Never hearing the word Cured!!!!

shanagirl, I think it might mean that the Als or tamoxifen will work better on you.  I did read that somewhere. Check with your onc. I'd love to know if that is in fact true.

So it might actually mean just the opposite because the Als/tamoxifen did their job.

SherriG; 

Your line about...'claiming I am Stage 0 until further notice', is the best line I have ever heard!!!!!

I have never really thought of myself that way but if you don't mind I am going to use it from here on in!!!! 

Thx so much.

Fondly, Heather

Hope you don't mind me chiming in.

I'm ONLY Stage 1 and I've NEVER heard the word "cured" from any of my physicians.  Here is a recap of what they have said when I've asked about my prognosis:

Radiation Oncologist #1: "You're not on the Titanic, you're probably on the Queen Mary."  My reply: "Oh..."

Radiation Oncologist #2:  "You'll probably die from something else."  My reply, "Okay..."

Breast Surgeon:  "Haven't lost anyone YET with your pathology."  I say, "That sounds encouraging."

Radiologist who did biopsy and initially called to tell me I had breast cancer: "It's breast cancer, but don't worry."   I say, "Yeah, right!"

My beloved internist:  "I think you're going to beat this breast cancer, but MY concern for YOU now is, despite your being 'healthy,' how do we keep you from dying from heart disease because we threw you into early menopause and you'll be taking an AI down the road?"  I answer, "Thanks alot for your candor and giving me something else to worry about!"

 Medical Oncologist: "You SHOULD do well.  But YOU know, WE can NEVER be sure with breast cancer."  As I look around the office and my mind goes off to some distant and dark place, I have no reply.

I'm so happy all of my doctors are on the same page.  None of them said what I wanted to hear the most and that is, "Don't worry!  I'm giving you a money back guarantee that you'll be dancing at your GRANDCHILDREN'S weddings!"  I'm not even up to dancing at my CHILDREN'S weddings!

Better yet, wouldn't we all like to live to see the day when we visit our doctors and they greet us by saying, " You no longer have to worry, they've found a cure." 

My prayers are with all of my breast cancer sisters. 

There IS a spell check if you want it....it's the last coloured icon above the reply box as you enter your post. We are so used to programs that do it automatically that we forget it has to be "asked for".

Now here's the thing...I am on NOTHING!!! My surgeon took it into his own hands to say that the double mast was enough, and based on my ER+/PR+, HER2- I didn't need any further treatment. He said to "save the big guns until next time".

It was by coming to this forum that I learned I should be on something, at least Tamoxifen! I demanded to see an onc and she said that I really slipped between the cracks. Too late for chemo and rads as I saw her 7 months after surgery...sigh. So I wait. For the big guns. That's probably why I still come to the board and learn so much.

Hi,

 I also had an ooph by chioce at 42, also dx at 40. Was on tamox but periods returned with avengence so onco said he would start goserlin injections as strongly er+ and pr+, my reply "I have no need for my ovaries, 3 kids don't think I want any more how about you whip them out?" he said "ok I agree". 6 weeks later they where out now on arimidex.

Gynea also agreed best decision for me, do I miss them NO!! okay there is downsides to no oestrogen-- hot flushes, joint pain etc but hell I'm alive.

Did you know that nearly 50% of those of us dxed with invasive bc go on to develop mets (see Cancermonthly.com), and - as in 1971 - 80% of bc metzers succumb within five years (see NYTimes, Forty Years' War - Pledged to Find Cancer Cure, but Advances Prove Elusive)?

Looked at positively, that means that slightly more than 50% of us don't get mets and 20% of metzers live five years or more (but we don't know who) - so 70% of us have at least five more years in this particular life lottery; but it's still shocking that despite all the torture they put us through, our chances of escaping mets are basically 50:50 and that nothing has changed in respect of mets survival since 1971.

Actually, bearing in mind that bc is the oldest known cancer and, according to an Egyptian papyrus, its treatment was cauterization with a tool called the ‘fire drill' (see Wikipedia), very little has changed since 1600 BC.

You'd think, wouldn't you, after 3,611 years that the disease would have been eradicated years ago; or, at the very least, that there would be a vaccine to prevent it, gentler ways of treating it and, because 50% of us are going to develop mets no matter what we do, that the survival stats for metzers would have improved dramatically over time?

There is no cure, and because none of us can know which side of the 50:50 we fall into it is just a matter of taking each day as it comes and being thankful for it.

BTW I thought this was interesting. Looking at breast cancer by molecular subtypes

Luminal A
ER+ and/or PR+, HER2-, low Ki67
Prevalence 42-59%

Luminal B
ER+ and/or PR+, HER2+ (or HER2- with high Ki67)
6-19%

Triple negative/basal-like
ER-, PR-, HER2-, cytokeratin 5/6 + and/or HER1+
Prevalence 15-20%

HER2+
ER-, PR-, HER2+
Prevalence 7-12%

Source for more details: http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/SubtypesofBreastCancer.html

I have a question regarding the 50% mets. If 50% get mets why is the current survival rate for breast cancer at 90% for 5 years, 82% for 10 years and 75% for 15 years. These are the current stats from the American Cancer Society and it also states not to look at the figures that are years out because they do not reflect current treatments. If 50% get mets you would think at least by year 15 the stat would have a survival of only 50%. Also I can't understand if 50% get mets what are the figures we get from adjuvant online, they are usually much better than 50%.

50% sounds high to me.  I am choosing to focus on the following articles. 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-08-12-breast-cancer-relapse_N.htm

http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/25a522.htm

After my last post I left the sight and took a long bubble bath. I thought some about this thread. I think as well as finding a cure they need to find a way to tell people if/when they are cured. Most stage 1 are cured, many stage 2 are cured and a lot of stage 3 are cured. Often the surgery is the cure. But right now they can't tell who is "cured" so they push treatments on everyone. At least at stage 1 and 2 the onco test is starting to give them an idea of their status. But us stage 3 women are always in limbo. I also think they need to develop something that better tells us at what year we can breathe a little easier. A recent study out of MD Anderson had the stage 1, 2, and 3 recurrences about the same in the 5 to 10 year period. They said the bad stage 3 women occur in the first 5 years. The biggest recurrence in the 5 to 10 year period was stage 3 grade 1 tumors. That made sense to me since grade 1 tumors are slow growers and probably take longer to present as stage 4. The grade 3 fast growers no matter what stage will go to stage 4 quicker usually.

Judy, you do know that there is NO cure for breast cancer, right? You may be NED, but you are never cured until you die of something else.

caaclark :Thanks for those links. In the first study Brewster notes that her study didn't include women who relapsed before five years, so her study is very good news for 5 yr survivors. (Getting to 5 yrs is the problem for faithfulheart, myself and others!!)

The second study showed overall 5-year survival was 71.9% while 5-year disease-free survival was similar, at 71.4%, which is similar to the Cancermonthly.com stats (which boils down to 70% of us having at least five more years in this particular life lottery, 50% of which will live to old age without mets).

JudyO wrote: "right now they can't tell who is "cured" so they push treatments on everyone". Instead of "cured" perhaps "not likely to relapse" is the better word.

faithfulheart :Just put yourself in the 50% who will go on forever and never relapse and get on with your life! It's pointless worrying about something that may never happen - you only have to look at the stats for motor vehicle accidents to freak out, but that doesn't stop you driving, does it?

For uplifting stories, look at the 5yr survival thread and imagine yourself adding your story to it in a few years' time.

There is no cure - YET - but it's coming. Keep smiling, keep hopeful and keep faith.