Mtngrl
04-19-2016, 12:20 PM
I just "happened" to log on today. When I read my signature I noticed this is the fifth anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis.
It took over a month to complete the staging, but on May 24, 2011 I found out my cancer had spread to my liver and lungs.
I'm glad I'm still here. I'm doing well. I'm one of the lucky ones. Although I haven't spent much time in NED territory, my cancer has been pretty stable and hasn't caused a whole lot of trouble, other than the psychological burden(s) of living with an incurable disease that will most likely get the upper hand someday.
To "celebrate" half a decade (and counting) of being qualified for this club, I have a few things to pass on to anyone who's just starting out:
---Don't worry about anything until you have to.
---You are entitled to have a lot of control over the management of this condition. Your health care team does, indeed, know more than you about oncology, and you should hear them out, but since they don't actually know how to cure you, you get a vote too. You even have veto power.
---The people who write scan reports tend to use pretty gloomy language. They (usually) get the facts right, but their conclusions tend to skew negative. They are much more likely to say "evidence of progression" than "stable."
---Remember that HER-2+ cancer is normally very aggressive. In the absence of treatment it would almost certainly progress rapidly, so consider thinking of any scan that doesn't show new lesions as a "stable" scan. And if it's "stable," then you can stay on your current treatment a little longer if you can hack the side effects.
---Any drug that will clear up a little bit of cancer will clear up a lot, so, again, don't be too quick to switch treatments.
---As much as possible, live in the now, and be grateful.
---Live your life. You're going to die (a certainty for everyone, everywhere), you're not dead yet, now what?
It took over a month to complete the staging, but on May 24, 2011 I found out my cancer had spread to my liver and lungs.
I'm glad I'm still here. I'm doing well. I'm one of the lucky ones. Although I haven't spent much time in NED territory, my cancer has been pretty stable and hasn't caused a whole lot of trouble, other than the psychological burden(s) of living with an incurable disease that will most likely get the upper hand someday.
To "celebrate" half a decade (and counting) of being qualified for this club, I have a few things to pass on to anyone who's just starting out:
---Don't worry about anything until you have to.
---You are entitled to have a lot of control over the management of this condition. Your health care team does, indeed, know more than you about oncology, and you should hear them out, but since they don't actually know how to cure you, you get a vote too. You even have veto power.
---The people who write scan reports tend to use pretty gloomy language. They (usually) get the facts right, but their conclusions tend to skew negative. They are much more likely to say "evidence of progression" than "stable."
---Remember that HER-2+ cancer is normally very aggressive. In the absence of treatment it would almost certainly progress rapidly, so consider thinking of any scan that doesn't show new lesions as a "stable" scan. And if it's "stable," then you can stay on your current treatment a little longer if you can hack the side effects.
---Any drug that will clear up a little bit of cancer will clear up a lot, so, again, don't be too quick to switch treatments.
---As much as possible, live in the now, and be grateful.
---Live your life. You're going to die (a certainty for everyone, everywhere), you're not dead yet, now what?