STAGING

Wow, that is interesting.  I always thought if you had a reccurrence you were "restaged" as Stage IV. 

Well I can clearly see now that my initial post was way, way too hostile so I have tried to edit it here without deleting it.....I try soo hard not to write a negative post but this time I failed!   So here is the new post:

I agree with hillck...and also don't mean to sound argumentative, but I believe this point, though true, is not necessarily relevant (though I recognize that it may be a helpful way for some to see their cancers).  Once a persons stage I, II, or III cancer metastasizes to an organ, it has the potential to be terminal (though hopefuly a chronic condition). I have read that being diagnosed initially stage IV from the get go can have a better outcome than someone diagnosed at an early stage who then goes on to stage IV but to get technical about stages not changing on an emotional level may be semantics blowing in the wind....stage III metastasizing to the bones and stage III moving onto stage IV.....  same thing to a breast cancer patient, or more to the point, woud be the same thing to me,  if I were to end up in this situation. I hope and wish that none of us ever have to BE in this situation but I also hope that someday soon there will be no need for stages because there will be a real cure for all of us....that is what we all should hope for.  Because there is only one stage we all want to be in and that is the INH stage (it never happened) or better yet the IHBIC stage (it happened but I'm cured) stage....

There you are, Many....I was wondering where you went.  I didn't see any other post from you after your first one, but then again I usually hang around in the III forum only.  I'm glad to hear you and your wife are getting along ok.  Chemo will cause tough days, things will get better so hang in there & come here often.

Many -

Like the others have said, I'm not sure exactly what point you were making.  Please come back and clarify so we can understand.

I do have to disagree with your experience, however.  Your wife underwent surgery at the beginning of treatement and sugery is when the pathological staging is performed.  For those of us who go through neoadjuvant chemo, the best we get at initial dx is a clinical staging based on scans.  Scans are not absolute, unlike sugical pathology.  In my case, my "restaging" moved me from a IIIa (clinical) to IIIc because there was more involvement than the scans detected.

Faithfulheart -

What Kathleen said may be harsh but, unfortunately, it's true.  When my onc and I were trying to decide if I should have move chemo after surgery his big hesitation was that I didn't have any signs of cancer.  So I asked him why don't we wait until I show symptoms?  He told me that once I become stage IV the cancer is terminal.  I would not be cured.  It was a real wake up for me.  That is why we try so hard to rid ourselves of the cancer before it metastizes.

Many -

After I wrote my post I went and read the ACS text again.  I still don't see what point the ACS is trying to make.  I think it is misleading. But now I understand that you were just repeating what ACS was saying.

The whole purpose of staging to aid in determining treatment.  For instance, the NCCN guidelines use staging to determine the general treatment plan.  So it follows that if you were stage III and then progressed with mets, you are now stage IV and must be treated appropriately for that stage. 

Restaging also qualifies us for trials.  Using myself as an example, if I was dx'ed with mets I would be considered stage IV and qualify for trials using Parp Inhibitors which have been found to be effective against BRCA cancers.

I'm sorry that my comment hurt, I should have been more sensitive and not soo harsh.....I certainly don't wish to make another stage III-er not feel safe nor would I want to make anyone in the stage IV forum upset....  I do think at the moment we are safe but always at times worried about progression to a less safe place....sorry Faithfulheart!

Kathleen. If the post is going to cause people pain on this board maybe you can go back and edit it to make it less harsh and more hopeful? Just a thought.

sherri, i am hopping on your mantra faster than the speed of sound. faithfulheart, hop in! (and anyone else who likes this also).

 it is tough stuff, isn't it. thank God we have each other to lean on.

xo

j