TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP

So-I have a question...saw my MO yesterday and he mentioned something about I was in "remission"...it didnt really hit me until after I had left the office as I had a lot going on yesterday...but after I got to thinking about it, quite honestly-it upset me.  Is that what they call us until we hit the 5 year no cancer mark or are we always in "remission" as they are not sure if it will come back?  I was so hoping to hear the words "cancer free".

I also got told yesterday they want me to now go to genetic counseling/testing.  I was negative on Brac, but they want to research further as I have so much cancer in my family.  Anybody else have this?

After today-only 13 rads left-will be so happy when it is done.  My WPB is 4.4 and red 4.1-no wonder I am exhausted.  Trying to work full time too....

vettegirl like linda says: remisson, cancer free, NED (no evidence of disease) is what they call us breast cancer survivors. They do not use the word cured until maybe 25-30 years later. It doesn't mean that it will come back but for some it does… they just don't know which of us. Typically hormone negatives if they recur it's between the 2-5 year mark. With hormone positive it can be further out although most recurrences happen in the first 2 years. Also most of us early stagers do just fine but I know what you mean. You don't want to have to deal with this. 

So that's why we are  on the ESDs or EBD for 5-10 years. Insurance!

OK gals, who has read " Anti-cancer, a new way of life?"   Just wondering what your feed-back is, especially those of you in the medical field.  I am about half way through it. 

Hugs to all!

RE: Shinglemania.  I read that it is because we developed a chicken pox vaccine - and children no longer get a natural immunity, and no longer get chicken pox.

"It's now been fifteen years since Merck's chickenpox (varicella) vaccine was approved for market.

What had always been regarded as a relatively benign childhood illness was suddenly reinvented in the 1990s as a life-threatening disease for which children must get vaccinated or face dire health consequences.

But wait—Merck to the rescue!

As is true with many new and potentially unnecessary medical interventions used on a widespread basis, there are often unintended consequences. The chickenpox (varicella) vaccine is a perfect example.

By trying to prevent all children from experiencing chickenpox naturally, this policy may have actually created a NEW epidemic—not in children but in adults, especially elderly adults.

Vaccinating children for chickenpox may very well be causing a shingles epidemic.

Chickenpox—Another False Epidemic

Before the live virus chickenpox vaccine was licensed in the United States in 1995, most children acquired a natural, long-lasting immunity to chickenpox by age six. For 99.9 percent of healthy children, chickenpox is a mild disease without complications.

It is estimated there were about 3.7 million cases of chickenpox annually in the U.S. before 1995,1 resulting in an average of 100 deaths (50 children and 50 adults, most of whom were immunocompromised). This hardly represents a dire, life-threatening epidemic that requires mass vaccination of all children!

Chickenpox is caused by the varicella zoster virus, which is a member of the herpesvirus family and is associated with herpes zoster (shingles). Chickenpox is highly contagious but typically produces a mild disease characterized by small round lesions on your skin that cause intense itching. Chickenpox lasts for two to three weeks, and recovery leaves a child with long-lasting immunity.

Half of all cases of chickenpox occur in children ages five to nine. Before the vaccine was licensed in 1995 and states started passing laws mandating that children get it to attend school, it was estimated that only 10 percent of Americans over the age of 15 had not had chickenpox.

Up to 20 percent of adults who get chickenpox develop severe complications such as pneumonia, secondary bacterial infections, and brain inflammation (which is reported in less than one percent of children who get chickenpox). Most children and adults who develop these serious complications have compromised immune systems or other health problems.

Although chickenpox is typically not dangerous, there is a related disease that is more of a cause for concern: shingles.

Chickenpox's Evil Cousin: Shingles

Chickenpox and shingles are related. They are caused by similar viruses, both in the herpesvirus family. After you recover from chickenpox, the virus can remain dormant ("asleep") in your nerve roots for many years, unless it is awakened by some triggering factor, such as physical or emotional stress. When awakened, it presents itself as shingles rather than chickenpox.

Shingles is marked by pain and often a blister-like rash on one side of your body, left or right. Other symptoms can include headache and flu-like symptoms. Shingles typically runs its course in three to five weeks.

Although very painful, most people who get shingles will recover without serious complications and will not get it a second time. However, in people with weakened immune systems, shingles complications can be severe or life threatening. The most common complication is postherpetic neuralgia,2 or PHN, where the pain may last for months or even years after the rash has healed. The pain is caused by damaged nerve fibers, which then persist in sending pain messages to your brain.

Other less frequent complications include bacterial skin infections, Hutchinson's sign, Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, motor neuropathy, meningitis, hearing loss, blindness, and bladder impairment.

A person with shingles can infect someone who hasn't had chickenpox, who may then develop chickenpox rather than shingles.

If you do develop shingles, as I mentioned earlier this summer, you can use topical honey to treat shingles symptoms and it appears to work better than the drugs.

Chickenpox Is Nature's Way of Protecting You from Shingles

Nature has devised an elegant plan for protecting you from the shingles virus.

After contracting and recovering from chickenpox (usually as a child), as you age, your natural immunity gets asymptomatically "boosted" by coming into contact with infected children, who are recovering from chickenpox. This natural "boosting" of natural immunity to the varicella (chickenpox) virus helps protect you from getting shingles later in life.

This is true whether you are a child, adolescent, young adult, or elderly—every time you come into contact with someone infected with chickenpox, you get a natural "booster shot" that protects you from a painful—and expensive—bout with shingles.

In other words, shingles can be prevented by ordinary contact, such as receiving a hug from a grandchild who is getting or recovering from the chickenpox. But with the advent of the chickenpox vaccine, there is less chickenpox around to provide that natural immune boost for children AND adults.

So as chickenpox rates have declined, shingles rates have begun to rise, and there is mounting evidence that an epidemic of shingles is developing in America from the mass, mandatory use of the chickenpox vaccine by all children.

As hard as scientists try to come up with ways to "improve" human biology, they just can't outsmart Mother Nature. In trying to tinker with the natural order of things, we tend to destroy processes that nature has masterfully orchestrated to keep us healthy.

This dance between chickenpox and shingles is a perfect example."

from this article:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/02/chicken-pox-vaccine-creates-shingles-epidemic.aspx

flavirose I think it was the mumps vaccine I didn't get. Mom felt it was better I get it mumps. Don't know if I did but when I went back to school in 2004 I had to get the MMR. It's a state law in Illinois that all students, including college students need to either have had the virus or MMR vaccine. There was no way I could get my records from way back when so I had to get the shot. Ironically I was older than all my instructors my first semester… but faculty weren't required to get it.

my oncologist passed away today. My NP friend heard it in their office when an email was sent to provide information to all the docs. He had recent onset fulminant liver failure.

I am just heartbroken for his his family and selfishly, for me. I can't stop tearing up. It feels almost as bad as the original diagnosis.  He will be so missed.

I just heard from his medical assistant, who I had gotten to be pretty good friends with. They are starting to notify some people and started with his yoga group that they had contact info on. Apparently they thought it was liver related, then found out his aortic valve was leaking,. They did surgery that did not work, so they did a second surgery and his body just couldn't take it.

That does all make more sense since he has had some heart issues,and he was diabetic. Strange déjà vue thing is we talked about my daughter as I went over to the yoga class after my husband took her home from the emergency room a couple weeks ago. This led into general conversation about health and he mentioned that he had had some heart area pain again, so got it checked out and they said everything looked ok. Wonder if that was the start of things.

I'm going to try to get some sleep and not think about this all night.

Next week I will start to figure out what oncologist would want and care about a new patient that, to anyone's knowledge, doesn't have anything to treat. I don't see that going well. And I know he was underwhelmed by the fill in guys that came through while he would be gone. My appts never fell when that happened.

hugs to you, fluff.   

thanks all. I don't think it is just the fact he was my ONC. it was that he taught that yoga class twice a week and we have all seen him that often for three years. It is more like losing a close personal friend. We all knew him so much more than on a patient/doctor level. Heck, I saw him more than my best friends a lot of times.

Oh my! Such sad news fluff....

Does anyone have some good news?

My job is great so far. 3 weeks into it. Oh and I lost weight.  I think it's the switch to Examstane from Anastrozole. 

Sorry Fluff </3. A loss is a loss and the type of relationship is inconsequential. The pain is still the same. 

Wish I had good news, but don't. Will work on that....

momma glad you're done with the AC. 

Lago hurray for the job going great.

Fluff. I'm so sorry. You and his family are in prayers. 

Much love to all. 

Fluff I'm so sorry for ur bad new for u'r Onc. How awful for u and all who loved him. I hope u find someone to treat u well, but I know he will always be in u'r heart.

There are some good things here tho---Momma is done with CHEMO YYYAAYYY--u will start feeling better soon.

And Lago I'm so happy u'r job is working well for u--are u in the Marketing Dept. or is this different?

OK SpecialK what would u expect of a DD of u'r's really, that  sounds about right to me.  U still have a zip going on, she takes after you.

Thanks everyone. 

Camillegal it's the Marketing Dept. Yay for your mom