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Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
Debbie--I cribbed from you--or riffed on what you said. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Steph, Vicky, Andi, Denise, Laurel, AlaskaAngel and everyone else, I am so thankful for all of you. I appreciate you taking the time to give your perspectives.
In Anticancer; A New Way of Life the author tells a touching story of counseling a man with a brain tumor. The patient was an alcoholic "loser." The author (David Servan-Schreiber) figured out from talking to the man that the big issue was he had never done anything worthwhile. The doctor asked if there was something he could do in the time he had left to be of use to someone else. The man decided to install an air conditioning system for a church in his neighborhood. He went to work every day and got up on the roof of the church. Parishioners got to know him. They'd bring him sandwiches or coffee, and they'd talk to him. About six months later, on the verge of death, the man said to his doctor, "God bless you for saving my life."
David Servan-Schreiber lived with brain cancer for 19 years, and finally died from it last July. His book is both about ways we can help our bodies fight cancer and ways we can live well in however much time we have. That's what I love about using diet to shoot for optimal health. I think fruits, vegetables, whole grains, herbs and spices are delightful. I love to cook, and I love to eat good food. Even if it doesn't make a bit of difference in how long I live, the pleasure is a good thing in itself.
That's what I mean about balance. Be prudent. Make wise choices. "Do not go gentle into that good night," but don't forget to live while you're at it. Remember to stop and smell the roses, and talk to the turkeys, and feed the birds, and dance under the stars. It looks like we can all agree about that.
While we're on the subject of statistics, I also learned from Servan-Schreiber's book about a great essay that Stephen Jay Gould wrote about median survival statistics. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which had a median survival rate of 8 months. He lived another 20 years, and died from a different kind of cancer. Take a look at what he had to say about that: http://www.phoenix5.org/articles/GouldMessage.html
Peace,
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Amy
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4/19/11 Diagnosed invasive ductal carcinoma in left breast; 2.3 cm tumor, 1 axillary lymph node, weakly ER+, HER2+++
4/29/11 CT scan shows suspicious lesions on liver and lungs
5/17/11 liver biopsy
5/24/11 liver met confirmed--Stage IV at diagnosis
5/27/11 Begin weekly Taxol & Herceptin for 3 months (standard of care at the time of my DX)
7/18/11 Switch to weekly Abraxane & Herceptin due to Taxol allergy
8/29/11 CT scan shows no new lesions & old lesions shrinking
9/27/11 Finish Abraxane. Start Herceptin every 3 weeks. Begin taking Arimidex
10/17/11--Brain MRI--No Brain mets
12/5/11 PET scan--Almost NED
5/15/12 PET scan shows progression-breast/chest/spine (one vertebra)
5/22/12 Stop taking Arimidex; stay on Herceptin
6/11/12 Started Tykerb and Herceptin on clinical trial (w/no chemo)
9/24/12 CT scan--No new mets. Everything stable.
3/11/13 CT Scan--two small new possible mets and odd looking area in left lung getting larger.
4/2/13--Biopsy of suspicious area in lower left lung. Mets to lung confirmed.
4/30/13 Begin Kadcyla/TDM-1
8/16/13 PET scan "mixed," with some areas of increased uptake, but also some definite improvement, so I'll stay on TDM-1/Kadcyla.
11/11/13 Finally get hormone receptor results from lung biopsy of 4/2/13. My cancer is no longer ER positive.
11/13/13 PET scan mixed results again. We're calling it "stable." Problems breathing on exertion.
2/18/14 PET scan shows a new lesion and newly active lymph node in chest, other progression. Bye bye TDM-1.
2/28/14 Begin Herceptin/Perjeta every 3 weeks.
6/8/14 PET "mixed," with no new lesions, and everything but lower lungs improving. My breathing is better.
8/18/14 PET "mixed" again. Upper lungs & one spine met stable, lower lungs less FDG avid, original tumor more avid, one lymph node in mediastinum more avid.
9/1/14 Begin taking Xeloda one week on, one week off. Will also stay on Herceptin and Perjeta every three weeks.
12/11/14 PET Scan--no new lesions, and everything looks better than it did.
3/20/15 PET Scan--no new lesions, but lower lung lesions larger and a bit more avid.
4/13/15 Increasing Xeloda dose to 10 days on, one week off.
7/1/15 Scan "mixed" again, but suggests continuing progression. Stop Xeloda. Substitute Abraxane every 3 weeks starting 7/13.
10/28/15 PET scan shows dramatic improvement everywhere. All lesions except lower lungs have resolved; lower lungs noticeably improved.
12/18/15 Last Abraxane. Continue on Herceptin and Perjeta alone beginning 1/8/16.
1/27/16 PET scan shows cancer is stable.
5/11/16 PET scan shows uptake in some areas that were resolved on the last two scans.
6/3/16 Begin Kadcyla and Tykerb combination
6/5 - 6/23 Horrible diarrhea from K&T together. Got pneumonia.
7/15/16 Begin Kadcyla only every 3 weeks.
9/6/16 Begin radiation therapy on right lung lesion that caused the pneumonia.
10/3/16 Last of 12 radiation treatments to right lung.
11/4/16 Huffing and puffing, low O2, high heart rate, on tiniest bit of exertion. Diagnosed as radiation pneumonitis. Treated with Prednisone.
11/11/16 PET scan shows significant improvement to radiated part of right lung BUT a bunch of new lung lesions, and the bone met is getting worse.
11/22/16 Begin Eribulin and Herceptin. H every 3 weeks. E two weeks on, one week off.
3/6/17 Scan shows progression in lungs. Bone met a little better.
3/23/17 Lung biopsy. Tumor sampled is ER-, PR+ (5%), HER2+++. Getting Herceptin and Perjeta as a maintenance treatment.
5/31/17 Port placement
6/1/17 Start Navelbine & Tykerb
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