2-Year Her2+ Cancer-free Roll Call

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Comments

  • Terri1975
    Terri1975 Member Posts: 45
    edited July 2014

    did your doctor recommend radiation? You and I have identical diagnosis. I'm about to start chemo, rad consult after. 

  • bearcub
    bearcub Member Posts: 59
    edited July 2014

    July 12, 2014 is 2 years passed surgery day for me...I am NED..feeling pretty good..praying it continues..feeling good enough to do a half marathon (timed hike) on August 9th...

  • footballnut
    footballnut Member Posts: 449
    edited July 2014

    you go bearcub!!!

  • MarieNJ
    MarieNJ Member Posts: 183
    edited July 2014

    Bearcub,

    Good luck to you in the marathon!  You are an inspiration to us!

    Mary

  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 188
    edited July 2014

    I have my 2 years & 3 months check-up tomorrow. I have been on every 3 months since the end of treatment - which has been just over a year. If all is well tomorrow, I believe I will get released to every 6 months! Scary but exciting.

  • sherry67
    sherry67 Member Posts: 370
    edited July 2014

    I will be 3 years NED on July 28th. That was when I had my mastectomy....:)

  • Sunny_Girl
    Sunny_Girl Member Posts: 38
    edited July 2014

    Two years this month for me!  One year + five months on Arimidex - lovely medication.   As long sat it keeps cancer to the curb, I'm taking it!!! 

    Sherry67 - we had surgery on the same date - too funny.  It's like when you meet people that have the same birthdate.

    Best wishes & thank you to the folks that are further out and come back and post.  It gives me hope.

     Patty

  • lago
    lago Member Posts: 11,653
    edited July 2014

    Sunny_Girl, congratulations. BTW after 3 years on Anastrozole (generic Arimidex) I developed really bad back,neck and shoulder pain as well as depression. I switch to Generic Aromasin… and I am pain free and happy. Not sure what your issues are with the drug but you might talk to your onc about this. BTW this August 31st makes 4 years NED for me. So you gals are right behind me. 

  • footballnut
    footballnut Member Posts: 449
    edited July 2014

    congrats to all of you!!  I'm going to use March 17/14 as my cancerversary date as that was when I had my modified radical mastectomy. My bone and ct scan was the Friday before and results were NED which I received on April 29 so I think that March 17 is good to use

    Plus that is st paddys day so easy to remember!  So right now I'm only 4 months NED but I'm working on it!!

    :-)

  • girlstrong
    girlstrong Member Posts: 299
    edited July 2014

    I love this thread...just had to say it. I'm 1 year out. I'll catch up:) 

  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 188
    edited July 2014

    I had my 2 year, 3 months check-up and for the FIRST time - my WBC, RBC, HEM, and PLAT were all above normal!!!! So happy. Now I don't go back to the cancer center for 4 whole months. It's so amazing. I haven't really processed it yet.

  • footballnut
    footballnut Member Posts: 449
    edited July 2014

    awesome news!!!!

  • sherry67
    sherry67 Member Posts: 370
    edited July 2014

    great news :)..

  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 188
    edited July 2014

    Girlstrong, welcome to the thread. I can't wait to ring that 2-year victory bell with you!

  • pattij
    pattij Member Posts: 10
    edited August 2014

    4 months for me, just finished chemo, still have a ways to go...

  • bluedasher
    bluedasher Member Posts: 350
    edited August 2014

    Last time I looked at CancerMath, it still wasn't taking Herceptin treatment into account. 

    Looking at the recurrence graphs (actually Disease free survival) for the BCIRG 006 trial, the line for ACT treatment gets shallower (i.e. recurrence risk decreases) at 24 months. 

    From those same graphs, Herceptin treatment both delays and reduces recurrence risk - the line gets shallower around 36 months instead of 24 months.

    There is also some variation in those inflection points between the node negative, node positive and >3 node positive graphs. The more advanced ones seem to tend to recur earlier. The node negative participants were a small part of the sample with much fewer recurrence events so it is harder to draw conclusions from that graph. There were probably very few stage I participants - when I was treated 6 years ago, many weren't even getting chemo with stage I. The guidelines have changed since then to more strongly recommend it for stage 1 >1cm HER2+.

    I'm approaching 6 years out.

  • bluedasher
    bluedasher Member Posts: 350
    edited August 2014

    I just checked CancerMath again. At 6 years, I'm much more likely to die of something other than cancer recurrence. Of course, the results will vary depending on your initial diagnosis and your age (non-recurrence death risk rising the for older starting age). For my diagnosis the risk looks pretty flat for the first 4 years and then starts dropping. 

    As I pointed out above, CancerMath.net doesn't take Herceptin treatment into account - only chemo (and it doesn't have a choice for the chemo I received so it is a pretty rough approximation of what would be my risk with less treatment than I received.

  • Poconos3
    Poconos3 Member Posts: 5
    edited August 2014

    I just had my mammograms and are NED for two years (officially Sept.).  I did 32/36 rads; 4/6 chemo; 6 mos herceptin; 1 year 5 months Tamoxifen.  Just stopped Tamoxifen because of the onset of fatty-liver disease; can't live without a liver and it's reversible early on.

    Several problems with digestion system since ending the chemo, this past fall, at the end of Oct. 2013.  Recent cat scan with contrast revealed the "fatty liver"; did NOT show up in the blood-work- blood work shows no cancer and organs working perfectly?!

    I feel alive for the first time since this difficult lesson began two years ago; there is hope and life after treatment.  My hair is growing in nicely (curly and thick).  

    Love to all. XOXOXOXO shari 

  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 188
    edited August 2014

    Yay to hear of LIFE for you, Poconos! 

  • Fitz33
    Fitz33 Member Posts: 123
    edited September 2014

    Diagnosed 4 years ago this month.  3 yrs. 4 mos. NED.  

  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 188
    edited September 2014

    So happy for you, Fitz. You have kicked butt with one hell of a scary diagnosis!

  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 188
    edited September 2014

    I hit my 2.5 year mark since diagnosis - which feels meaningful to me as 5 years is the most dangerous window. I made it halfway! I'm also coming up on my 3rd post-diagnosis birthday this week. EXTREMELY grateful!

  • Skoolgirljen
    Skoolgirljen Member Posts: 14
    edited September 2014

    That's awesome Mariasnow! Congrats!

  • girlstrong
    girlstrong Member Posts: 299
    edited September 2014

    yeah Mariasnow!! That is just fabulous:) tomorrow is my 14 month cancerversary but who's counting? LOL!! I hope you are enjoying life. I am so thankful every.single.day and find myself smiling and laughing at the smallest blessing. Yesterday my big hurrah was that I could actually feel my hair blowing in the wind. Today I'm celebrating being 100% active; no naps needed...stamina is just about back to normal! Still on Herceptin and have another reconstruction surgery ahead, hair is regrowing....I'm getting there. 

  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 188
    edited September 2014

    That's fantastic, Girlstrong! Keep enjoying every day and that 2 years will happen!

  • CameraKim
    CameraKim Member Posts: 33
    edited September 2014

    Hi everyone, two years ago today I found the lump and was diagnosed just a few days later. Doing well and love to see this thread grow :)

  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 188
    edited September 2014

    So happy to hear this, Kim!!!

  • Grannyof3
    Grannyof3 Member Posts: 18
    edited October 2014

    Hi everyone

    October 18th I celebrated my 2 year noncancerversary! Woohoo!!! I decided to not use my diagnosis date as I see no reason to celebrate that horrible day. Instead I'm celebrating my surgery date as that's the day they cut this nasty sh*t out of me. So far NED. Good luck to all and I hope we'll be posting for many, many years to come

  • sandiesau
    sandiesau Member Posts: 8
    edited October 2014

    I go for my 2 year mammogram next month. I'm hoping for an all clear and I hate this waiting!!!!!  Sandi

  • lkc
    lkc Member Posts: 183
    edited November 2014

    Here's my post from may 2014;

    I am writing this with enormous gratitude that I have reached this 9 Year BC anniversary. I've recently returned from my 6 mos check up, and finally had the nerve to ask my sweet Onc if he thought I would make it back then. He smiled and told me if anyone would, he thought it would be me. You see back then it was a recent development that an additional classification of C was added to the Stage 3 cases.There was only Stage III A. and B then. This meant for me that had I been diagnosed a few years earlier I would of been classified a stage 4 and would not have been a candidate for surgery, or the treatment I received.( My onc was part of the team at MD Anderson that pushed for this additional classification to provide an option of CURE for cases like myself) Anyway, to throw another ratchet in, I was also HER2 positive and when he told me that he looked really disturbed. I was actually happy since I knew I would probably get the newly approved Herceptin and just maybe it would work for me. He told me he had seen HER2 cases(BEFORE Herceptin) to be the worst BC prognosis and did not have any long term data for a case like mine. However, my dear Onc, held out his hand to me and said 'We're going for the Cure for you" I remember telling him then to throw everything he could at me. You see, I had just lost my Mom to Met BC and he was also her Onc. and we all had walked the long road of metastatic dx together.

    That was 9 years ago and I am well. Living Large! I don't let a day pass without thanking God for my health and blessings I have in this life. I am blessed to share my life with a wonderful man who stood by me, while some members of my family ran for the hills. I have 2 beautiful girls and healthy happy grandchildren and a new baby boy coming in August! I am blessed to have my faith , and have truly long time dear friends. Upon my return home I went back to my career in research, but it would be Breast Cancer Research this time. How cool is that to be able to do that?! So many new treatments and lots of good outcomes.

    Anyway. I am posting this to say hi to my old timer sisters on this board and also to let the newer sisters, know my story. There are lots of us out there.

    I wish all a gentle road on a journey no one wants to go on.