3+ Year Survivor Stories PLEASE!

patti.....my Oncologist said we will not do hormone therapy...on 3% pr positive....er-and her2-

Crs....thanks for the website info...They took 13 of my nodes. My surgeon did the sentinal node biopsy.....Hope your treatments go well...I finished CHEMO on 11/16/2009....I am now in radiation...I have 8 more of those....

GOD BLESS US ALL 

Hi all,

Just introducing myself, last week was two years since I got the call that I had cancer.  March 5 will be two years since my surgery, bi-lateral mastectomy with chemo and rads.

Violet, hang in there with chemo, the 3rd AC is the worst for some reason.  That was my experience and my onc. nurse said a lot have trouble with it.  I had horrible heartburn, which is something I do not normally get.

One year from now, I will be sleeping so much better.

Lisa

Today is 6 years from my lumpectomy, it was just the beginning of my BC adventure.

Meggy, thanks for starting the thread.  Congratulations on 2 years!  I know how you feel.  Live life, but even 6 years out, the fear creeps in now and again.

Hi All, 

 Add another 3+ year survivor to your list :-)  I was 3 years out of treatment in October, and will be 4 years from diagnosis in May.  My mother is a 30-year survivor, although we're not sure that she was triple negative (not as much testing for hormones back in 1979, I guess).  She was 41 with 4 small girls when she was diagnosed.  She turned 72 a few weeks ago!!

 Theresa 

Violet..do NOT consider quitting chemo!  Please!  I'm 24 weeks away from chemo and I cannot belive how fast time has gone..I thought chemo would never end..but it did.

I'm definitely not an old timer...but I found my lump 1 year ago on 1/18..and I'm still here..had lumpectomy, 4 ac, 4 taxol, dose dense, plus 25 rads plus 7 boosts..."They" gave me everything they could..for NOW..I feel great...joint pain from taxol is gone...I walk 2 miles per day, eat right, sleep well...but I haven't turned into an organic/vegan totally no alcohol type person...I feel that moderation is the key...had a mammo in Nov...everything was good..see the chemo onc next month..every 3 for 2 years..have another mammo scheduled for May..see the BS then too..I LIKE seeing the doctors...the last time..they told they were cutting me loose for 3 months..that was just great to hear..I skipped out of the center...but I'm looking forward to going back again..to hopefully...hopefully..hopefully hear the same thing..see you in 3 months!

Titan and lisa, thank you for the encouragement.  I'm going to finish the chemo, I swear.  I'm ashamed to be so whiny when some ladies are going through much more chemo than I have to endure.  Call the wah-ambulence!  I have ten glorious days until my next chemo.  Happy Anniversary to each of you celebrating your milestones!  I'm going to be certain to check in after all this is through, it means so much to those of us in the trenches. 

Hang in there, Violet.  I had 4 rounds of TC, and the third one was the worst for me.  You are on the downhill slide and will make it through - we're all cheering for you!

Violet, I think your feelings are normal.  I looked back in my records and my NP wrote that I was exhausted and frustrated by the 7th tx, just one more to go and I wanted to back out.  I didn't but I was whiny, too.  But too bad, I had a reason to be whiny!

Cindy, carolinachick, and Meece, thank you so much!  You are all so kind.  I'm taking Tagamet as needed right now, at any rate the raw feeling in my stomach is fading just slightly, but any little bit is great.  Happy early anniversary, Cindy!  Crs,  I hope you get your chemo today on schedule and that your side effects are few, if any. 

Thanks carolinachick (one of my favorite states by the way) and Violet. I needed your positive thoughts yesterday as it was not a good day.

Oh, the count is up so that is fine but I had a new nurse who accessed my port incorrectly and we couldn't get blood return. No chemo. Went for a port study instead. Two sticks later (with no freezing spray or emla cream as its "not in our protocol") the study was done and the port (thank God) is fine.

Being a nurse myself,I realize not all nurses are equal. I try to be nice and kind to everyone but yesterday taught me yet another lesson. If you feel in your gut that the nurse, doctor, whoever, is not doing something correctly, STOP them and ask for another. I usually do just that but I think being a patient is helping me see how we are put in a submissive role and just go along with things. It wasted an entire day, gave me lots more anxiety, lost work time, and most importantly, delayed my chemo! I go back again today for chemo and have already called the practice manager and made it clear I will not have the nurse again.

Thanks for hearing the rant. I promise to go back to positive mode after today. I'm still very thankful for the friendly poison, my briliant doctors,  my friends and family and of course, you guys who understand like no others.

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Just got a call from my Onc's office this afternoon.  She wants me to have a Mammo and MRI before I see her at the end of Feb.  I need to schedule it right aways, as my insurance has approved it and if I don't schedule soon they my remove the approval.  It makes me nervous because this will be my first mammo post Biopsy in Sept, and post recon in Nov.  I am not looking forward to getting squished at all!  But each time I "pass a test" it just confirms that I am a survivor who had kicked BC in the butt.

jinnypel,  According to the stats it's time to knock that devil off your shoulder because if triple neg comes back it would have come back by now.  Once you've had cancer you will never be free of that paranoid inner voice, but you look like you are out of the woods.  Congrats!!!  I'm right behind you and all the other lovely TN survivors here.  Meece, I'm sending positive vibes for "negative" results.  crs319, yay!  You are one chemo infusion closer to being done!  My next is scheduled for Feb 4.  My white and red cells are low.  I guess they are ordering me an iron shot.  You know, I had an uneasy experience.  There is a triple neg survivor from American Cancer Society who has called me a few times and she has asked me if I would like updates on Triple Neg.  I told her "yes".  So, she attended a Triple Neg Doc Talk and called me with the info.  I went and asked her stat questions and she seemed to be inordinately slanted toward the negative.  It kind of shook me up yesterday.  I have a positive sentinel lymph node, I'm sensitive about that uneasy-lol.  I've spoken to two other TN survivors who were very positive.  One was Stage 3 and now works as an oncology nurse.  The other sent me articles about TN but edited out the negative parts on purpose.  I felt uplifted by these ladies.  I'm feeling a little damaged by the American Cancer Society lady.  Maybe I'm just being sensitive.  My positive sentinel node and 7 other negative nodes were removed.  I'm 2b.  Is radiation still necessary after having done chemo?  My onc wants to wait and see?  My PET Scan was clear.  My onc said I could consider myself cancer-free and that chemo is an extra measure of protection.  Doesn't chemo just cream all those micro cancer cells in your entire body?  I've heard that chemo was especially effective in the lymph system.  Also the lady told me that chemo isn't effective in the brain because the brain is encased.  This strikes me as complete rubbish because if cancer can get in there so can chemo!  I feel damaged now!  My onc said that there is a greater chance of me being cured than of having the cancer return.  I find myself feverishly clicking my ruby red slippers together trying to get back to that safe, positive place I'm managing to stay in a good percentage of the time.  I need to erase that woman's negative slant.  I think I'll have inyourshoes and the ACS get me back in touch with the othr two survivors again.  I need to go back and read this thread again.  This is a wonderful thread thread.  I've said it before, but again thank you to all the survivors who thought to come back here and encourage those of us just starting "the journey".  Thank you thank you thank you.  I'm going to reread this thread again.

crs319,  Thanks!  Thanks so much.  I thought the same thing about the brain, it just didn't seem logical what that lady was saying.  I'll tell her I'm good with information now and she doesn't need to call with any more next time she calls.  I had a bilateral masectomy.  The cancer was in my left breast at 12:00 and a 1/2 cm tumor in my sentinel node.  The onc said there were clean margins.  I think he must mean we'll see about radiation under my arm.  I wonder how necessary that is.  Why damage tissue with radiation if there are clean margins?  I had the right breast removed as well because if I can get it in my left I can get it in my right, and I wasn't about to live in anxiety.  It's a completely individual choice, I run so anxious, though.  I remember you mentioned your friend before.  I love it!  I love hearing it again the same as a child loves hearing the same bedtime story over and over   I'll look into the Vivex.  You know, I'm curious:  I've heard about not taking anti-oxidants during chemo as they don't know whether helping healthy cells along also helps cancer cells.  I'm eating a great deal of produce - veggies w/ every meal and in a variety of colors, as well as a couple servings of fruit a day.  Is it worthwhile to eat a healthy diet while doing chemo, or is it counter-productive?  (For a week after an infusion I eat mac'n'cheese nd potatoes and other whitefoods, as soon as the nausea begins to abate I go back to a "healthy" diet).  What is the wisest course of action?