BCO members for 10 or more years - read their inspiring stories
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Thank you, ladies, for sharing your stories. I'm very recently diagnosed - just before Christmas and it's been pretty emotional. I wobble between 'nah, she'll be right!' to 'what if......??'. Your stories help me keep things in perspective, as I begin my own journey.
Many thanks :-)
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Dear carlaau, welcome to Breastcancer.org, although we're sorry you have to be here for this reason.
We're happy to hear that you're finding these stories from all these wonderful ladies helpful and inspiring! The beginning is really hard. There's so much fear and uncertainty, we know, but hopefully it will get better. It may help you also to take a look at the section called Breast Cancer 101, in our main site, designed for those newly diagnosed to help sort through all of the information on our site and find what is more relevant right now.
We're thinking of you!
The Mods
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ME ME! I am 16 years post Tri-Neg with lumpectomy and doing just fine. Gentle hugs. Shirlann
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Shirlann....so good to hear you are doing well after 16 years!!!!! Thanks for sharing.
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Love to hear these inspiring stories. I cling on to them whenever I have a "dark" day and that seems to be quite often lately. I hope it gets better and much easier the further out you become.
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I worry that there are not a lot of posts here. But the reason is almost 100% of the gals I was with are off living their lives, Breast cancer has a cure rate of about 80%, so that is a huge number. It is a rotten year, but you will get thru it. Here in San Diego we have a luncheon group with 8 to 12 members and we have been meeting for about 8 years. This too will pass. I am 17 years post treatment and just fine. Gentle hugs, Shirlann
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hello msphil here,i believe its not quite 10 yrs for me but I have posted almost 1000 post to Inspire those now going thru, so i believe that the amount of post that helps others and give back is just as important as being here for 10 yrs. So my story is that I am now a 21 yr SURVIVOR(Praise GOD) i finished all my treatment in 1994 so i count from there, doc says that is ok, I cant imagine not having this site when going thru treatment, you need to hear from people who have been there. Take care and God Bless Us. msphil(idc, stage2, 0/3 nodes, L mast, wk before Christmas, and while preparing for Our wedding)chemo:adriamycin,cytoxin, 5fu, 7 wks rads, 5 days wk,45 min.5 yrs on tamoxifen)
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bless you misphil!!!!!
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Well, I'm in year two but I have a friend that had a tumor as big as a small orange during breast feeding at 35. Had a lumpectomy cause that is all she had time for. Lots of chemo and radiation. She's 54 now.
Hey, I'm about to start year 5, now!!!
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Thank you all for your inspiring stories, it really helps. Just wondering if any of you have made certain lifestyle changes to promote your long term survival such as exercise more, diet changes etc. I've heard that you're supposed to avoid alcohol and sugar but I do still enjoy my occasional glass of wine and it's really hard to completely avoid sugar when it's in just about most things we eat. I guess it comes down to everything is alright in moderation.0
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Hi, I will be a 10 year survivor in October of this year. I first came to this site after my diagnosis in 2005. I was diagnosed at age 49 with stage IIb - 2 cm tumor with 1 pos node and ER/PR pos, her2 neg. I was quite aggressive with my treatment. I had a bi-lateral mastectomy with reconstruction, chemo and radiation. I removed my ovaries so I could take Femara, and have been taking it for 10 years and so far so good. I know that when I was diagnosed it was important for me to to hear from long term survivors with positive nodes because I felt I was in a different group than those with negative nodes. I don't post here that often any more because I am busy with my life and finally have that beautiful grandchild that I always wanted. It took me 3 plus years to think that I might just beat my diagnosis and now I don't think about my cancer as much. This site was a lifesaver for me. I went through my initial diagnosis, surgery, chemo, radiation, hormone treatment, and years after, providing support to and receiving support from the wonderful ladies on this site. For those newly diagnosed, just remember that there are over 2 million of us out in the world living our lives. To answer the question, I did make lifestyle changes. I quit drinking my daily glass of red wine and switched to green tea. I changed my eating to organic and a more healthy diet, kept my weight down, and exercised (walk) regularly. I also ensure that I get plenty of vitamin D (3000 daily) and never miss a day of taking my Femara.
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LizM.....so glad you are doing well and thanks for sharing. Always does the heart good to hear success stories.
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Very inspiring to this newbie! Thank you for posting!
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hi my mum is having a lumpectomy tomorrow then will have chemo and radiation over the next few months just worried sick as it's a grade 3 tumour rapid growing it's 2.6cm.
She has to get through this do people survive aggressive growing cancer? She is having lymph node clearance as fine needle showed small traces but obviously won't know full extend of nodes until after surgery.
Any survivors who can knock some sense into me it's the worst feeling in the world hate worrying but I know she has got to get through this she is only 55. We also don't know the hormone status of tunouryet.
Hope everyone is doing well lots of love xx
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Dear Summer16, Welcome to the BCO community. We are sorry to hear about you mom but glad that you reached out. She is lucky to have you as a support in her life as she begins treatment. We are thinking that you may get better responses by posting in another forum as there has not been too much activity here of late. Try browsing through the topics on the blue tool bar to your left and consider posting in a forum for those starting treatment. Once you have more information on your mom's cancer you will be able to post in more specific forums. Stay connected here and keep us posted. The Mods
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Summer16....come on over to the Lumpectomy Lounge thread. You'll get lots of support from some wonderful women. Once you mum starts treatment you'll feel better. This is the scary part. Don't fret over the grade 3. It responds well to treatment. Hang in there. (((Hugs)))
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Just wanted to share this story with everyone and hope it brings some encouragement to all. I was just diagnosed 3 days ago and my mil has been a tremendous inspiration. When I first got married, my inlaws were a PAIN! We did not get along and for nearly 15 years we barely spoke. About 5 years ago, things miraculously turned about. Anyways, my mil is a 40+ year and counting survivor of breast cancer. Back than, they do not know of grade and type but she did have nodes removed. She never brings it up till now. My husband was only 6 years old or so then and now he is 51. She has led an awesome life and travelled the world. Can't say she has actually made any changes to diet, since she eats moderately but not always healthy. She doesn't exercise either unless you count 12 hour shopping trips as exercise and she does this all the time. She also told me that my brother in law's mother is a 40 year survivor of breast cancer in both breast. Still breathing, still going.
So I hope this brings some positivity into our fearful existence right now. May God be with you through this journey always.
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Kiks1....thanks for sharing! Always good to hear success stories.
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I have been diagnosed with breast cancer. My family doctor referred us to a general surgeon. We researched cancer centers in our area and have chosen a cancer specialist. We will see him this week. His website discusses many different forms of cancer treatment such as radiation, photobeam etc. He also networks with surgeons if surgery is necessary. how is a treatment plan chosen? How do I know if I need surgery or radiation?
Mary
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@Kiks - that is wonderful to hear of your long-term survivor MIL! Do you know if she had a lumpectomy or mastectomy? I am leaning towards getting a lumpectomy if I can but I feel there's not many long term lumpectomy survivors in comparison to mx on BCO.
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I've been a member here off and on, I've used different user names. I've even done graduate research, developing a speech system as a way to help answer questions regarding breast cancer based on my experiences here. I would like to share my story.
I'll be an 18 year survivor this year. I was diagnosed at 23 and spent my 24th birthday getting chemo. When I cried there because they had to poke me 5 times to get a vein, the lovely woman next to me told myself that I'll never forget and I applied to the rest of my life. She told me that having a pity-party is just like having a regular party, and once it's done, you've got to pick yourself up, clean up and move on. And that's what I've done with my life. That year of my life of my initial diagnosis was hard - I had surgery, chemo for 7 months and radiation for 2 months. But after all that was done, I moved on and accomplished so many things. I built a great career at one of the largest companies in the world, I partied with the best, and then I went an got 2 Masters degree doing breast cancer research at the largest hospital in the country. However, during all those years, I also was diagnosed with skin cancer and lost part of my nose, and that was actually more traumatic than having breast cancer because I felt like my nose was right there, front and center. But that got reconstructed and you can't even tell I ever had surgery on my nose. They thought I had breast cancer in the other breast and so had a lumpectomy on the other breast but then it turned out to be benign. I was tested positive for the BRCA 2 gene. But I have kept going on and on, living life to the fullest.
I was diagnosed this past year with DCIS and when I had a lumpectomy in November, they found that it was too close to the margins to let me continue to keep my breasts. My most recent oncologist even acted fed up with me when I wanted to wait a couple more months for the BMX and told me that I didn't need to come back to see her. LOL And so as I wait another week for my BMX (no recon), I've become contemplative of my previous experiences with breast cancer. I'm going to go walk 10 miles tomorrow because I have a half-marathon scheduled in 12 weeks.
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so inspired by your story
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hi ladies, I don 't know how I missed this thread. I post my story on a few others....
Anyway in 2005 i was dxed with a stage IIIc bc. I had 12 pos nodes, the tumor infiltrated my ducts, lobes nipple and chest wall. I was er pr negative , had lymph and vascular involvement AND was her2 positive,
I had just lost my mom to met. Bc, and nurse trained in oncology and was scared sh!!less.
I had lost of scared faces looking back at me Except my Onc, who was also my mom's oncologist.
Additionally I had to move back to the U.S. For tx and was quite alone in an small rented hovel.
Now the good news.... It is now almost 12 years. I am well happily married to a wonderful man. Have lived to see 2 grand babies born and now back to livin the life in my tropical wonderland.
It is scary.. But somehow we get through it... Take good care of yourselves now. you are the priority! Come here often for support and just plain reassurance. It helps tremendously .
I wish you all a gentle ride through this time.
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Yessssssssss! I will be 3 years out soon. I am still in shock about the whole thing. I had triple negative but very small, no nodes, no mets. So far, so good. I get freaky when it comes time to get checked. No BRCA, NOT Hispanic or African American...diagnosed at 56. Boob still a little sore. Lumpectomy, chemo and rads. NO I am not sorry I had a lumpectomy. I get asked that ALOT. Hey it was 8 mm in a big boob. Mainly the surgeon at the Mayo said that was overkill if I was not BRCA positive. Sure appreciate every day. Chemo brain is a real thing and I sleep really well every night.
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Hi Everyone-I was just diagnosed (I'm 50) and got the news on Friday afternoon, two days ago. All I know is that it is invasive-probably ductal, maybe tubal/tubular. I have to find a doctor at Dana Farbar and get started making phone calls tomorrow morning. I'm trying to calm myself down but keep having panic attacks. So terrified. Crying in waves. One of the things that is scaring me is the fact that there are three lesions. I think that two of them are 1 cm and one is maybe half that. All in the same area. This makes me worry that it is more advanced somehow. I worry that I could have caught it sooner and didn't. The other thing that woke me up freaked out today is that I remembered that the results of my last pap were not totally normal but the obgyn said that we could wait until my next annual to retest. Now I'm wondering if that was some kind of sign of advanced cancer related to the breast cancer.
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Welcome Terril, We are so glad that you reached out to our community. We are sure that you will find support and information here to ease the way for you as you move forward. We are thinking that this particular thread for those who have been BCO members for 10 years or more may not give you the most timely responses. Perhaps you can post your questions on the Just Diagnosed Forum. You can browse the topics or start a new one. Keep us posted on how things go. The Mods
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Gives me hope. just dx grade 2 - 1.4 cm IDC right . seeing surgical oncologist in three days. what a nightmare! So glad to read so many inspirational stories gives me hope. Thank you for sharing everyone!
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Tpralph:
You have every reason for hope! I had nearly your same dx--12 years ago! My oncologist, when she cut me loose after all my treatments, said I am basically CURED. Best luck to you!
Brenda
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How do I find the updated posts to read? I do not see any active posts from 2016 or 2017. Please help.
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hello sweetie its msphil i dont know if i posted on 10 yr or more my story i am this yr here for 10yrs now please let me know i d be honored to post my story to Inspire others. Thanks
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