AAAWWWWWW!!!!! am I brain dead????

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CapeBretongirl
CapeBretongirl Member Posts: 364
AAAWWWWWW!!!!! am I brain dead????

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  • CapeBretongirl
    CapeBretongirl Member Posts: 364
    edited February 2010

    How can I, in simple terminology, explain to family, friends and others, that there is no cure for breast cancer, only ned??? I'm wearied of the backlash I receive, when I try to explain it.  What am I saying that is wrong.  Someone just told me I'm brain dead, lol

  • mke
    mke Member Posts: 584
    edited October 2009

    I don't think that brain dead people can type.  But maybe I'm wrong and I'm brain dead too.  Then my brain could join my feet which are half chemo dead and my fingers which are a fourth chemo dead and hopefully my cancer which (dare I hope???) is all dead.

    Why try to explain it?  Honestly all I say is that I'm OK and I am being monitored.  (Now admittedly I am not stage IV and actually I  don't know what stage I am, but it's more than I and less than IV).  When pressed I say that when I die of something else I will have beaten cancer, but I say it with a laugh.

    People say dumb things, they think dumb things.  We go from believing in the tooth fairy to believing in TV ads and newspaper articles, because we want to believe.  Looking at your signature line it seems to me some of your family members might be desperately hoping that there is a cure and that you have found it.

    Ease up, tell them to google it and talk about the leafs, argos, food, weather, whatever.  You can't educate them, they are too close to you.

  • hollyann
    hollyann Member Posts: 2,992
    edited October 2009

    I get it all the time........So you're through treatment ...That means you're cured right?/........Drives me freakin nuts!.......I just nod and say I wish!..........Or only if I die of something else........Shuts them up real quick!.....

  • She
    She Member Posts: 503
    edited October 2009

    YMB, I'm sorry it has been such a difficult two years for you.  I agree with MKE, your family members are hoping and reaching for the best possible outcome for you.

    But, it is still soooo annoying when people throw 'you're cured' around.

    My answer: "You're wrong, there is no cure. I'm NED.  That means No Expiry Date."   Most people can figure that out without any long explanations, and it still provides a 'positive spin' for those who can't deal with the reality of BC, whatever their personal reason is. 

    All the best, She

  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited October 2009

    I tell people there is no "5 year mark" like with some cancers (though I wonder about that too), that it can recur years after that. It scares people, but if it scares them into bse's and mammos then that's good.

    Leah

  • hollyann
    hollyann Member Posts: 2,992
    edited October 2009

    I had a person tell me flat out that since I had early cancer I was cured!...She said breast cancer is the only one curable at an early stage....I said Yeah right!..i wish!.....Only Thyroid cancer is curable if caught early and some leukemias...But definitley NOT bc!.........She just looked flustered and embarrassed and walked away.....

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