How many years does it take?

breastquest

Just curious.... My friend had bc at least 17 years ago. I don't remember what type or kind, but I know her lymph nodes were ok, and she had a lumpectomy and chemo (possibly radiation, but don't remember). She gets all her follow ups and scans and so far....ok.

After all this time, can you relax? Obviously life is a series of unknowns, but isn't this pretty good? I'd like to hear from women who are similarly many years out.

Lauriesh

There are women on the stage 4 forum who developed mets over 20 years after their original diagnosis. It is very rare and the odds are that your friend will be ok, but there is always a chance of it coming back.

DivineMrsM

BQ, as of now ,there is still no cure for bc. You can have all the big treatments and still, it can return, or return as metastasized or return as a different type of bc. Being 17 years out is wonderful yet no one can say which women will have a recurrence.

My advice would be live life to the fullest, enjoy the meaningful moments big and small, live a life being true to yourself, eliminate as much crap as you can and have more of the good experiences, big and small, that you want (both you and your friend). If a recurrence happens after living life in this way, there is less room for regret or what ifs. You can watch your diet and exercise, yet those are still not guarantees against reoccurrence. My advice is to relax about life, yes yet still be vigilant with the checkups and follow ups, just don't let them rule your life or curb your enthusiasm for living life fully.