Stage 3 success story!
So last night I was at an event for the lung cancer alliance promoting the exercise program I do for survivors. A woman came up to my table and was talking to me about my exercise program. She was really excited and asked me to email her the next day and come in and talk to some folks. Turns out she is the Director of the Cancer Suvrivorship Dept of the NYS Health Department. Wow, right?!
It gets better...
She asked me if I am a survivor - I said, yes - breast cancer.
She says.....
"Me too - 23 years - Stage 3 - not a great prognosis and yet, here I am"
I wanted to kiss her face!
Comments
-
Wonderful story, thanks for sharing. Good luck with the NYS Health Dept - sounds like a great lead.
-
OMG, Boy is that what I needed to hear! I would do back flips to be here 23 years from now, well maybe I might need some help to do a back flip! LOL
Awesome!
-
Oh, I love stories like this! Fabulous!!
-
Mary....thanks for sharing....23 years!!! That is a milestone I think we all hope to meet (and surpass)!!!
-
Hey, I'll take it, too. 23 years would put me past the normal life expectancy!
-
Hi Mary.....
Congrats both ways. Stage III was a much worse deal 20 years ago than it is now, so a major accomplishment.
By then, I will have to admit I will be old and wrinkled. I expect however that I will still be out there cycling and skiing. Not sure if my father's cousin is still skiing, but he was in his mid 80s. Was thrilled to have the new, fast quad at Bolton Valley, and even more thrilled he could ski for free. I just saw a video of a guy who cycled 90 miles on his 90th birthday.
Meanwhile, I am still in denial about "middle age".
Thrilled about the speaking opportunity. So important to get the exercise message out there.
The final thing is about offering hope to patients. You walk in so full of life, and on top of your game. People need to see this. Certainly, when I was being diagnosed, I looked at Lance Armstrong and realized if he could do this, I could too. - Claire
-
Wow! 23 years, fabulous.
-
Yay!! Great story!! I needed it today!!
Lexi
-
lol that is great
-
That is awesome! That was sign that your going to be perfect 23 years from now as well:)
-
Absolutely awesome. Thks for posting Mary. I definitely would have hugged her!!! I feel that there are more survivors out there than we realize. Closet survivors.
-
Fantastic story! Thanks for sharing with us. Do you know what type of chemo she had or if she had radiation? I'm thinking it must have been CMF chemo....wasn't that the only chemo available 23 years ago?
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team