Hope and strenght from stage III and grade I survivars.

lovujja · March 2013

Hi all,

I am curious to know about Stage III and grade I BC survivars.

I will appreciate if you can share the age you were diagnosed with BC, kind of treatment plan you had, current medication you are taking, and anything you are doing outside the western medicine: taking natural medicine/ getting holistic treatment/ on any new diet.

Please feel free to share anything that you feel helped you to keep healthy and happy and give hope and strength to new bC survivars.

Thank you very much.

LOVUJJA

JudyO · March 2013

Stage 3 and grade 1 lobular dx may 2008..age 56. Coming up on 5 years now. Had bmx, dd ac and dd t, 25 rads, and arimidex. Not doing anything natural. Sometimes I wonder if the chemo was worth it. From what I read it may not work well on grade 1. I am not sure if it was the chemo or the arimidex but I am not the same energetic person I was before all of this. My onc strongly felt I needed the chemo. Wish they would have had something for stage 3 like the onco type test they do for stage 1 and stage 2 to tell me the benefits of chemo. Overall my health has been great and most days I can forget about my cancer. On occasion I do think about the next 5 years and hope that I will not have a recurrence but it does not consume my thoughts anymore. The initial treatments are only a distant memory at this point. Best of luck if you are just starting this journey.

MaxineO · March 2013

I was stage 3, grade 1, diagnosed at 38. I am now 2+ years out of diagnosis. Had single mx, AC+T dose dense, rads, and tamoxifen.

I try to eat better, exercise more. I definitely feel like I have aged considerably, which I suspect is largely a result of SEs of tamoxifen. I take vitamin D, calcium, fish oil, and baby aspirin.

Stage 3 is a hard pill to swallow, but it really does get better after a while. I was so desperately scared at diagnosis, and I trudged throught treatment, but slowly, I have felt better and better. I can't say that I don't think about cancer every day (several times a day), but I have made my peace with it and carry on in spite of it.

Where are you in treatment? Help from the women on these boards played a huge part in my getting through treatment and beyond. Wishing you ALL the best!!!

lovujja · March 2013

Hi Judy0 and Maxine0,

Thank you very much for sharing.

It gives me courage and hope to deal with BC when I hear from others who has same diagnosis. I had Bil- mx, AC+T dose dense, rads, and tamoxifen.

I was diagnosed at age 40 and had lots of LN positive. When they did LN biopsy found nothing comses surprise at surgery. I was diagnosed on 11/11 and it will be 1 year of tamoxifen On April 24. I visit this website often. I had been wondered if that nasty chemo was worth it to take. But that was what Mayo clinic had for me. Before chemo therapy they said my grade is I to II after surgery they said 95% tumor had grade I, basically very low grade. A lot of things I didn't pay attention on the begining, it was totally shock to me to have BC without any family history.

It is almost one and half year from the diagnosis, I think body and mind some how start to heal after i finished active treatment. But back of the head i am always thinking about BC and makes me scare if it comes back. Having two little one at home makes very sad and panic to think about tomorrow. I am using massage, yoga and accupunture and which has been very helpful.

I have to tell that if i didn't find this site i could have gone crazy. Listening to other survivars gives me hope and courage and do my best for my body and mind.

overjoyed4life · March 2013

Hello,

I was Dx, 6/5/2010, ILC, chemo for 6 months, (it didn't respond well). Right mastectomy, Jan. 2011. 6cm, Stage IIIc, Grade 1, 22/29 nodes positive, margins not clear, ER+/PR+, HER2-. Ended radiation treatments, Mar. of 2011. Started aremidex but had to switch to aromisin. I have my zometa treatments every 3 months. Glad to be here, but still feel like I'm 90 instead of 50.

karen1956 · March 2013

Dx 3 months before turning 50!!! not the way I had planned on celebrating the big 50!!! Bilat, chemo, rads, ooph, AI's. I endured them for 3 1/2 years....so many side effects that I finally said QOL of life was more important....this month is 3 years since I quit the AI's.....and I am doing better than I was on them....Am I the same person I was before DX.....absolutely NOT!!!....but life goes on.....Last month I celebrated 7 years since Dx....I work 3 days/week and volunteer....lately, I've been busy taking care of my parents and getting ready to move them near me, so its nice to have the extra time for travelling....in the 7 years since Dx, I've seen my oldest DD graduate college and get married...my DS finish high school, attend college, work and travell, and my youngest DD finished elementary school, middle school and is now in 9th grade...and I got to see her become a Bat Mitzvah......I don't live and breathe BC, but I do volunteer with Komen and Sharsheret and of course I still come here....if I can help someone just starting this journey, that is important to me.....The knowledge that the beast can reoccur is always in the back of my mind, but I don't loose sleep over it!!! The only time I really stress is when I'm approaching a follow up with my onc (now on a 6 month schedule)...I see my onc next week.....I feel good..but I felt good when I was Dx, so feeling good isn't a guarantee that all is good...though I know in reality NED is still a good friend!!!! May we all grow old together!!!!

LKSHER · March 2013

I have surgery coming up on Tues. but they predict me at 2b or 3a. Definite nodes involved and I am grade 1 also....so far. IDC in both breasts and LCIS and a bunch of pre- existing benign stuff and some new stuff. Anyway.....thanks for making this thread.

KittyDog · March 2013

I was DX with a 10 cm. tumor and one lymph node Nov. 24 2009. I had Ductal, Grade 2 and ER+PR+. I had 4 rounds of AC and 3 rounds of Taxol. I had a UMX after chemo followed by radiation. I started tamoxifen, then had an ooph and Hysterectomy. Started Femara but six months later switched to arimidex. I just had my yearly scans...yes late 3 months and they were fine. I will celebrate my 3 years the end of March which was when I had my MX and my Dr. considered me cancer free.

lovujja · March 2013

Thank you! Thank you very much!! If we able to hear there are a lot of survivars out there and doing great, it gives us-as a new survivar hope and strength. I found having inner strength is very important to heal any disease or difficulty situation.

All the ladies who have been doing great for years after cancer treatment, wish you many many happy and healthy years ahead. And to new survivars-lets have many many healthy and happy life together.

Thanks to all.

hopefour · March 2013

My BC was also grade 1 and sadly was missed on two mammograms...some days I get sick to my stomach when I think of it....if it had not been missed I would have been a lower stage with this slow of a cancer!! I hear the good and bad about grade 1...the worst being grade 1 that has gotten to the LN as grade 1 may not respond well to chemo. I did 12 weekly taxol first, followed by FAC once every three weeks for a total of 4 rounds follow by rads and femera. Very hard to know what to do as far as treatments when dealing with a grade 1, but I decided this treatment that MD Anderson recommended due to their stats in regards to grade 1! I have followed all this with changing my life style, diet and exercise as well as supplements. I too love to hear from grade 1, stage 3 BC sisters that are years out...always need the encouragement!!!

Hope and strenght from stage III and grade I survivars.

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