgirl for leading the way - keep doing it !!! Laurie aka drdolittle
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Hello, I remembered a time when I was on BCO almost all day (and all night) during treatment. It kept me sane, it kept me connected. I always saw this thread and told myself that I would give anything to post a "5 year survivor" message. I would say it probably has been about 2 years since I have logged in.
Not sure if my description is still here but I was diagnosed on 8/27/2010 at 31 with L breast IDC. My mastectomy on 9/30 staged me as III-B because I had 7 positive lymph nodes out of 30 taken. (more like dug out l) I had four months of chemo, 25 doses of radiation, 12 months of Herceptin in total. I had 9 months of Tamoxifen but due to side effects I stopped. My cancer was ER- but PR+, I was recommended to continue hormone treatment but I was like nope. The first weeks without Tamoxifen felt like a cloud had lifted and I realized it made me depressed.
This past 9/30 marked my 5 years from diagnosis! I am happy to be around. The first year or two after treatment I felt so raw and vulnerable.The monkey on my shoulder called "recurrence" was everywhere . My thoughts, every ache and pain, every stage IV diagnosis story was going to be me. Who knows, it may still be. I still take a Xanax every now and then , or Ambien. Never drank before BC but now I have appreciated fine wine- like Reisling and Chardonnay
The monkey on shoulder is still there, it still whispers but it's voice is smaller or I had learned how to deflect him. Do not get me wrong, I still have my moments of pure fear and fetal position rocking but they are few and far between. Part of the reason also why I did not log in too much as BCO afterwards was that I would panic and be seized by fear with each story of recurrence and occurrence of metastatic disease and it would set me backwards in trying to put it behind me. It took a while.Life has gone on for me. I had a miscarriage that devastated me, I cried so much. So much more than I thought I would given the tragedy of breast cancer. I realized I had a chance at fighting for my own life but I had no fighting chance for the child inside me because the child had died already . I came to the realization that "surviving" cancer allows you to live life and that still means joy and tragedy. The promise of life does not entail a free pass from future heartache
I hope I do not sound discouraging. On the contrary. My son was 18 months and my daughter was four. Last month he started 1st grade and my daughter started fifth grade. Yep, I was around! I am around to complain about my bills, my work, the damn commute and the weather. Every now and then I catch myself and say hey didn't you say you'd rather go to work in the dead of winter instead of lying in bed sick with chemo. Oh that's right. And I smile.
My husband and I celebrated 11 years together. He has stood by me and took care of me every step of the way. I am one of the fortunate ones whose marriage was strengthened by the experience. We are regularly intimate. big scar on the boob and all .(I just had to write that because when I was diagnosed I asked myself, will I ever have sex again???). I thank BCO and the community that had encouraged me to just keep plodding. The ladies that lost their eyebrows with me, had diarrhea with me, had a runny nose with Herceptin with me, who were afraid down to their souls with me. Thank you and I hope that this post has encouraged someone to just keep going, just one round of chemo at a time, one dose of RT at a time. One day you will see a tube of Aquaphor and think oh yeah it's for eczema instead of remembering how you used tube after tube for your burnt skin.
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dianaon
Still good, coming up on 7 years. Relate totally. I am a 6 on the Enneagram (ha- another way to describe yourself)- and my default mode is to always be scared, wake up afraid, long before BC, but I just get some coffee, pray, and do it anyway. But yea, there are days, weeks that sometimes it's hard to breathe from fear.
Little kids help. They need you functional at all times.
Love cures.
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letlet. Thank you so much for that post. Very Inspring
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Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary.
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Letlet....thank you for sharing and being so real. So sorry for your loss. Thank you for taking the time to share from your heart.
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amazing Letlet so great to hear another young mom that is her2 positive making it through the 5 year mark I have an 18 month and 5 year old I fight for them..congratulations
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5 years this Aug. since I went through 2 years of treatment for mine. Still on Tamoxifen and see my oncologist every six months, but seem to be getting better with not worrying about it as often as I used to. It is hard, like a shadow that is always there, but life moves on. Just taking life one day at a time. Life is good.Glad to be this far out and see so many others!
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Congrats giglgrl....life does move on!
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4 years and 51 weeks today. Just had my annual checkup and all is good!!!! Thanks to God, my excellent doctors, medical science and friends
. So grateful!0 -
Racy
Congratulations . Wish you many many more years NED.
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Racy.. That's wonderful...So happy for you!!
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Congratulations, Racy!
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Racy 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻....so good to hear your great news
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Thanks ladies. I am so happy to reach this milestone. Life is great. The emotional scars of treatment have faded but will never completely disappear. (I still think about bc every day).
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Congratulations ((((Racy)))
x x
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Congratulations Giglgrl!
Massive hugs, keep staying away from those shadows!:) 5+ years sunlight rules.
x x
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Letlet, thank you so much for sharing your experiences.
I feel the same way about BCO too(the longest I've stayed away from the site has been 4 days, I think, these last few years!)
Congratulations on hitting that 5 year milestone!
x x x
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Letlet,
Afraid down to their souls
Yes, and I don't think I've ever heard it so well said.
Very sorry for your loss, and happy for all the rest. Wishing you good health and happy days.
Ann
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Hi Ladies, Hello Letlet --- it is so great to read your words, Letlet. I am elated to see you here. We used to "talk" a lot here on BCO 5 years ago, remember? We were so full of worries and fears back then.
As for me, I am also a 5 year survivor, Thank God! I don't come to BCO that much nowadays, because I help out as a volunteer on my day offs at the hospital where I got my treatments. When I went through chemo, towards the end of it when the side effects were the worst (4th, 5th, 6th rounds) I made a promise to myself. If I was to survive it all, I would help others who were undergoing breast cancer treatment -- who were coming behind me. For the past 3-4 years, I have been helping women with breast issues, mammograms, hospital bureaucracy or most of the time I just offer my support at the breast clinic: I hug women who are freshly diagnosed, I even pull up my shirt and bra unexpectedly just to show them "it is ALL OK, you will get through it, I am here for you" --- because I know how terrified I was when I got diagnosed and how lonely I felt. In any case, I had checked in today so that others who are at the beginning of their journeys can soak up some hope, some strength that they might get from survivors like myself. Wishing you all the best, stay strong and keep looking forward. (((HUGS)))
Lago: it was so GREAT to meet you and Mumorange the other nite, whoohoo!
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♥ ya Survivorwoman!
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Survivorwoman!:) Thank you for encouragement and letting us know you are here for us:)
Hi Iago!:)
x x x
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Hi Songbird
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