Stage 2B with positive nodes

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  • carlads
    carlads Member Posts: 241
    edited April 2013

    Colt45,

    Thank you!

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  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 645
    edited April 2013

    Thank you. I had my PET today and a check in with my Onc who is also ordering an MRI. Bad news will make my whole world completely fall apart.

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  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 645
    edited April 2013

    I got my PET scan results today and it's all clear. I still have to go through a brain MRI because the doc is worried about some of my symptoms, but my spine shows all clear. I also knocked out another Herceptin today. Grateful!! Waiting for MRI to be scheduled.

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  • carlads
    carlads Member Posts: 241
    edited April 2013

    Mariasnow- Congrats that is great news!!

    I'm sure the MRI will be clear as well!!!

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  • Kindergarten
    Kindergarten Member Posts: 4,869
    edited April 2013

    I am doing the Happy Dance for you Maria!!!! Blessings, Kathy

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  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 645
    edited April 2013

    MRI came back NED too!!!! My MRI did show some abnormal activity associated with migraines from "acute hypertension." No surprises there. I feel like I've been in the trenches since 3/3/2012. I'm extremely grateful today.

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  • Kindergarten
    Kindergarten Member Posts: 4,869
    edited April 2013

    Dear Mariasnow, Hooray on the MRI as well!!!! I am so sorry that you had to go through all this stress of tests and waiting. Blessings and Hugs and enjoy your weekend!!!! KathySmile

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  • ahdjdbcjdjdbkf
    ahdjdbcjdjdbkf Member Posts: 645
    edited April 2013

    Thanks so much, Kathy. The wonderful people on this forum really helped me get through. Thanks to all for sharing your experience, hope, and strength.

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited April 2013

    @Mariasnow:



    Big fan of your's. Soooo pleased to read of your continued successful recovery.

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited June 2013

    "For Stage II and III, one-half to two-thirds will develop metastatic disease within five years"



    This claim was in the NY Times magazine article by journslist Peggy Orenstein about our 'feel good war on breast cancer'...



    Is THIS TRUE?



    Why is my wife being told the odds are strongly in her favor???

    What is the truth?

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  • Michele2013
    Michele2013 Member Posts: 350
    edited April 2013

    Colt - It scares the hell out of me too!! From my understanding you can be stage 1 and in a year be stage 4. It truly is a crap shoot. I think the fact that your wife is a grade 1 and only 1 lymph node involvement. There is more hope of no reoccurrence.



    Did you read the part about the numbers being skewed. When giving overall survival rate, patients that have DCIS are included which pretty much have 100% survival rate. Makes the survival number much higher for us all. I don't "think pink" anymore.



    Just my opinion. Hope this makes sense.

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited June 2013

    I re-read a post about this in another thread about the NY Times magazine article. It appears that someone from Metastic Breast Cancer Network made the disconcerting statement ("For Stage II and III, one-half to two-thirds will develop metastatic disease within five years") as part of a commentary on the article that Peggy Orenstein wrote. I mistakenly indicated that Peggy Orenstein wrote that in the original Times article.



    My apologies.



    The statement made by MBCN does not.sound right.



    It's far more grim than even any of the outdated data we've all been told to ignore.



    Might the MBCN be playing politics here / pushing back too hard in response to the disingenuous representation of survival stats that paint things too rosey? 2 wrongs don't make a right----and I'm equally disgusted with MBCN for painting things as more grim than they are to counter the overly rosey claims of others.



    Neither lie is appreciated.



    We all deserve the TRUTH.

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited June 2013

    Another member pointed out to me that the following: "For Stage II and III, one-half to two-thirds will develop metastatic disease within five years" is NOT an MBCN statistic, but rather was cited in 1999 (2--Roses, DF editor, Breast Cancer, Churchill-Livingstone, 1999 p.511) and posted online in 2003. It also appears on www.breastcancerdeadline.org, which has a current countdown to 2020.



    The claim is dated.



    My question is: Is it OUTDATED?



    IF.... it IS outdated------then WHY do people keep using it in CURRENT articles or websites?



    What is the TRUTH?

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  • fd1
    fd1 Member Posts: 239
    edited April 2013

    That stat is absolutely not true if you are considering stage II-IIIa.  I'm not sure about the other parts of stage III which are not usually considered "early-stage." 

    Take everything you read with a grain of salt.  I have read in countless articles stating that having a mastectomy increases your chance of long-term survival or makes chemo unnecessary.  I think most women would have a mastectomy if it meant not having chemo.

    All studies that I have read have shown a five-year. disease-free status for stage II-IIIa, node-positive breast cancer as being around 75% to 85%, which is in line with what our oncologists have told us.  Disease-free means no local recurrence and no distant recurrence in five years.    So forget about that stupidity!

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  • bluepearl
    bluepearl Member Posts: 961
    edited April 2013

    Stage 11 and stage 111 cover alot of terrotory too. Stage 11a is a lot different from stage 111c.  Stage 11b is a lot different from stage 111b. Grade 1 usually means slow-growing but it is the mitotic rate which is important..as is ki67. Not one size fits all. Now, even a positive node, up to 3 in fact, isn't considered horrible. Big tumors can be slow growing and small tumors can be very aggressive....so size isn't the only consideration either. I think most of your wife's tumor is favorable, especially the ER/PR+ and hers-.....means hormonal meds will be her new best friend and they can last quite a bit longer even after she is done. My worrying about a second breast cancer didn't stop it from happening, so I don't worry anymore. Life is a crap-shoot...no matter who you are, no matter what happens to you. Like children, one should live in the day, in the present, enjoy whatever it offers you or you offer it. It is too easy to get tangled up in statistics, get depressed/scared, and forget that we are NOT statistics. There's a date on the calendar for ALL of us. Maybe it's a truck barreling down the road, or a jammer....who knows?.....just live!!!!

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited April 2013

    To bluepearl & rc1:



    The angels sent you to me today.

    Thank you.

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  • placid44
    placid44 Member Posts: 497
    edited April 2013

    Colt,

    My breast surgeon said survival odds for ALL stage II women (i.e. one, two or three positive nodes) is 85%.  If your wife has only one positive node, her odds should be higher.

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited April 2013

    @placid44:



    Thank you. I needed support today. You came through.



    God bless you.

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited April 2013

    Bump

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  • Alicethecat
    Alicethecat Member Posts: 535
    edited April 2013

    Hi Colt

    If you have a look at http://www.predict.nhs.uk/

    I think you will get a nice surprise.

    Alice

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited April 2013

    @Alicethecat:



    Thank you for that. You are sweet. I hope those calculators are right.



    Bless you.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2013

    And those stats don't ever report the other beneficial things we are doing to increase our chances for survival. They don't include women who exercise, those who keep their weight manageable, if they smoke/drink etc. 

    I figure that my chances for survival based on my dx start with the credible stats I find online, and that I'm increasing them every day that I make good food choices, exercise, and all the rest of that. 

    Claire in Arizona

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  • placid44
    placid44 Member Posts: 497
    edited April 2013

    Predict is saying 80 percent survival five years and 70 percent for ten years. I'm not crazy about that.

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited April 2013

    @claireinaz:



    I like how you think. There's a report out about how breast cancer survivors AREN'T doing their exercise "x" number of years post diagnosis...



    If you are one of those eating right and exercising, you figure to be on the favorable end of any range.



    Love you sig.



    Bless you and continued great health.

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  • placid44
    placid44 Member Posts: 497
    edited April 2013

    ...for me, I mean, since I am triple negative, high ki67, etc.

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited April 2013

    @placid44:



    Predict does offer this disclaimer:



    " As we are all different, for the more complete picture in your case, you should speak to your own specialist."



    I would rely on your own doctors more. They know your specific case best. There are variables that are maybe more favorable in your case that cannot be accounted for when you plug your specs into the calculator.



    The calculator may also not be giving full benefit to our specific chemo regimen, as it's not completely up to the minute data.

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  • placid44
    placid44 Member Posts: 497
    edited April 2013

    Colt45 - Thanks, makes sense. I am just in a negtive mood today. I want certainty that does not exist...

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  • Colt45
    Colt45 Member Posts: 771
    edited April 2013

    @placid44:



    I've been struggling lately, too.



    Yep. I want that certainty, too. Funny thing, nobody ever gets that certainty. Nobody.



    We're likely in a better position than our minds are allowing us to think.

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  • InspiredbyDolce
    InspiredbyDolce Member Posts: 1,181
    edited May 2013

    Colt and Placid - it must be something in the air today!  I too want that certainty.  Especially when I'm doing my workouts, blending the kale, foregoing the diet coke and sweet rolls.  :)

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  • fd1
    fd1 Member Posts: 239
    edited May 2013

    Yes, nobody on this planet has any certainty!  The problem is that we are keenly aware of our uncertainty.  The trick is to train your mind to live in the moment which is easier said than done, but possible nonetheless.

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