Will my mom be fine

angelnicole

It has now been 5 years since my mom was diagnosed with having Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Her oncologist said that because it's been 5 years since she has been in remission, her chances of having a recurrence is less than 5%. Is that good? I've been reading online about breast cancer and it seems as if 5% does not mean anything. From what I've read online, it seems as if chances of survival are better when the percentage is at 0%.

LRM216

Unfortunately, once you are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer of any type - there is no recurrence rate of 0%. I too am approaching 5 years this February, and am so appreciative to have made it this far, but realistic enough to realize that there will never be any point in my life that I will be told "it will never ever come back." Just realize that many women do go on to live out their lives with no evidence of disease and not everyone dies from our breast cancer, but there are no guarantees for any of us, no matter what our staging out of the gate may be. I truly believe it's all just a crap shoot as to who recurs or progresses and who doesn't. A lousy way to live, for sure, but it still beats the alternative. I wish your mom a life of never seeing this beast again.

Moderators

angelnicole, as LRM216 says, although there are no guarantees, many many women go on after a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment with no further evidence of disease. And there are things that your mother (and all of us) can do to reduce the risk. You can read about some of those risk factors at this link.

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angelnicole

Thanks ladies for responding. I really worry about my mom sometimes an whether or not she will continue to survive and live a long life. I honestly don't hear of many women with breast cancer going on to live long lives. Sometimes I have the fear that I will lose my mom and I don't want to see that happen because she is the only person I have.