Take our poll: Caregivers, what do you find most difficult about caregiving?
Weigh in: What are the best and worst gifts for people with breast cancer?

Stage III Cancer Survivors...15+ years and out

12357…12

Comments

  • Mimi321
    Mimi321 Member Posts: 1
    edited March 2018

    Hi all, this month I am a 15 year survivor! I had aggressive stage 3, hormone positive bc. I had all the treatments, mastectomy, chemo, radiation and hormonal. It was tough, but I made it and happy and thankful to be here!


  • HoneyBeaw
    HoneyBeaw Member Posts: 150
    edited March 2018

    Mimi

    Thanks for posting, Happy for you and hoping you knock out another 15 or 20. .

    Post like yours give us all hope.

  • leesad
    leesad Member Posts: 100
    edited March 2018
    Awesome Mimi!!! Congratulations and thank you so much for sharing! Cheers to the next 15!
  • live_deliciously
    live_deliciously Member Posts: 183
    edited March 2018

    thanks to all who take time to come back and post their success story here. You are such good inspiration to all of us.

  • preludesing
    preludesing Member Posts: 64
    edited June 2018

    love this thread..bump!

  • ash123
    ash123 Member Posts: 44
    edited June 2018

    Thank you for the hope Mimi!


  • dancingelizabeth
    dancingelizabeth Member Posts: 305
    edited June 2018

    You all who come back and post on here - have no idea - how much hope you give us!!

    Heart

    More than not - it's on my mind - that my BC - was not Stage 1 or 2 or Grade 1 or 2.

    But, stage THREE and, HUGE and GRADE 3. Sometimes I'm Ok and can handle knowing this, but other times - I just can't seem to stop ruminating about it...

  • ladyb1234
    ladyb1234 Member Posts: 1,239
    edited July 2018

    Congratulations and thank you so much for sharing and coming back to be an encouragement

  • Lottanodes
    Lottanodes Member Posts: 19
    edited July 2018

    Hello,

    I haven't posted on this site in a very long time. My life is pretty busy. I'm still working at age 68 and in pretty good health despite my decadent lifestyle and non compliance with healthcare guidelines. I eat and drink whatever I want and get very little exercise except for gardening and shopping. I get a mammogram about every 18 months and have never had a colonoscopy. Prior to my diagnosis in 1995 I ate a plant based diet, exercised regularly (normal weight), and kept up with the tests that my doctor suggested. I got stage III breast cancer anyway. No one knows why.

    Just as no one can say why I got it, no one can say why the treatment worked for me. Luck, I suppose.

    I have lived without my left breast and with mild lymphedema for years. A young newly diagnosed woman asked me the other day how long it takes for the constant anxiety to subside. I told her that there is no timetable but it is possible to reach a point where the shadow of breast cancer is not omnipresent in your life. Worry over breast cancer has been supplanted by worry over outliving my money, cataract surgery, impending knee replacement and having to deal with crabby old people (I'm one of them). My hope is that all of you will live to embrace the "joys" of senior citizenship as I do.

    One last note regarding "chemo brain". I have not met one single person who did not recover (or gain) all of their mental abilities after completing chemo.


  • hersheykiss
    hersheykiss Member Posts: 714
    edited July 2018

    Lotta, more power to you! I admire your outlook and spunk. Crabby?!? You sound like a fun person to me! :-)

  • preludesing
    preludesing Member Posts: 64
    edited July 2018

    LottaNodes gotta Lottaspunk....really thrilled for you...🎉🎉🎉

  • adelozier
    adelozier Member Posts: 30
    edited August 2018

    Bump

  • adelozier
    adelozier Member Posts: 30
    edited August 2018

    I am looming for hope. though I was stage 2a last year . I found a cancerous lymph node myself 2 weeks ago. I forced them to test it. Now I'm dealing with a reoccurance in my lymph nodes only they say as my ct and bone scan were negative. I'm 38 and a mommy to the most beautiful little boy. I'm devastated. I believe this was there the whole time. I didnt know where to turn. I cant stop crying. I'm terrified of what the future holds now. My mom us dying of cancer ( another kind) I cant leave my little boy. Do I have any hope at all ???

  • Nas
    Nas Member Posts: 76
    edited August 2018

    Adel, I totally understand you, I am 39 years old and was diagnosed at age 38, I have a 5 year old boy who is my life, This cancer journey is so frustrating, but I believe we do have a good chance of survival, try predict , they have great statistics, whenever I feel down I go there and put all my pathology nlmbers in again and looking at 15 years survival gives me hope... we are all a big family and understanding each other.. you are not alone honey❤️❤️❤️

  • katykaty
    katykaty Member Posts: 18
    edited August 2018

    Lottanodes - what a wonderful post! I love the energy and life in it. You are exactly right - doing everything “right” is no guarantee against getting stage III. We do what we can and just get on with it. Thank you so much for your exuberant post. I wish you many more years battling the littling things!!

  • nancyd
    nancyd Member Posts: 557
    edited September 2018

    Lottanodes, I think the slew of posts from recent diagnosees indicates just how important it is that long term survivors come back and post about their lives. I'm a bit over 10 years, and at the beginning this board didn't have anyone posting that was much more than five years from diagnosis. I know I hung on every year, as I'm sure we all did. Thank-you for taking the time to come back and share the encouragement we all need.

  • wyngaardt
    wyngaardt Member Posts: 3
    edited September 2018

    These are all amazing stories and give me alot of hope for my wife. We are waiting on a CT scan to determine what stage she is on. She initatially had Stage 3 Breast Cancer, it has not spread to her neck, chest wall and arm pits. Can this be regarded as Mets?

  • adelozier
    adelozier Member Posts: 30
    edited October 2018

    bump

  • wallan
    wallan Member Posts: 192
    edited October 2018

    This is always an inspirational wonderful board.

    Lottanodes, you seem fun, energetic, and hilarious. I like you already. I hope your remain cancer-free and you are giving hell at 100 years old and that you have money flow to you...LOL

    You inspire me... and thanks for the note about chemobrain. I find my memory is shot and my brain gets stressed if I have too much challenging thinking to do... I was told I had chemobrain when I finished chemo first time and to be gentle with myself. And then of course, Arimidex this time does not help. So I will be gentle with myself and live it up.

    wallan

  • weesa
    weesa Member Posts: 78
    edited November 2018

    Today is my 16th anniversary. How fitting it would fall on Thanksgiving Day. I have acquired a few gray hairs and two darling granddaughters. I have watched my children, who swore they would never get married, marry well. I have watched saplings planted in my front yard grow to towering trees. My snazzy car that I bought when I was done with chemo, radiation, and 17 surgeries to reward myself has gotten battered and gnarly. I feel good most of the time.

    Still, I have uneasy moments of concern. Have made peace with the shadow behind me, though. Probably a good thing to know the beast could return. Makes life sweeter.

    Wish I had some secret formula to pass on, but I don't. Love and admiration to all, Weesa

  • Nas
    Nas Member Posts: 76
    edited November 2018

    weesa, congratulations, wish you many many more years of love and health❤️❤️

  • leesad
    leesad Member Posts: 100
    edited November 2018

    Weesa- THANK YOU for sharing your story and congratulations on this milestone😘! Reading posts like yours is so encouraging.I wish you at least 16 more years of continued health!!

  • SerenitySTAT
    SerenitySTAT Member Posts: 3,534
    edited November 2018

    Congratulations, weesa! “Makes life sweeter.“ Maybe that helps?

  • lkc
    lkc Member Posts: 182
    edited November 2018

    Weesa,

    cheers and happy sweet 16!

    How wonderful is the gift of getting older.

    wishing you lots and lots of more memories over many many more years.

  • Roaming_Star
    Roaming_Star Member Posts: 66
    edited November 2018

    Thanks for sharing:-) made my day! So inspirational:-)

  • tri-lady7
    tri-lady7 Member Posts: 95
    edited November 2018

    What a wonderful milestone Weesa! Wishing you and us all continued health and love. God bless

  • sugarplum
    sugarplum Member Posts: 75
    edited November 2018

    Weesa, my hero: hope you had yourself a good ol' fashioned slouchfest on Thanksgiving. Aging is such a curious thing, isn't it; just as I find myself cursing it, I immediately have to reverse course and acknowledge I'm lucky to be here at all - under ANY circumstances!

    As a side note, last month we finally replaced my 1987 Fiero GT with a 2018 Tesla Model 3. My learning curve had to go from zero to sixty in 4.5 seconds - including getting my first smart phone ever, just to control the thing!

    Continue living boldly, my friend....

    Julie

  • Lianakalb
    Lianakalb Member Posts: 1
    edited November 2018

    Thankyou all so much for sharing your stories. I am 24 years old, diagnosed with stage 3C breast cancer. All these stories give me SO much hope for my future.

    I'm just starting my life, and plan on living a long one.

  • iamelaine
    iamelaine Member Posts: 40
    edited November 2018

    Thanks for posting your wonderful news, Weesa! A big congratulations o you! I am behind you a bit and am so thankful for every ache and pain I get as I grow older. They are a blessing to me now.

  • yatcomw
    yatcomw Member Posts: 58
    edited November 2018

    Weesa.....

    Congratulations on sweet 16......thank you for continuing to post and letting us know that you continue to do well.

    You are such a light here and your posts always leave us with a smile.... I always look forward to them.

    Jacqueline

Categories

Join Us on Zoom: Upcoming virtual meetups. Read more...
Give your account some personality! Add a profile photo.