Stage III Cancer Survivors ...Five + Years and Out.
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That is awesome Ruth. 15 years!! Congratulations!
And Lottanodes. 23 years!! Wow, and with 22 positive nodes.
Crazywabbit congratutions on 5 years!
All these stories are awesome. Thanks for sharing. I rarely come to this site now. I'll be 8 years in February and I'll be sure to come and spread the hope.
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I feel pretty awesome, had my 3 year cancer free anniversary, on my birthday, Jan.20th. Yes, I had my mastectomy on my birthday! Makes it easy to remember 😂. My wonderful surgical team all sang Happy Birthday to me as I was going under😄Love all the posts, let's all just keep on going! I know the thread is 5 years, but I just wanted to post, I'm so happy to feel good again!💗💗
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I posted on the 15 years out page for the first time today 😁 When I was diagnosed, my son was 8 years old. This week, he will graduate as a Licensed Vocational Nurse at age 23 and I will be there ❤️
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mpetago congrats! So amazing and inspiring
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Thank you so much Tinkerbells and I won't stop posting as long as I'm here and these boards are here ❤️
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Just turning five years since my diagnosis for Stage 3B IBC. Two years ago I had a prostatectomy, and I’m here to report that prostate often comes along after breast cancer in men like Ovarian does in women.
Anyway, I’m NED for both. Best wishes to all here.
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Traveltext, Thanks for sharing. We hear so much about all aspects of female breast cancer but very little about breast cancer in men. A close friend's dad died of breast cancer in the early 80's and his diagnosis was so "shameful" that the family revealed only that he had cancer. I wonder how breast cancer was treated then as compared to now. I'm going to read up on "More on Male BC".
Wishing you many more NED anniversaries.
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Good morning everyone. Rarely hop on here anymore but read a few posts here on the favorite board !! Calikelly 3 years is awesome. I remember thinking that would be not likely based on the internet !! Mpetago , 15 is super ! Traveltext , wonderful letters NED . For all of us , continued joy and for all of you who come back to share your continued good health and milestones , love you all ! November 2019 will be 10 years for me . This board gave me hope. Love to all !
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13 years this month since I heard those dreaded words....there is life after bc!!
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Hi, everyone, it is so encouraging to know your stories that give hope to myself and others who have just started the journey. I am not sure if this is the right place for me to post my question. Please advise and redirect me to a forum or thread that you may know already.
I have been very anxious lately and don't know what I shall do. My Chemo was interrupted by lung inflammation which has been diagnosed to be a result of chemo. So I only had 4xAC and 1xTaxol (which was done in Jan 10, 2019). Then I had one month treatment on my lung inflammation. My MO told me that her team is indecisive and has 50% split on whether I need more chemo. My MO asked me to make the decision. My Pulmonologist opposed to continue the Taxol. And the only chemo drug that my MO has proposed is MF(Methotrexate and Fluorouracil). My dilemma is if other doctors in my MO's team think I should not continue the chemo, plus my MO can't tell how much benefit that I can get from further chemo treatment, should I continue the chemo with another drugs?
My MO has already started the Hormone treatment since she wants me to be protected when I can't make up my mind. I am currently waiting for my radiation treatment to be finalized. Will Hormone therapy and radiation treatment are good enough to battle the cancer?
Any advice or your own experience in similar situation will be highly appreciated!
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This is complex questioning for laypeople Vicky, but how about posting diagnosis stats here so that those in similar situations may relate their experiences.
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Thanks for pointing it out! Justadded all the info.
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Taxol is an important chemo and your 10 positive nodes is the reason part of your team wants more chemo. Of course, lung information is serious and I'm wondering if the radiation might not be an issue for your lungs. Is your pulmonary person worried about this? Don't P a nice, since you've got time to sort this out.
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Hi Vicky, we have similar stats so I thought I would share my experience so far. I had to stop Taxol at #6 due to peripheral neuropathy. It was really hard to accept, but my medical team assured me I had received most of the benefit of Taxol and that the hormone therapy would be more important. That said, we really only have one chance to throw everything at this, so if your pulmonologist is ok with the alternative chemo I would seriously consider it or maybe ask about other alternatives like Xeloda. Do you know how long the course would be? I don’t know how old you are, but at 42 I would have jumped at the chance of additional treatment to prevent this from coming back. Of course there are no guarantees. Ultimately you have to do what feels right for you so you can look back with no regrets.
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Hello:
I wanted you all to know that I hit my 8 year cancerversary. Still doing well, Thank God!. I will remain on tamoxifen for 10 years. I have little side effects. My onc said he will figure out something when the 10 years are up. I hope this brings some peace to your day. You will be posting here soon too! Love Nancy.
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Hi Vicky
I had the same thing happen to me, but I had done 3 taxol treatments before I ended up in hospital with lung inflammation. I had a month to recover (steroids and antibiotics). My oncologist (with permission from my pulmonologist) then put me on Taxotere (an older form of Taxol, I believe), instead of 12 weekly doses, you have 3 x 3 weekly doses. I was okay on it, and also okay to continue with my radiation treatment.
I am four years clear, and apart from some peripheral neuropathy (which I started getting with the Taxol), I am okay. One warning though, my eyebrows and lashes did not grow back fully (I had very thick luxuriant ones), and my hair grew back very thin, which is a side effect of Taxotere. However that may also be due to the Letrozole (AI) which I take.
Xeloda has also been mentioned, and some oncologists prescribe it already if you are Stage 3. Maybe you could discuss that with your Drs.
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orkandpark, that is an awesome milestone! Congratulations and thanks so much for sharing! Have you only been on tamoxifen and not AI’s the whole tine?
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Thank you so much for you reply!
Traveltext: It is a pity that my pulmonologist doesn't want me to continue the Taxol. From what I have read, Taxol is more effective and has replaced some of the older drugs. My pulmonologist did tell me that radiation will damage my lung as well, but he said the damage is limited and he thinks it should be fine. I really have to make up my mind soon, one friend told me that chemo should be resumed within 3 months, I am already in the 3rd month now.
beeline: Thank you for sharing your experience! I think it is really good that you have finished 6 x Taxol. My friend, a 10 year breast cancer survivor, had 6 x Taxol only, she had only 1 x AC (only portion of it) because of heart attack and had to stop the Taxol due to bad skin problem. So i think Taxol is very important. It is great that you can participate in a clinical trial, hope it goes well and works for you! I am 55 right now, I couldn't rest well those few days. Really it is the matter of whether I shall try my best now and never regret.
trinigirl50: Thank you for sharing your experience! Congratulation on your 4 years clear!! I believe lung inflammation is started from AC, and Taxol made it worse. I also needed one month to recover with steroid and antibiotics. It is good that you have got 3 x Taxol! I will find out with my Oncologist on the chemo schedule, I think it is 4 doses every three weeks. My oncologist didn't mention Xedola though. I will discuss with her.
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orlandpark65: congratulation!
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Orlandpark & trinigirl congratulations on hitting the 8 & 4 year marks!
Today is the two year anniversary of my lumpectomy - I consider this the anniversary for being cancer free since the PET scan I had about 6 weeks later did not show any cancer remaining. I consider everything I did after surgery to be insurance. I know I'm not at five years yet, but I wanted to post because when I was in treatment, I wouldn't even let myself think about two years into the future...and here I am, doing well! Maybe that will give some hope to those of you going through treatment now.
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Yes they switched me to aramidex and had terrible side effects. Since I'm 53 they are keeping me on tamox.
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I just wanted to chime in regarding taxol and also on lymph node involvement based on my experience. Taxol/Taxotere was not standard protocol when I was diagnosed in 1995 so it was not a part of my treatment regime. I have come to have a different perception on lymph node status. While we can all agree that 0 positive nodes is the most desirable status, I no longer think that having 22 positive lymph nodes was necessarily the worst thing. Suppose that my lymphatic system functioned robustly and did not let the cancer cells travel on through my system to distant sites? If so, then maybe extensive lymph node involvement is not as bad as it seems. Maybe my nodes were doing their job efficiently. I enrolled in a clinical trial to determine if high dose chemo with stem cell rescue (bone marrow transplant) was better that standard therapy. I was very disappointed that I was randomized into the standard treatment arm. When the trial concluded that BMT was no better than standard treatment but had greater risk of serious complications I was very glad that I was in the control arm of the trial. Sometimes MORE is just MORE and not better when it comes to treatment. I don't suggest that anyone should not follow the treatment plan prescribed by their physician, just that there is a chance that an abbreviated course of treatment may be enough. Even though breast cancer diagnosis and treatment has moved from the Dark Ages to the Medieval Period during my life time, we're not yet in the Renaissance so there are a lot that the doctors just don't know. Hang on to the hope that your outcome will be far better than what your diagnosis predicted.
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lottanodes,
Thanks for letting us know you’re doing great, such an inspiration, I feel better niw with my single node, hipe it did its job in the best way as wel
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Lottanodes, I so appreciate that you come back and share with us, and especially love your take on lymph node status. Thank you! I am doing my best to hang onto the hope.
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I echo beeline's comment - thank you lottanodes for sharing your inspirational insight!
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8 years and going strong!
I rarely visit BCO now. I'm too busy with life and family ... it's a great thing! That little girl on tiptoes peering over my shoulder in my profile picture was 6 years old. She's now 14 years, 5"9 and I'm looking up at her
I still keep up my oncologist and surgeon appointments. I started on Tamoxifen and was switched to Aromasin a few years ago. The Aromasin hasn't been kind to my bone density so I'm now on twice yearly Zometa infusions.
I plan to return every year to pay it forward. This post and this website gave me such comfort when I needed it
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KiWimum thank you for sharing this. I'm so depressive today... I expect only bad things from bc. So sad...
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Did you have any problem with lymphedema? Recurrence or mets are not enought, LE is another fear to dealing with for the rest of our lives. Seems not fair
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KiwiMum, thanks for posting your 8 year milestone! That is wonderful news! Keep on living large and enjoy each day to it's fullest!
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KiwiMum, congratulations on the milestone and thanks so much for sharing! We have similar stats and I’m also in NZ, so it gives me extra hope to see this today!
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