Stage III Cancer Survivors ...Five + Years and Out.
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Kmur… These posts are so helpful, thank you.. I am just like you, afraid to look to far ahead. I am in radiation and then will start estrogen blockers.. Wishing you bunches of happy days ahead.
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Kim, thank you so much for checking back in and CONGRATS!
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Your post on 5 yrs and out made me smile
My name is Bob I go by 1 Bravo Whiskey (1 Breasted Warrior) I am a 4 yr survivor of stage 3 triple Pos Male Breast Cancer. Had the surgery with a lot of nodes taken, 30 weeks chemo, 12 weeks of radiation, was rock bottom sick. I set my goals high for recovery, this yr did 2 5k runs, 3rd yr of the 26 mile Closer to free bike ride, and started skydiving, did 6 jumps from 14k feet this summer (yes I wore a sleeve) working to get my skydiving license by my 5th yr May 25th 2020 anniversary. My expiration date stamped on my butt readable only by god came and went. I am doing everything on my and my wife wish list.Cancer and treatment I wouldn't wish on anybody, but was the best worst thing that ever happened to me as I now enjoy every breath I take. Skydiving has just enhanced my enjoyment of life. To all out there never give up, positive attitude helps with your altitude! I hope to finish my AFF and skydive in every state and talk to as many as I can about my cancer that will listen so that they may be more aware that it can happen to them and get treatment early. I new something was wrong and waited 6 months longer than I should have. I wait no longer I JUMP into things full bore now!!
Blue Sky's to all!
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Kim and Bob, you are such an inspiration. Congrats on your goals!
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Hi Bob: Thank you for your inspiring story. You are a rock star !!!!!!
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Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your stats are so similar to mine, and provide such hope to me. I'm just over a year out of chemo and just short of 2 years on my diagnosis. I'm doing a clinical trial and I think this has kept my head in the "cancer" space for longer than it would have if I wasn't doing the trial. As there have been since March 2018, there are good days and bad days. Today was a badish day, so I'm back here looking for hope. You and so many others have provided it!
Kim
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Hi You all , had to jump back on to say thank you for your good wishes. I check in a few times after posting the yearly ( still here post!! ) haha Had to say I said stage "3ers" because of folks like you Bob, it is all of us men, young, healthy, no history etc etc etc ...you all know this. Just had to say ...This place this thread made me feel it was possible . So important for you to know , don't forget to live . Bob , you are awesome! I would be scared out of my mind to jump from a really great plane and running .... I just started kinda jogging a mile or so! If chased by a bear I can tell you how that would end for sure! Truly wonderful your spin on cancer ( Take that cancer...he will see you jumping from a plane ) These are the stories I hope newly diagnosed folks see and maybe they will see we are here.
Kim , it makes me happy to know , posting can just lift a bad day. Sometimes I would read this thread over again . Sadly, when I heard things like " Jane is so strong , so positive " ( this is a make believe name ) I thought wow , Im super glad she is strong cause I'm scared half to death. Anyway, I think it is ok to be where you are at that moment . I found in my scared to death moments , a person or situation was planted on my path and I felt better for that . So if in a very small way , I can make someone feell hopeful , that would make it ok .As Bob said, cancer is not something I wanted to have but it has given me gifts too . Friends I never would have met ( one from what we called the chemo lounge I call her chemo Kim ( we are both Kim ) She gave me her emend as I exploded my pill all over the floor trying to open the package it was an expensive pill in a really great hard to open package ) Bob found running and plane leaping !! So great !! I found art . I could not draw a circle but today I am full on painting and sculpting old Santa's and have sent my art in many places . Cancer changes the view and opened my eyes . I wish you good days and hope. With satge three grade three positive nodes ( all the negative boxes checked off ) still here . Still not going to poke the bear as it could still hear me but you hang in there and the further you get , the more you will forget all this yucky stuff . Love to you all . Thinking of you and now I have to find that ten year thread and aggravate them! May stick around here a few more times but if you do not hear from me , I have moved on over
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My wife had it framed for me:
"My scars tell a story. They are a reminder of times when life tried to break me but failed. They are the markings of where the structure of my charecter was welded"
By. Steve Maraboli
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When I heard I had IBC, Stage III breastcancer, the only thing I could think was that I would never live another 5 years. This thread and others on BCO gave me hope on a good outcome.
I am 5 years out now and NED! This hole experience made me think about what I wanted to do with my life and I made a radical career change, which I doubt I would have dared to do without cancer.
You can do it too!
Noor
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Today is 5 years for me! When I was first diagnosed, thinking 5 years ahead was not something I could even go there and posting in this thread seemed out of reach. I didn't necessarily think I'd be dead or alive, but all I could think about was making it to the next 6-month milestone. First 2-3 years were the most terrifying and I still don't think about the 10-year mark. One year at a time at this point. But I'm glad to have made it so far, it's a milestone and I am officially part of the 5-year stage 3 survival statistics!
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Hi Noor I also had stage 3 b and just had my mastectomy. Before surgery I had a mass of 5.2 and chemotherapy reduced it to 3.2 . I still had 9 nodes positive and I am Er +Pr+ and hert negative. My surgeon had diagnosed me with IBC but my oncologist says no. But still I am getting the same treatment. I will start radiation soon. Just wanted to know did you have any positives nodes after surgery and did you get any additional treatment for th
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I forgot to post on Thanksgiving. I was discharged from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day 24 years ago after a left mastectomy. I was blinded by the brightness of the sun on the drive home. It felt surreal - a gorgeous California day and I felt like crap in every way. I don't know if I thought at the time that it was strange that my ex fiance dropped off Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings which had been prepared by his current fiance. My sister who missed dinner with her family to take care of me really enjoyed the feast. It's funny what you remember over time. I'm thankful that many of the awful, depressing, fearful things have faded and the random oddities remain.
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Thank you lotanodes it gives us a lot of hope
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Lottanodes, a big heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS on your 24 year milestone!! That is simply awesome.
BTW, thanks for the chuckle I got when I read of your Thanksgiving feast fiasco all those 24 years ago!
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hi lotanodes!! You reached out to me years ago...thank you!!! chasing your record!
Flo80....here I am almost 4yrs after recurrence...10 pos nodes. Yuck. No sign of it though no scans in almost 2 yrs so should be pushing for some. Meanwhile my days are spent keeping up with my now 10 yr old (2 at diagnosis originally) and giving my insensitive snobby selfish inlaws crap at Christmas. Yay! Im still here to torture them. The good life...lololol
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Thank you so much 70f9 and gives me a lot of hope
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My 5 year anniversary came up a few days ago and it’s been on my mind a lot this week. Getting diagnosed during the holiday season was weird. I was in such turmoil in what is normally a happy time of year. This thread gave me a lot of hope when I was in that dark place, so by adding another voice to the chorus of survivors I want to pass some of that hope on. I won’t surgar coat it, it was a year from hell, but then life slowly got back to a new normal. When my pathology report came in after my surgery I spent a lot of time looking at statistics and focusing on survival rates. If I have any advice to someone newly diagnosed, it would be to avoid that and focus on your own situation. I’ve had 3 PET scans since my treatment to check out various concerns, but all have been NED. I follow up with my oncologist 2-3 times per year and the surgeons once a year. My doctor dangles the possibility of staying on arimidex for ten years and that’s OK by me. My kids were in elementary school when I was diagnosed, now they’re teenagers. My goal used to be to make it to their high school graduation, now I want to see weddings, grandchildren, retirement too.0
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Thanks Darumama and this gives me a lot of hope
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Thanks for posting Darumama. My cancerversary is coming up in 4 days (23 Dec) and I too think a lot about that day as it nears. I'm only three years out, but every year is a blessing. I've just been today to the Remembrance Service for one of the families from last weeks volcano tragedy in New Zealand who's sons (16 & 13) went to my boys school. Just like that, the whole family were killed when that volcano erupted. So today I feel blessed that, although cancer hit me hard, I'm still here today. And these boards continue to help me on a regular basis.
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Congratulations Newnorm and I am sorry to hear about the tragedy that took place in NewZealand. Life is so unpredictable and short. Wishing you many years of good health.
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Five year survivor Stage 3 Her2+ October 16 this year!!!! I don't think of it as often anymore....SOOOO grateful for every wonderful day. In the early days, corresponded with many on this site and that helso much....your encouraging words were a lifesaver❤️❤️❤️
Best wishes, love to all
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Hi there,
I can't believe this day is here. 5 years today for me! I have read these posts religiously for the past five years, hoping that one day I would be able to post as well.I was diagnosed at age 37 and had a seven month old baby and nineteen month old child. I had a total of ten tumors spanning ten cm. I also had lymph node invasion. I was so surprised that I had a compete response after chemo!
I did not do fertility preservation prior to chemo and was told the chances of conceiving again for me were slim. For several years I mourned the third child I always wanted. Low and behold, in February of last year I got pregnant and had a little girl on thanksgiving day. I now have a baby who is a year old and is adored by my now 5 and 6 year olds. I am so grateful for each day and have spent the last four years raising money for Making Strides. To date, my husband and I have raised close to 70k dollars. Having breast cancer has really given me a purpose to help raise money for research that will hopefully benefit others who will be diagnosed as well. Cheers to all of you!
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Raleigh that is wonderful news. I pray you have many more years for those sweet babies of yours
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Hello: I've reached 9 years. 9 BLESSED years. I'm doing great and still on tamoxifen. I never thought I would be here to post this. Soon all of you will. God Bless all of you.
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Congratulations Orlandpk1965. What was your diagnosis?
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Hi friends did anyone of you have her2- before mastectomy and become her2+ later. I am her2 positive now and had 8 lymph nodes positive. I want to take kadcyla but since I did not receive herceptin before surgery my oncologist is apprehensive and wants me to take herceptin and Parjeta. She will seek a second opinion for me as well. Anyone here with a similar situation
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Stage III, 15 + nodes 6cm in the right breast, mastecomy, 1 mil starting in the left. er/pr+ her2 neg
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thanks Orland park...3 yrs behind you! Keep leading the way!
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Five Years Out This Feb 2020
Hi, I have been a silent reader of this forum and cannot express how much strength I gained from this site. I am thankful to all who write here and try to give back hope to all who suffer or suffered from this nasty disease. I am out for 5 years, taking tamoxifen and hope to now switch to letrazole if my oncologist agrees, doing full time job and enjoying life. Still scared at times but grateful. There is life after Breast Cancer diagnosis. At one point I could not believe that I would survive. My chemotherapy, mastectomy and radiation all were uneventful, still there were dark days where you just get frozen.Cancer made me realize that we all are here for a limited time and everyday is an opportunity to do better.My life is so far serene with less drama and I try to enjoy each day, My advice just take one day at a time. Soon you will leave it behind. Love to all
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Congratulations ash123!
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