When do we get to not "have" cancer anymore?

I asked my oncologist this very question when I saw her last month. I said "if you were me, knowing what you do about my breast cancer, would you say you HAVE breast cancer or you HAD breast cancer". She said "HAD"

I am at the same stage of treatment as you are. Once I finish radiation I am going to move forward as cancer free until someone tells me differently. This is for my own mental health. I realize that even on a scan some lingering cells could be hanging around but I'm just not going there. We've gone through this treatment so now we should live our lives to the fullest. Just my own opinion. Wishing you all the best!!

It's all semantics.  If a physician were to say to me "you have breast cancer but I find no evidence of disease," I would slug her/him. 

I HAD chickenpox and I hope I never get shingles, just like I HAD breast cancer and hope it's gone forever.

I say "had." Maybe it is not technically correct, but sure makes me feel better!

I say had and consider it after my BMX.  Still on arimidex, but I consider that a preventative not a treatment.  While there is no universal cure for breast cancer for many people going through (insert your treatment here)  is "curative" for their breast cancer. 

My hospital, the University of Michigan, uses the CURE word.  I CHERISH IT!!  And I use it.  And they use it.   And they used it early...when I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Triple Positive, my breast surgeon looked at me and said, "We can cure you."  I had those word painted on my dining room wall 10 inches high.  I am looking at them now.  I looked at them all through chemo on my darkest days when I wanted to die. 

I may not always believe it, but I cherish those valuable words!

Denise-G, I'm with you. My onc said that as far as he was concerned, I am 'cured'. I'll take that, and live my life to the fullest. If bc ever comes back, I will deal with it then, not before. I refuse to think about it, and will not live expecting the worst all the time. That's not life. That's waiting for the axe to fall - not a way to live. It steals your joy, and makes you miserable. The bc drama is behind me now. I'm not a cancer patient any more, life is wonderful again, and that's how I see it.

Kelly, doctors say what they say, but the truth is nobody knows until he/she dies of something else. But after 3 clean scans, I'm feeling pretty darn on top of this s*@t. KNOCK ON WOOD!

In my world (my mind lol) I had it and until a test or Dr tells me different it will stay that way. IF I get a recurrance or mets, I will HAVE it again. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

 I always said I was being treated for cancer or in treatment for cancer. Now I say I am not longer in treatment for cancer. Those are the facts. 

In one convo I said to my onc, "I have cancer" and he quickly corrected "have" to "had." I looked at him and told him that was all very nice, but we both know it doesn't quite work so rosily. Then he got serious, we talked prognosis, and he insisted that, although I was technically correct, he felt that I had a very good chance of living many years, including a normal life span. 

We are in a weird grey zone with this beast. Although I know the bitch could be back any day, now or far in the future, I choose to consider myself healthy (not cured, but healthy) as long as I feel good and the docs can't find any cancer cells. I figure that if nobody can see the cancer and it isn't bothering me, then it is completely fair to consider it absent.

Are we considered as having advanced BC or just locally advanced BC ?  I was stage 3A............

Just wondering......doctors here are very gloomy and use scare tactics so i need to hear your Onc comments...thank you

Lily55 - I am sorry you have to endure gloomy doctors...that is a cross.

I met 3 women where I get treated during Chemo.  All 3 were Stage IV given less than 6 months to live by doom and gloom doctors.  All 3 of them fired their Oncologists and found my Oncologist.   They were from all different parts of the country and had not met each other.  They had been alive 7 years, 14 years, and 19 years respectively.  They said all the doctors said the same thing.  Their new Onc gave them hope- they felt that was the difference.  Those 3 women continue to inspire me when I have those terrified days...

My onc likes to tell me my BC is a puzzle caused by many factors, not just one thing.  I smoked for 25 years but not heavy (less than 1/2 pack/day)- I have a family history of 2nd degree relatives with BC on both sides; I had a very stressful job for 10 years, had a very large baby in my late 30's.  She doesn't like to pin this to any one cause and I guess that makes sense.  I think the BIGGEST risk is being female.  Oh and I left out - DENSE breasts !!! Really -- isn't that enough? 

Kelly - the best thing I heard was when I was in my hospital room after mast surgery, and my nurse said "the cancer is gone".  It is good to think of it gone right from the day either surgery or chemo/radiation is done.  

Jennifer & Colt are right... I'm not convinced there is much rhyme or reason to who gets BC. I'm only 30 years old. I have never smoked nor drank, I eat incredibly healthy. I was vegetarian for most of my life, I avoid all food additives and chemicals, eat mostly organic & use mostly organic personal care products... I had a baby in my mid-20's and I breastfed for over 3 years. I've never used any kind of birth control or hormonal replacements. I only used homemade deodorant and non-underwire bras. I am a healthy weight and have always been moderately or very active. I can't think of a single thing I could have done differently to prevent getting cancer, because there's not a single factor in my lifestyle etc. that "should" have led me to have BC. I am a woman and I had breasts... that's all there was to it. It's still hard not to blame myself and agonize over what I could have done to cause it though!