DianneS, please don't put yourself through another moment of anxiety, playing the numbers game & second guessing the choices you made with the best information you had at the time, not to mention under MAJOR STRESS.
And Rebecca is absolutely right - "recurrence" does NOT mean "death"!
I may not be 10 years out, only 71/2.
And I've experienced not 1, 2 or 3 recurrences, but 8...
enduring my 8th as we speak.
So, I've essentially been living with active disease for all but 1 year since my diagnosis.
Like many of our sisters on this site, I'm surviving and thriving, in spite of this disease.
And in the past 7+years that I've been maneuvering through life with this disease, treatment options have evolved, been developed & made it to market, and changed the picture of Surviving with Stage IV disease.
I know that they will continue to develop more & more sophisticated drugs & treatments to make this disease liveable, so that those of us that must live with this disease can do so gracefully, actively & happily.
Also, I wanted to share this video interview that I did with Emory Magazine. I pasted the link to the video article below. I was really honored be able to share my story...it's OUR story, and I hope I've honored all of the Stage IV'ers Surviving & Thriving & represented us well.
Personally, I think I look chubby & puffy-eyed, but I'm putting my narcissitic, self-consciousness aside, because our story is one that needs to be told!
http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/...cas-video.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qERqUy40d78
Keep the Faith~
Jessica