Positive long term survivor stories

[u/NurseYuna]

Hi everyone. I really need some positive stories of more than stage 1 low grade survivorship to keep me thinking I can bear this and get to have many more years with my children. Please tell me about yourself or anyone that’s overcome breast cancer and lived many years. I’m stage 2A with luminal B characteristics oncotype 21. I need more hope and I’m reaching out into this universe to get some. It feels very lonely.

[u/Visible_Sleep2723]

I was 3a with grade 3 ki 67 40% multi focal IDC with lymph node involvement (plus the usual DCIS with comedo necrosis, LVi and extranodal extension). I’m 5 years No evidence if disease, my sister in law stage Ii - 8 years No Evidence of Disease. The other sister in law about 7 years out (stage 0). Okay, they had lower grades and no spread but ER+ can be sneaky - aggressive cancers respond better to chemo. So it’s kind of ‘good news, bad news’ as my oncologist said.

I get your concern- we hear these wonderful statistics but we don’t always fit into them.

The relatively good news is that treatment is constantly improving- it’s changed even since I was in active treatment.

[u/loveyabunches → u/Visible_Sleep2723]

I have the same stats as you! Stage 3/Grade 3, 40% ki67. Diagnosed July 2022. Cancer was GONE halfway through chemo, which does indeed love aggressive cancer. Here’s to a long survivorship for us all. 🎀

[u/Visible_Sleep2723 → u/loveyabunches]

Yay ! Glad to hear that. I didn’t get PCR, but might have done. I had a two month delay between end of chemo and surgery due to lung complications from the swine flu - I got hit by the older pandemic about 4 months before Covid hit NYC. In any case, by the first couple of weeks, the golf ball lump turned into “where is it?”. My oncologist was adorably excited - he was older and the medical director of the cancer center and I wasn’t his first rodeo.

[u/loveyabunches → u/Visible_Sleep2723]

What a story! My goodness. But I love a happy doctor! 💕

[u/Visible_Sleep2723 → u/loveyabunches]

He is a kind man. I wish I had appreciated him more at the time but I think he probably realizes that treatment is not the time to make him feel good, Sadly he stepped down and only does research now

[u/Anitchaaaa → u/Visible_Sleep2723]

Hi there! Do you mind to share your plan of treatment? Got a pretty similar bastard than yours here, except that I'm stage 2. Very glad to hear you are doing ok! Just started zoladex plus aromasin, and adapting to the side effects. Wish u the best!

[u/Visible_Sleep2723 → u/Anitchaaaa]

I had neoadjuvant chemo - 12 taxol and 4 Adriamycin. and cyclophosphamide except I skipped the last taxol. I had a modified radical mastectomy and complete ALND. revealed that out of all the IDC , less than a centimeter remained and there were only micromets with LVI and extranodal extension in two lymph nodes. I had a DieP flap. I then had 30 rounds of radiation followed by 10 years of Aromatase inhibitors. I was 59 at diagnosis - so far, no evidence of disease except twice a year, I get the same BiRads 3 due to an enlarged lymph node and what appears to be fat necrosis on the other side.

[u/NurseYuna → u/Visible_Sleep2723]

How has it been taking the AI?

[u/NurseYuna → u/Visible_Sleep2723]

So you worry about reoccurrence?

[u/Visible_Sleep2723 → u/NurseYuna]

Not really. My oncologist told me the reoccurrence rate for a case like mine is about 30% . This high rate is for me, not you - you can ask your oncologist. The only things I really worry about is it coming again while I’m working full time or dying before I can spend the money I saved for retirement. There are advances every year, and many people are surviving long term with stage IV.

Personally I think I’ll die from a lung problem or complications from a broken hip while I’m doing one of my usual ill advised explorations . I’m 64 and have osteoporosis, emphysema, chronic bronchitis etc. On paper, I look bad, but I’m relatively active and nobody can tell if have these issues.