Questions on response to "Should I stay on Herceptin thread below

[Unregistered]

Steph N, in her response to this question said that "if you were stage IV you know that you have cancer cells traveling around in your lymph system and blood stream because there is no way the chemo and herceptin can get them all." Yikes! Really? What is NED then and why do people survive?

[Esther]

Hi, who are you and can you tell us a little about your situation?

[StephN]

... or the horse is out of the barn door, or that the cancer cells have broken away from the original tumor, travelled into the lymph system and are definitly in the blood stream. Stage IV means more than just positive nodes - it means that there are now tumors (or mets) in some other part of your body.
The favorite places for breast cancer tumors to settle in are the liver, lung, bones and brain. I have had them in three of the four; have not yet had to fight them out of my lungs.

I am NED because there is currently NO SIGN of active cancer in my body. This does not mean that I don't have cancer any more. It means that it is under control and no tumors are forming. Keeping it under control is another problem and the reason I take Herceptin every three weeks and Zometa to strengthen my bones less often.
There is NO letting up with my mostly organic diet, exercise, and supplements.

Vigilance is my watchword - my motto. There are many of us here on this board who are in the same situation as I. Who are NED - have fought off the mets, and more than once with success. Cancer is a sneaky devil and there are some here who are in a constant, MORE ACTIVE battle. I want more than anything for these ladies to have the same success I have had, so they can do some other things with their life than drag around constantly on chemo. For most this is better than the alternative and why we keep asking all the questions and trying to find new answers.
Didn't mean to scare you , but this is the reality of our situation.

[Sandy H]

Thanks Steph, I'm with you. Lots of work goes into our daily lives of staying on top of this disease. My hubbie keeps telling my friends he couldn't do it and doesn't know how I can dilgently eat, exercise and take supplements the way I do. I'm not ready to give up. Even though I like the alternative of a new body and all I am not ready to leave my family and friends. Enough said. Sandy

[al from Canada]

The new buzz-work is dealing with "chronic disease". Think of battling asthma, where there is no real cure but through a proper maintenance program, we can keep it under control. Hopefully, at the end of the rainbow, we will have a "cure" but I would be very surprised if it will be as simple as taking one drug.


Al