Life does not end with a stage IV diagnosis (really!)
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Hey, hey, hey, cure-ious! I am thrilled by the news of your trip. We had a fabulous time in Spain several years ago, even though it was hot as blazes. Barcelona was colorful and fun, Madrid resplendent with fantastic museums (many on one incredible avenue, as I recall), and Grenada was magical with a sinister edge, as evidence and memories of the Inquisition seemed never far away.
We spent an entire day in the gorgeous gardens of the Alhambra and would go back in a heartbeat. I hope you're enjoying yourself!
Tina
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Hi All,
I need to hear from some of you over 3 yrs with MBC. I have been reading survival rates and need some encouragement. It will be one year Sept 9 since I had my femur rod surgery
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This month I completed five years with metastatic breast cancer. Still going strong on first line treatment. Hugs and healing vibrations to you, positive2strong.
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positive, November will be 6 years with MBC and October will be 5 years with brain mets specifically. I’ve changed treatments a few times and have had lots of brain radiation but I’m here, a little worn down sometimes but fully functional and living a pretty normal life. I’ve even started thinking about a big trip for my 50th birthday, which is still 3 years away. That’s something I never would have considered early on but research is always ongoing.
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positive2strong - I haven't hit 3 yet, but I'm 2 yrs 3 mos and still NED on my first line of treatment. I am also ER/PR+, HER2- with liver mets, so we have some similarity there.
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Just hit my 11th year. I have had no progression since original treatment. I am not typical and have no explanation for my survival but it’s becoming, in my casual observation, more common to see longer survival times.
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Positive-In September, I'll be six years out from my MBC diagnoses and still on my first line of treatment. It seems like breast cancer is such an individualized disease-it is not worth worrying about statistics. I live a happy, pretty normal life right now. Having this wake-up call about my mortality has been a good thing for me because I do try and enjoy each day.
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Cowgal, I love the idea of jewelry making! It sounds like a fun hobby. I don't wear much jewelry, but I always admire it on others.
Eltigre, watercolor art sounds lovely and relaxing.It's great to hear of the travels some of you have taken recently, Chicagoan on an Alaskan tour, Cureoius to Spain and Aprilgirl heading both east and west! Your adventures are inspiring and I'm so glad you're out and about.
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My scans in early June were good and current treatment is tolerable, so my goal was to focus on enjoying this summer…mission accomplished! I spent many days at the local pool two minutes away. I especially like adult swim from 10 to 12. Relaxing and nice to socialize. The group had a covered dish picnic at the pool shelter house to close the summer out.
My grandkids age 13 and 11 visited for a week and we had a blast with them. Besides lots of pool time, we attended a big family 4th of July picnic, road thru a safari animal park in a caravan truck and helped dh's mom (their great g-ma) celebrate her 94th birthday.
In August Dh and I took a bus tour to Nashville. We stayed at the beautiful Gaylord Opryland Resort. Lots of amenities to enjoy. The trip highlight, tho, was an evening at the Grand Ole Opry. Just WOW. Incredible entertainment.
I'm enjoying the vegetables from dh's garden & tried a few new recipes: fresh tomato salsa, bruschetta and a zucchini casserole. All delicious! My ds moved to a trendy Pittsburgh neighborhood and when I visited, we walked up the street to a French bakery for pastries then had lunch at a lovely outdoor courtyard restaurant. Thru the summer I had fun watching Season 4 of Stranger Things, Ted Lasso, the new Downton Abbey movie "End of an Era" and Mare of Easttown, among other shows. We bought a smart TV in January and it's great! [A side note—I got my first big screen TV 11 years ago when I started radiation so I could lay around all winter, watch tv and recuperate. The new TV is a wonderful upgrade.]
Oh, and I joined the Garden Club in town.
It was a fun but not hectic summer. Equal parts activity and rest work best for me as I definitely need my down time and always factor it in. I have a few plans in store for the upcoming months. My next scans are in October.
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One of the reasons my summer went so well: boundaries. Not letting people consume my time on things I don't want to be doing. Not getting trapped into conversations where the other person does all the talking (this was a big one for me—and is that even a “conversation”?) Being selective with how I spend my time and learning not to feel guilty about it and not allowing others to make me feel guilty about it. Recognizing how others try to manipulate me and no longer falling for their tactics. Letting other people solve their own problems. Not saying yes to everything. The only time I saw my family this summer was at the 4th of July picnic, and I had a wonderful time! Less is more. It really is. One day filled with positive interactions at the picnic (where I'm safe in a crowd) is better than many smaller interactions where they belittle and criticize me. I'm learning to show up for myself, something I did not do before. I was always, always putting someone else’s feelings before my own. Now I check in with myself first and go from there.
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Divine-Sounds like you had a wonderful summer! I have to second your endorsements for boundaries and checking in with yourself. I have been doing the same. Boundaries are something I really have to practice but they make so much of a difference. It took having cancer for me to check in with myself first instead of feeling obligated with all these "shoulds."
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Divine,
Fun to hearyou visited Pittsburgh - that's where I live. It's a great beautiful city.
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I have just come back from a lovely holiday, I have had a great summer my oldest daughter got married.
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Ericalynn, great to learn you live in the 'Burgh! My son attended college in Pittsburgh and has lived in various neighborhoods there since then; he also lived a couple years in Cranberry Township. I am an hour west of Pittsburgh in Ohio. (We are Steelers fans). My oncologist is also in Pittsburgh at AGH where I've been getting treatment since diagnosis in 2011. My son was in college at that time so after treatments I'd pick him up and we'd go to lunch. We continue to get together most days I have appts at AGH. Much as I hesitate to say anything positive about the disease, our lunches and visits have been a silver lining to the ordeal of mbc,
Sunnidays, so happy to hear you had a great summer. Congratulations to your daughter, the new bride, and her groom!
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Congratulations Sunnidays!
Divinemrsm - I guess sometimes when life gives you lemons you make lemonade. I am glad that you can have "lemonade" lunches with your son.
Last weekend we went to a college football game. It was a major victory for me to be able to do it as I have a lot of side effects but I managed and got to see my alma mater play live, which I have not been able to do for 35 years due to living so far away. This year they played 6 hours away from us so we went with some friends. It felt good to do something "normal" and also to get that old college spirit back a little bit.
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Celebrated my six year cancerversary today! I hadn't planned anything but it turned out to be a great day. It was absolutely beautiful here-sunny and hot-perfect for our last day of summer. I got a step that was rotting out replaced and took my car in for some maintenance. Oddly these projects felt good on my cancerversary-like I am making plans to be around a while longer. Then I treated myself to lunch and took a glorious hike in an arboretum. As I hiked, I remembered that 6 years ago I could barely walk around the hospital. I had a needle biopsy and they looked at me with a very sad face-then I rushed off to work to tie up loose ends so I could be admitted to the hospital. Today it felt so good to be alive, especially at the arboretum. I just wanted to soak it all in.
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Am I insane? I was asked by the my former school district to sub in 5th grade for month of October. I said I couldn’t because I have heavy grandchildren commitments every Tuesday. No problem, we’ll get another sub just for Tuesdays they said. We’ll also pay you a premium over your already premium pay (district retirees are paid more than other subs)… Guess who’s teaching 5th grade in October (minus Tuesdays)?
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Chicagoan! Congratulations on a beautiful day and 6 year anniversary. This gives me so much hope!
Exbnxgril - that sounds like an offer that is hard to refuse! I don't think you are insane, enjoy the extra $$$ and halloween parade (if they still have those? I always loved elementary school Halloween!).
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exbrnxgirl- it depends - are you happy about it? If so, then you're not insane. It seems you've been missing it a little. One month of 5th graders could cure that! Lol
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exbrnxgrl-That sounds like it will be fun for a month-especially since you can keep your Tuesdays with your grandkids. Also nice to be appreciated financially! Then November 1-back to the freedom of retirement.
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Caryn,
I'm happy for you! You clearly love teaching and that means kids love you. Have a great time!
Tina
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Glad you stepped up for the extra work & $. One of my good friends is in similar situation, but with tennis league. They want her to tutor, so they work around her tennis. Keeps her active & the kids love it too. You'll enjoy both activities.
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Thanks friends! Yes, I am very happy for a short course of my favorite activity, teaching! I am so completely relaxed and comfortable in a classroom. It is oddly stress free and I love the students. Although I mainly taught kindergarten and grade 1, I’m having great fun trying out other grades as a sub. I taught fabulous 4th graders today and tomorrow I’ll be teaching special education pre-schoolers. Lots of interesting variety and being in my former small district makes it very easy.Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that I retired but teaching when I want to, minus most of the responsibilities of a full time teacher is perfect for me. However, in preparation for teaching all of October, I made myself unavailable for all of next week 😉.
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Chicagoan,
I am so so happy for you and you have given me hope. I had my scan one day before my bday on Sept 7 and I was told some of my Mets are undetectable and others smaller. Not much details but Onc said it is good scan. I did have to go off Ibrance for a week now I can go back on. I am happy but then I have bad days. If I keep busy and plan things then I do better.
Happy for you and thanks for posting
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Positive2strong- that is great news! Happy belated birthday, too:) Your scan results are super. Undetectable and smaller are what we want to hear about mets.
I hope you have less pain than when you were first dx last June. I agree with you that when I keep busy and plan a few fun things I do better.
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Congrats Chicagoan 🎉 Sometimes normal days are the best days.
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I love these stories. Chicagoan, what a beautiful post on how you spent the six year mark of living with mbc. What a contrast from where you were six years ago. I love how you attributed your maintenance tasks to planning on being here awhile. I have done similar things and felt the same way. Sort of like “step aside, mbc, I'm here to get shit done!" I can also appreciate your walk through the arboretum. I visited one last fall and it was heavenly. Key to your good day was that you took the time to soak it all in. I have had days like that, too, full of gratitude. It reminds me of a quote by Kurt Vonnegut: "And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is."
Caryn, I chuckled at your post! Who knew that by simply turning down their initial request, you would be unknowingly playing hardball with the school administration and get both an increase in wages as well as a schedule tweaked to meet your needs? I think it’s great that you considered the offer and chose to take it. It’s also nice to hear about how it is working with the different ages after all the years with kindergarteners. I think my favorite were the second graders. I have many good memories of those years.
Illimae, your comment reminded me of the quote “Enjoy the gift of an ordinary day.”
Positive2strong, great to hear of your good scan!
I’ve done a little tweaking of my own activities. Line dance class morphed in to pressure to fund raise for the senior center and other things I don’t want to do. Again, it came back to boundaries. I was being pressured to do things I wasn’t interested in and finally had enough. It was no longer working for me so I moved on. I’ve replaced that class with a tai chi class offered by the library. There are a couple other options available elsewhere for line dance that I’m checking out.
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Chicagoan - I missed congratulating you on your 6 year cancerversary. When you mentioned the arboretum, I immediately thought of long walks through the Morton Arboretum and the beautiful Chicago Botanical Garden.
Positive2strong - yay for good scans and happy belated birthday!
DivineMrsM - it's horrible that you were chased off from an activity you enjoy by people who can't take no for an answer. I hope your other options work out.
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Best wishes, exbrnxgrl! I hope it's at least a fun experience, though I'm sure it'll be exhausting! Thanks for stepping in.
--fellow teacher
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I BOUGHT MY FIRST HOUSE!!!!!!! Almost! Closing date October 14. Woo hoo!
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Woooohoooooo yay you!!!!!!
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