Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Has anyone read this article? These numbers seem so low!

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

I agree, those stats aren't very encouraging at all.

To hell with the statistics..!!!
 

When I was diagnosed in '95 -- 4th stage invasive lobular carcinoma, w/2 out of 21 nodes involved -- I bought lots of books on the subject, to edify myself.

Dismal. Depressing even. I quickly tossed them aside.

I reached instead for books sold in the SPIRITUALITY section, where I'd never ventured before.

I learned to also check out the PSYCHOLOGY section in the stores.

I KNEW I was a person. A sentient being. Not a statistic. Not a number.

I already KNEW about the mindbody connection. I had personally experienced healing a years long debilitating back problem (diagnosed as a degenerating disc disease). I was set free from the pain by learning how to correlate the moments of extreme agony w/what I was thinking at the time. Just that knowledge set me free! Within 2 wks, w/no other intervention.

I have learned that if one person has survived you particular cancer -- YOU too can survive. Who are those people in that little group of survivors? Where they just lucky? I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT. They were the most passionate, focused people who rejected negative thinking and concentrated all their energy on HEALING, being in that little group, vividly seeing themselves as a Survivor, making their Intention and Expectation definitively clear!! The power of our thoughts, our Intention and our Expectation is awesome.

You were given the gift of healing, of using your thoughts and the images that go with them to acquire your deepest desires. What you want already exists -- in the Spiritual Realm. Call it to you!

KNOW you are going to Survive, against all odds! Own that. BELIEVE!

We are each miraculously empowered! Use your God-given birthright. It's been there since you drew your first breath in this world (the Physical Plane). Draw your dreams to you!

With pure, loving, healing energy being sent your way my Sisters...

Andi

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Andi, thanks for the enlightening and uplifting message! I refuse to look at stats anymore and fortunately I have a doctor who says "prove me wrong." I would love to hear of some of the books you would recommend regarding both spirituality and psychology! I too feel it is up to me to figure out how to best help my mind, body, spirit heal in conjunction with traditional treatment. I am completely open to suggestions if you wouldn't mind! Thank you!

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

That article has some interest as a personal story, but since there is no mention of the NAME of the book referred to, I have to believe that it is not a serious textbook and any stats on breast cancer have not been updated in years!

Wad up that information and throw it over you shoulder. Do not look back.

Books i've read and loved
 

Great advice Steph! As always. Vicky, I'm often asked what books I would recommend. So I have a list. And it is my honor to share them with you and all who may be interested.

BTW, I've proved the oncs wrong. I have become their miracle patient. And the nurses' as well. EVERY THOUGHT IS A PRAYER. EVERY PRAYER IS A POTENTIAL MIRACLE.

YOU ARE FAR BRAVER AND MORE COURAGEOUS THAN YOU EVER THOUGHT. YOU ARE AN EMPOWERED SPIRIT, I SWEAR...!

I started with Dr. Mitchell Gaynor's (Integrative Oncologist in Manhattan) HEALING ESSENCE, but I believe you have to call his office to order it, if it is even still available. 212 - 472 - 2828
From the moment I read the first page -- I KNEW I would live!

Then I fell in love w/Dr. Wayne Dyer...
Your Sacred Self
You'll Believe It When You See It
Wisdom of the Ages
The Power of Intention
There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem
Manifest Your Destiny
The Nine Principles of Getting Everything You Want
Secrets of Your Own Healing Power

Eckhart Tolle:
A New Earth
The Power of Now

The Travelers Gift -- Andy Andrews
Seat of the Soul -- Gary Zucav

Healing Words -- Caryn Goldman

Kitchen Table Wisdom -- Rachel Naomi Remen

Dr. Larry Dossy:
Healing Words
Healing Beyond the Body
Reinventing Medicine
Recovering the Soul

May these authors words inspire you as they have me. I read with a red pen in hand, underlining, starring. I see them s tomes of wisdom...


Andi http://cdn-cf.aol.com/se/smi/2b00001c91/06

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Andi -

I absolutely *LOVE* your attitude!

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Thank you Andi! Ohhh, I am thrilled with this list and I have read about 1/4 of them already but am also ready to tackle more!

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

WHAT'S SO COOL is that if you reread a book years later, you find things you missed, see things you saw before in fresh light.

We are meant to keep evolving. Continue exploring, growing and expanding.

I would never have volunteered to get breast canser, but I am richer for the experience. I am so much more than I was. I am on a path I would never have considered, had the bc not enveloped me.

The sky is bluer. The trees are more alive. I have found that I am a Spirit, with a mind and a body. Never figured that out before...

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

What bugs me about that is a Doctor wrote it. Her statistics are not correct and are dated and yet she used them to scare people. Not cool.

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Guys, I just go on. I just take joy in the simple things of life. For instance, we have a flock of 6 wild turkeys, 5 males, and one female that stroll around the farm. When I drive back the lane and find them nearby I send the window down so I can "chat" with them. I gotta stop because they are becoming tame. Some hunter will plug them if I am not careful.

I talk to cows, and sheep, birds. I delight in trees and tell them how happy they make me. I know it is nutty, but I just am so delighted by nature with all its wonders. I love the weather even when it sucks (ok 15" of rain in one day is scary, but that is due to flooding).

I just don't think I am going to die until I have achieved my goal of being a crazy old cat lady. If I am wrong, well I haven't lost a dang thing by being optimistic and trying to enjoy my days here on earth. If I am wrong then I am thinkin' heaven is gonna be a total gas and I'll enjoy that too!

Yes, I am a true POSITIVE thinker, 'cuz I am believing I am going to slide in under the wire and get behind those pearly gates!

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Ladies...
I couldn't agree more with those of you who recommend that we...
focus on the positive!
toss those old statistics away!
know in your heart that you WILL survive!
enjoy every single day, and treasure the beauty around you!

You are absolutely right!! IMHO :)

My brother loves the quote, "78% of statistics are 90% made up"!
When people, or articles start quoting statistics, I'm trying to train my brain to glaze over, and take me to my happy place.
We are all sooooo different! I really can't believe that any one study has enough women exactly like me, in it...to make the statistics applicable to my prognosis.

My chances of survival are 100%...no matter what someone quotes in an article! (and like Laurel pointed out...I have heaven waiting for me on the other side...so it's a win/win!)

Love and hugs to all of you!
Denise

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Great discussion. My thanks to everyone.

I do think there's a mind/body connection, but I don't think we either give ourselves cancer or cure ourselves solely with prayer/meditation/positive thinking or the like. However, I do think it's quite possible to kill myself with negative thinking, with giving up, with saying "what's the use?" And it certainly can't hurt to harness the power of the mind in service of a physical outcome that we prefer.

Except for one thing. I would hate for anyone who "fails" at that to think she did something wrong or she just didn't want it enough. On top of all the miseries of cancer diagnosis and treatment, cancer patients are supposed to be cheerful and positive. I think the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) pressure to do that comes from society's uneasiness about death and dying. It's almost like I have to pretend I don't have an incurable illness so other people can go on pretending they aren't going to die. I have decided I can do them (and myself) more good by learning how to live as fully as possible.

For me the best balance is to live in the Now as much as possible (thank you, Eckhart Tolle and Jon Kabat-Zinn) and to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, wonder and joy. I realize the latter is helped a great deal by the fact that I don't feel sick. I may have stage 4 cancer but it hasn't affected my body much. The days I do get gloomy or grumpy are usually correlated with some physical complaint. I realize I've been lucky so far in that regard.

For me it's a matter of submitting to and accepting my own mortality and being happy, grateful, joyful and fully human not just in spite of that fact but because of it. It is my creatureliness that makes me who I am. It is this body, this mind, this spirit, this history, this unique expression of creation that is me, myself. Inevitably, mortality is part of it.

Nobody ever gets "done." My "do" list, my "bucket list," my hopes for the future, will be interrupted at some point, even though I will always want more. But I realize I can't let my wanting more blind me to the life I have now. I used to be very driven and goal-oriented. Then I noticed that every time I hit a goal I felt let down. That's because I kept thinking that realizing the goal would make me happy, and it never did. Then I figured out that happiness is not getting what you want, it's wanting what you've got. Happiness is what happens. I know a lot of people who don't have any obvious problems but who are miserable. And I have known people with incredibly bad luck and heartbreaking physical ailments and deformities who simply radiate love and joy. "I would be happy if _____ [fill in the blank]" is simply never true.

The Psalms often talk about the "sacrifice of thanksgiving." For me, the key to happiness and wholeness is to Be Here Now and be thankful--to radically accept my situation and quit wishing it weren't so or imagining that if I were in charge of my fate I'd design a better one. My ultimate destiny was set the day I took my first breath. It is certain that someday I'll take my last breath. OK, so now what?

I listen to guided imagery for healing. (As I said, if figure it couldn't hurt.) When I first heard one of the affirmations, when I was newly diagnosed and still freaked out, it was quite off-putting. But now I love it. It says something like, "More and more, I know that I can heal myself and live or I can heal myself and die. My wholeness is not determined by my physical condition."

I am whole, healed, accepted, loved and perfect in my imperfection, in my finitude, in my fragility, in my humanity. There's really nothing to be afraid of, and there's everything to gain from seizing the moment and loving it as completely as I can. The present moment isn't much, it's just all we have. It's all anyone has.

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Amy,
Beautifully eloquent, as ever. Well said!
Thanks for sharing your deep insights about your journey.
God bless!
Denise

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Nice to hear some of your philosophies so well stated.

MTN - I also listened to the same positive affirmations tape, and since I was given such a dire prognosis with raging liver mets, etc., I needed to hear those words you quoted. They helped me get my head into a better place and quell some of the doubt that raced through me at my stage IV diagnosis. I did not have long to live in limbo wondering if my cancer would strike again.

It was bewildering to me how my body could just ignore a year of surgeries, chemo and radiation and let my cancer just have its own way so quickly. My stage IV was dumped on me like a ton of bricks. Just that fast, as I thought I was feeling quite well!

Whatever those nightly bedtime tapes did for my mind-body connection, it was my mental state that needed calming and that was achieved.

I was not yet in a place where reading would have done me any good, and I could not concentrate anyway. My energy was going toward sending the chemo to those too-numerous-to-count mets.

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

I am also with lauren in appreciating every little thing Mother Nature puts in my path. My hubby thinks I am a little strange to talk to the neighbor cats through the windows! But they do stop and look at me - make eye contact.

My bird baths have to be full of clean water and I take the leaves out so the birds can splash around. The feeders have to have fresh food, so if all this puts me in the crazy cat lady category in some eyes, so be it! I am not the only being in this world, and I try to share my environment with whatever other creatures enter it. (Except the birds who eat too many blueberries off my bushes - I do shoo some of those away!)

Perspectives
 

Points of view differ emotionally depending on where one is standing (basically, NED from the get-go vs local recurrence-to-NED vs metastatic).

One does whatever one thinks is "worth it" to stay on the right side of the numbers versus what is not worth it, in making the most of the present. People make different choices in drawing that very personal line.

Recognize and give yourself credit for what things you are doing that tend to help (not smoking; exercising daily; making choices about diet; etc.) Remember that the scary percentages include the people who can't or don't make those efforts in general.

Even though numbers are scary, I believe they do encourage people to take stock of what is most important to them and actually get a "round tuit" in taking practical steps to be sure they don't leave behind difficulties for those they care a lot about.

-AlaskaAngel

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,

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Thank you so much for all your perspectives! I've been reflecting on them when I can and all of your thoughts and experiences have helped me with my fears this week, and most importantly, have given me a new strength and inspiration to keep moving on with my life and enjoying every minute without fear.

You are truly amazing and I am honored to be a part of this community.

Love,

Marcia

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Amen,
Lets write our own book on stats!!!

Finding Comfort Beyond the Statistics
 

When I was first dx w/bc I was stunned. Humbled by this looming thing people used to speak of only in whispers as I grew up.

I've since learned that canser isn't our worst enemy. Fear is humanity's greatest foe!

I've also come to realize that courage is not the absence of fear, but moving forward to do what must be done anyway.

Tack on the enlightenment of seeing the joy of being in The Now, in this moment, full of love and gratitude for the beauty and blessings that surrounds us -- you're way ahead of the game. Learning to live, not fearing you're dying, is something not all get to experience. It is a hugely evolved way of being. Full of awesome feelings that feel divine.

I've learned to find serenity along with joy, even in the midst of my horror story. I have found that we each have the power to consciously choose to become The Witness, or The Observer. Most especially at moment when we're embroiled in trauma and drama. It releases us. Seeing from above, we gain a kind of control over ourselves. It is both liberating and empowering.

These Awarenesses are what I wish for you all, with all my heart.

I REFUSE TO ALLOW FEAR-DRIVEN CONCEPTS TO MANIPULATE ME AND PLAY GAMES WITH MY LIFE AND WELL-BEING. (I have that message, blown up in uber large print, by my desk, to look at each day.) We all slip and forget from time to time. We need reminders. YES, I CAN DO THIS! I BELIEVE... is another I have in my face, framed in the kitchen. That and LOVE MUCH. http://cdn-cf.aol.com/se/smi/2b00001c91/06

Andi

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

You are a great bunch of wise women.....thanks for all you give.Lois

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

wow. i was looking for a thread like this and here it is. Debbie and Amy esp: thank you.

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

http://www.barbaraehrenreich.com/cancerland.htm

some quotes from the above:

note: below are ehrenbach's words not mine folks:

But in the seamless world of breast-cancer culture, where one website links to another -- from personal narratives and grassroots endeavors to the glitzy level of corporate sponsors and celebrity spokespeople -- cheerfulness is more or less mandatory, dissent a kind of treason. Within this tightly knit world, attitudes are subtly adjusted, doubters gently brought back to the fold. In The First Year of the Rest of Your Life, for example, each personal narrative is followed by a study question or tip designed to counter the slightest hint of negativity -- and they are very slight hints indeed, since the collection includes no harridans, whiners, or feminist militants:

Have you given yourself permission to acknowledge you have some anxiety or "blocs" and to ask for help for your emotional well-being?

Is there an area in your life of unresolved internal conflict? Is there an area where you think you might want to do some "healthy mourning"?

Try keeping a list of the things you find "good about today."

As an experiment, I post a statement on the Komen.org message board, under the subject line "angry," briefly listing my own heartfelt complaints about debilitating treatments, recalcitrant insurance companies, environmental carcinogens, and, most daringly, "sappy pink ribbons." I receive a few words of encouragement in my fight with the insurance company, which has taken the position that my biopsy was a kind of optional indulgence, but mostly a chorus of rebukes. "Suzy" writes to say, "I really dislike saying you have a bad attitude towards all of this, but you do, and it's not going to help you in the least." "Mary" is a bit more tolerant, writing, "Barb, at this time in your life, it's so important to put all your energies toward a peaceful, if not happy, existence. Cancer is a rotten thing to have happen and there are no answers for any of us as to why. But to live your life, whether you have one more year or 51, in anger and bitterness is such a waste . . . I hope you can find some peace. You deserve it. We all do. God bless you and keep you in His loving care. Your sister, Mary."

"Kitty," however, thinks I've gone around the bend: "You need to run, not walk, to some counseling . . . Please, get yourself some help and I ask everyone on this site to pray for you so you can enjoy life to the fullest."

I do get some reinforcement from "Gerri," who has been through all the treatments and now finds herself in terminal condition: "I am also angry. All the money that is raised, all the smiling faces of survivors who make it sound like it is o.k. to have breast cancer. IT IS NOT O.K.!" But Gerri's message, like the others on the message board, is posted under the mocking heading "What does it mean to be a breast cancer survivor?"




These interventions do not constitute a "cure" or anything close, which is why the death rate from breast cancer has changed very little since the 1930s, when mastectomy was the only treatment available. Chemotherapy, which became a routine part of breast-cancer treatment in the eighties, does not confer anywhere near as decisive an advantage as patients are often led to believe, especially in postmenopausal women like myself -- a two or three percentage point difference in ten year survival rates,1 according to America's best-known breast-cancer surgeon, Dr. Susan Love. I know these bleak facts, or sort of know them, but in the fog of anesthesia that hangs over those first few weeks, I seem to lose my capacity for self-defense.






The ultrafeminine theme of the breast-cancer "marketplace" -- the prominence, for example, of cosmetics and jewelry -- could be understood as a response to the treatments' disastrous effects on one's looks. But the infantilizing trope is a little harder to account for, and teddy bears are not its only manifestation. A tote bag distributed to breast cancer patients by the Libby Ross Foundation (through places such as the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center) contains, among other items, a tube of Estee Lauder Perfumed Body Crème, a hot-pink satin pillowcase, an audiotape "Meditation to Help You with Chemotherapy," a small tin of peppermint pastilles, a set of three small inexpensive rhinestone bracelets, a pink-striped "journal and sketch book," and -- somewhat jarringly -- a small box of crayons. Marla Willner, one of the founders of the Libby Ross Foundation, told me that the crayons "go with the journal -- for people to express different moods, different thoughts. . ." though she admitted she has never tried to write with crayons herself. Possibly the idea is that regression to a state of childlike dependency puts one in the best frame of mind with which to endure the prolonged and toxic treatments. Or it may be that, in some versions of the prevailing gender ideology, femininity is by its nature incompatible with full adulthood -- a state of arrested development. Certainly men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not receive gifts of Matchbox cars.

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

I love each and every perspective here. I adhere to principles from all. I know Andi and I have shared in the past, as well as Debbie and I have shared in the past... I continue to learn a little every day. And my mantra from the start has been, and continues to be: "I would rather be anecdotally alive than statistically dead." It's what I strive for daily.

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

I was recently watching a tv program when a Harvard professor of biology said that human beings were innately programmed to look for answers and explanations for problems.I suspect that when we get ill we look to understand the reason and find a solution. Unfortunately at the moment we don't have those answers for bc even though I wish with all my heart that we did.I suspect that in years to come we will be able to identify a mosaic of causes that differ between individuals.
The most reassuring thing my onc ever said to me was that it is impossible to predict with certainty how the course of any bc will go as every bc is individual and every immune system responds differently. True there are trends and some patterns but as we are not at the stage of personal tumour biology or immune function assessment we are at best in my opinion making guesses about outcomes!
Ellie

Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Oh, Brenda! I WOULD RATHER BE ANECDOTALLY ALIVE THAN STATISITICALLY DEAD. I am officially adopting that line to feed to my brain daily. Thank you! So nice to hear from you again! You have always rocked my world...

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

@nordko--Thanks for posting Barbara Ehrenreich. She's one of my heroes!

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Pink girl,I totally agree! I think uncertainty is very hard to handle especially when it feels like the clock is already ticking. Before bc I only fleetingly thought about my mortality as if it wasn't really going to happen to me (or at least anytime soon!) but since diagnosis that peace of mine no longer exists and learning to live in the now became the new task.
Hugs
Ellie

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

pink girl: re
My oncologist, your oncologist, Dennis Slamon, Santa Claus, FauxGypsy - no one can tell us if we are going to recur. No one. Stats like 50/50 or 80/20 do not tell us which side we will be in.

I do not make light of anyone's fears. I've been there. I still think that mosquito bites are skin mets. But I've given cancer the finger ... told it to screw off. I will not let fear take over my life. If I recur in 5 years or if I don't recur in 5 years, it doesn't change right NOW.

Every day I see this streetperson guy stumbling down the sidewalk, drunk.
He didn't get cancer, I did. And I don't think this guy is drinking green tea.
I have stopped trying to figure everything out ... I will not drive myself crazy looking for answers that no one has.

Bejuce, if you want to watch your kids grow up, they are growing up right NOW ... we are all doing different things for ourselves ... just do your best.
you are inside my head!!
omg. i just can't believe reading your message how
another person could possibly, without having read my latest blog,
captured so exquisitely, exactly the feelings i have. it is positively
other worldly to read this note of yours. it is exactly the type of language i used on a recent blog post of mine (dont read it cos i am embarrassed of myself in there) about how no guru, no statistical research, no certainty-clinging of any kind is, first of all, correct (every corpse defies the pollyannas; every woman alive and well with HER2 defies the pessimists like me) and secondly, how lonely is our struggle.
i feel lonely when a woman with HER2 or just a nice friend or nice person, corrects my pessimism. I feel lonely when I am 'forced' to be optimistic cos a friend can't bear to lose me so she makes me consider myself 'normal' in lifespan despite the stats; I feel lonely when the opposite situation comes up too.
Hmmmm...maybe i will start a thread called "I feel lonely, as an HER2 woman when..." I get comfort from reading a brief, succinct post such as the one u just posted, and all the posts in this thread, actually, cos they say what I feel.
How wonderful is the invention of the internet. I do not feel alone when I read things like this.
You have hit the nail on the head.
We are forced into a weird, unwilling kind of heroism, in a way, ...considering we have these grim prognoses, yet are still alive.
what was it Van Morrison sang...No guru, no buddha, no teacher..?

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

to all the women who have posted on this thread: a heartfelt thanks.
I have reread this thread six times already...every single post i read twice before the next. i feel like i am in a room with you, and you are beaming that note right at me to save my depressed soul...thank you so very very much.

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

by the way under my above post for ehrenbach i think some people thought those were my words.....no...they are the words of writer barbara ehrenbach....i bolded that just now to clarify....

Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

From my perspective -- your Soul is never depressed. It is a piece of sacred energy from our Creator. It is divine and full of extraordinary love, wisdom and power.

It is the voice in our heads that makes us feel depressed, angry, wounded, lost and alone.

When we begin to identify ourSelves as a radiant, holy Spirit, we start to see others as kindred Spirits. We respond to others with more compassion, more caring, gentleness and forgiveness. We begin to feel full of joy and awe (finding the sublime in the ordinary). We feel more like our True Selves. We feel elevated. We become our Higher Selves. Full of love and gratitude for the simplest of gifts.

We can walk, and talk, feed and clothe ourselves. Bathe ourselves. Converse with others!! How blessed we are.

And we can consciously choose to fill our thoughts with ideas and mantras, images and passionate desires that evoke happy, serene feelings.

As I become One with All That Is, I align mySelf with my Soul, and see the world through its eyes.

I Know the voice in my head is ego speaking. A primal phase of my beingness. It whines and complains, it criticizes and reprimands, belittles and demands. I consciously choose to reject its whimperings and taunts. I will not allow its voice to be heard over the voice of my Spirit.

And, I've learned all this since my dx in '95. My evolution accelerated in '98 w/my recurrence. It all had to happen, to bring me to where I am today.

I'm just saying...

Maybe my words will help lift up some other Souls on this site. That is my prayer...

Love much,

Andi

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Are you thinking of:
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher...?

It's the sixteenth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison (son of Jim), released in 1986 on Mercury.

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

The abstracts below show stable/improvement in all areas of breast cancer survival. (The reason why those 'Textbook' statistics are so scary/depressing is because of the time lag in publication. We used to have a saying in library school that 'anything that's been published is old'. Books - especially textbooks - usually contain dated information. This link in Wikipedia may provide a glimpse of the process: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publishing )

CA Cancer J Clin. 2011 Oct 3. doi: 10.3322/caac.20134. [Epub ahead of print]
Breast cancer statistics, 2011.
Desantis C, Siegel R, Bandi P, Jemal A.
Source
Epidemiologist, Surveillance Research, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA. carol.desantis@<font face="Arial">cancer</font><fon...l">.org</font>.
Abstract
In this article, the American Cancer Society provides an overview of female breast cancer statistics in the United States, including trends in incidence, mortality, survival, and screening. Approximately 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 39,520 breast cancer deaths are expected to occur among US women in 2011. Breast cancer incidence rates were stable among all racial/ethnic groups from 2004 to 2008. Breast cancer death rates have been declining since the early 1990s for all women except American Indians/Alaska Natives, among whom rates have remained stable. Disparities in breast cancer death rates are evident by state, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. While significant declines in mortality rates were observed for 36 states and the District of Columbia over the past 10 years, rates for 14 states remained level. Analyses by county-level poverty rates showed that the decrease in mortality rates began later and was slower among women residing in poor areas. As a result, the highest breast cancer death rates shifted from the affluent areas to the poor areas in the early 1990s. Screening rates continue to be lower in poor women compared with non-poor women, despite much progress in increasing mammography utilization. In 2008, 51.4% of poor women had undergone a screening mammogram in the past 2 years compared with 72.8% of non-poor women. Encouraging patients aged 40 years and older to have annual mammography and a clinical breast examination is the single most important step that clinicians can take to reduce suffering and death from breast cancer. Clinicians should also ensure that patients at high risk of breast cancer are identified and offered appropriate screening and follow-up. Continued progress in the control of breast cancer will require sustained and increased efforts to provide high-quality screening, diagnosis, and treatment to all segments of the population. CA Cancer J Clin 2011;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
Copyright © 2011 American Cancer Society, Inc.


Ann Oncol. 2011 Oct 14. [Epub ahead of print]
Long-term (37 years) clinical outcome of older women with early operable primary breast cancer managed in a dedicated clinic.
Syed BM, Johnston SJ, Wong DW, Green AR, Winterbottom L, Kennedy H, Simpson N, Morgan DA, Ellis IO, Cheung KL.
Source
Divisions of Breast Surgery.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
A dedicated clinic for older women with early primary breast cancer, established in 1973, has recently evolved into a combined surgical/oncology facility. This study aimed to compare the clinical outcome across these periods.
METHODS:
From 1973 to 2010, 1758 women were managed. Analysis was carried out based on retrospective review and continued update of patient records.
RESULTS:
In the recent decade, 56.3% had surgery, followed by primary endocrine therapy (PET; 41.1%) and primary radiotherapy (1.5%). Before 1999, 42.8%, 55.6% and 1% of patients had surgery, PET and primary radiotherapy, respectively. The use of adjuvant endocrine therapy and radiotherapy has increased from 33.6% to 54.9% and 5.8% to 34.6%, respectively. A significant improvement was seen in the annual rates of local (2.2% versus 0.5%, P < 0.001), regional (1.8% versus 0.4%, P < 0.001) and distant (2.9% versus 1.9%, P = 0.002) recurrences. Similarly, the 5-year breast cancer-specific and overall survival rates showed improvement [81% versus 91% (P < 0.001) and 56% versus 71% (P < 0.001), respectively].
CONCLUSIONS:
In the recent decade, while surgery became the predominant treatment, a significant proportion of patients had non-operative therapies, selection of which was based on multidisciplinary assessment in the clinic. This management approach appears to produce excellent clinical outcome, which is significantly better than that in earlier period.

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

I love this site for the thought-provoking and uplifting conversations. I have just been diagnosed with a sternal lesion and in my first post I hope I didn't give the impression that I will back down. In the last 2 years I have done as much as I can to make my body as strong as possible and when I am tired and need direction I ask for and get it. I am not particularly religious (although I do pray to God) as I am spiritual and I know I'm being protected because I am given signs. Keep the faith, as Bonnie says, and just try to do the best you can everyday.
When I get mad or down,I put on my IPOD, go for a walk and play all my inspirational songs, look at the beautiful scenery, and am thankful for every moment. I will also get mad at cancer and that makes me walk with more of a purpose.Sometimes days go all wrong but I feel that we must sometimes go through the bad to get to the good. I have been on Youtube watching music videos lately and like the words in the Keep Your Head Up song by Andy Grammer, 'only rainbows after rain", or Invincible by Hedley (maybe listen to the lyrics version before you watch the one with P. Reign.) The message is abit like Katy Perry's Firework.
This whole journey has not been entirely negative; I have found many great friends and have learned that sometimes you have to take each minute by minute, but you will make it through. I am rolling up my sleeves, so to speak, again.
Caroline

Re: Finding Little Comfort in the Statistics of Survival
 

Caroline,
Good for you! You sound like you have it all in perspective! Keep it up!
Stay strong!
Denise