[CoolBreeze]

Of course there is a cure to breast cancer. Otherwise, everybody would die from it, and that is far from the truth.

The only problem is because cancer can be so indolent, coming back many years later, we don't know who is cured and who isn't. That's why we have the term NED.

There are clues. ER+ HER- tumors have the five year "magic number" where their relapse rates drop. For HER2+, or Triple Negative, because ours is more aggressive, it's 3 years and then our relapse odds drop.

But cancer is sneaky and you just never know if you are cured until you die of something else, as they say. Because, odds are only that and sometimes it will return. After many years it's incredibly rare - but it CAN happen.

I think how you look at it is part of your personality. Some people are very cautious and are not going to declare themselves cured, even 20 years past cancer. Some people might hit that magic number, give themselves a party and call it a day and themselves cured. Neither attitude or way of dealing with it is right or wrong; it's just the way people manage within their personalities.

Unless you are Stage IV, your cancer treatment will end and eventually you won't be treated by an oncologist. After a time, even your insurance rates can go back to normal! That is a good thing and should be celebrated!

It is only those of us who are Stage IV who are in treatment forever.

Whether you want to look at yourself as cured or whether you want to look at yourself as NED, either one is a fantastic thing and I hope you can enjoy it, and I hope you have a long, happy, cancer-free life.