Statistics

Gingermiss65

They say Stage 1 breast cancer is pretty much curable. The 5 year survival is like 95%. But after 5 years there can be 20-30 % chance of recurrence locally or distant. That seems high to me. So how curable really? I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, this just worries me. Any thoughts on this?

etnasgrl

30% of women diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer will be diagnosed with Metastatic breast cancer at some point in their lives. Breast cancer no matter the stage is never "curable", just treatable.

KathyL624

From what I have read 30% of early stage breast cancer becomes metastatic, and early Stage refers to Stages 1 through 3A. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong

letsgogolf

I believe you are correct, Kathy. The 30% is not from Stage I but all early stage which covers 1 to 3a. Also, I really wish people would stop stating that breast cancer is not curable, only treatable. That may be true for stage 4 but is certainly not true for other stages. The vast majority of us will never deal with this again. The problem is that we don't know who will and who won't. Some say that we only know for sure that we have been cured is when we die of something else. I prefer to think that we only know for sure that we haven't been cured when have a recurrence. Keep in mind that many local recurrences can be cured.

JoE777

Ginger you're not a Debbie downer it's just the reality of the disease

buttonsmachine

Gingermiss, you might already be aware of this, but they changed breast cancer staging guidelines this year. Now they incorporate prognostic features like oncotype.

See: https://voice.ons.org/news-and-views/cancer-staging-system-changes

I was diagnosed with stage 1A BC in 2016. Even though my tumor was smallish and "caught early," everything about my tumor was aggressive and nasty. My tumor behaved nothing like a grade 1, low oncotype, low mitotic rate, node negative tumor of the same size.

Anyway, my point is that I think the statistics are wonky partly because of the outdated staging guidelines. Things might get more accurate with the updated staging guidelines, but at the end of the day, every cancer is unique. Anyway, I take statistics with a grain of salt these days. ;-)

I agree with your original post though - BC is marketed as being very curable/treatable, and it's disconcerting how many people still die from it. It was disconcerting to me when the standard treatments didn't work. I don't think you're being a Debbie downer, it's just the reality for some of us.

Gingermiss65

Ok...the whole thing is scary to me..as I am sure I am not the only one? So... anyone not in that 20-30 % will never deal with this again? Most likely? My Oncologist said it is the 1st 2 years it most likely will recur if it is going to... and he said mine was very small. He seemed confident in this statement. And the surgeon was like "why are you doing chemo, it didn't hit your lymphnodes"? I guess I am hiding behind these statements...like it is giving me a false security. Anyways, I worry if I have a stomach ache or any pains, am I stressing my body to bring something on? If I do this..eat this, inhale accidental smog from a passing truck etc... will this be the trigger? It is hard living this way.

The whole thing is surreal. I feel panic inside myself at times. There is nothing you can do to change any of this.

buttonsmachine

Gingermiss, it is scary, and I'm sorry if I scared you more - that was certainly not my intention.

It took time, but after my local recurrence I learned to be more comfortable with the uncertainty. At a certain point we do all we can to fight the cancer, and we hope for the best. Eventually I decided I didn't want the fear to ruin my present life, and I just put it in a metaphorical box. I'm still here now, and I still have a life to live, so I'm going to live it. I'm grateful to be alive, even though cancer is not what I had planned for myself.

I don't have all the answers, and I still have some rough days. We all do. But there are many good days too. Anyway, I hope you'll come to terms with it in a way that makes sense for you. ((Hugs))

Gingermiss65

Buttonsmach it is ok. You didn't scare me. We are both in the "same" group, so to speak. You know the group, none of us wanted to ever be in. I do realize what you are saying and I do live my life everyday to enjoy it. I enjoy just being here, if that makes sense. There are no guarantees with anything really and if anything, it has made me start to get the things done now, that I just took for granted I would do when I am a senior and retired. Life is short really. This has hit me like a ton of bricks. We are not immortal and old age is not guaranteed to anyone. It still scares me though. It's a work in progress.

beach2beach

My sister had breast cancer (inflammatory )when she turned 48. She is now 57. She was an automatic 3b. My mother never had any problems. Did I think I'd get breast cancer..I knew the risk was probably higher, dense breasts. Wasn't ready to hear I had it at 51. Year out and I hope it never returns. I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't like to look at the statistics so much. Life is short. I'd like to live and believe that it won't recur so I try to keep changing my daily thoughts in that direction while doing things to hopefully help prevent it. I.m trying to not to worry about if I will fall into that recurrence category. Hopefully our luck has changed for the future.

Tracy1975

I was diagnosed in 2016... every time when I go for my annual PET/CT scan, I get very jittery. Most of breast cancer mortality are a result of distant recurrence and from metastatic cancer.

When I see mild FDG uptake on my spine in the PET/CT scan report, I feel afraid. Googling did not help me as the statistics of 30% of the cancer patients suffer from distant recurrences... I also don't want to be a Debbie Downer but how do we get through this...

Moderators

Dear Tracy1975,

Welcome to the BCO community. We are sorry for your worry but glad that you reached out. We imagine that many here can relate to your shared experience. This may not be the best topic to get members' attention to this concern. You may want to look at this topic about Coping with Fear of Recurrence or we invite you to start a new topic as this is a prevent issue for those in your circumstances. Here is a link to resources on our main site that all discuss the fear of recurrence. It is what sets cancer apart from other diseases. Let us know how we can help you navigate your way around the community. The Mods

lulabella

Hi! Does anyone know of a current source where I can find statistical data about survival rates based on the same data as the new staging (things like HER2, ER, PR status, etc.)? I was originally told I was stage 3a, but according to the new staging I'm down to a 2a (yay!) and was hoping to find some updated figures.

Thank you!