"The Median Isn't the Message"

[Mtngrl]

This is especially for those of us who are Stage IV. We learn that median survival after this diagnosis is three years. That means that half the people live three years or less, and half live longer--some much longer. Here's a link to an essay by Stephen Jay Gould, who lived twenty years after a mesothelioma diagnosis, where median survival is 8 months. (In fact, he died from a different form of cancer.)
http://www.cancerguide.org/median_not_msg.html

Another thing that keeps me going is the understanding that there is more to living than simply ticking off birthdays. I'm not happy to have cancer, but I'm grateful for the reminder that life is precious, that it's too short no matter how much time we get, and that it can only be lived in the now.

I wish you all a beautiful, meaningful, hopeful Now.

Peace,

[MJo]

Interesting. I wonder what years the data is from.

I saw a report from MD Anderson that comed parlength of survival of metastatic breast cancer patients treated at their institution in five-year increments, It found that median survival had doubled to 51 months (range 33-69 months) in 1995-2000 from a median survival of 27 months (range 21-33 months) only five years earlier.

So I wonder about Stage IVs treated in the last decade.

[BonnieR]

Your "living in the NOW" is a powerful message. I think that is one gift of this disease. The reminder that today is the first day of the rest of my life.
Keep the faith.

[Mtngrl]

MJo, I do hope you're right about median survival increasing, but it's still not the kind of life expectancy we would have if we didn't have breast cancer. Barring a miracle or some other run of really bad luck, I will most likely die from breast cancer. In a way there's a kind of peace in that: one less thing to wonder about or worry about. Now I can get on with making the most of what time I have.