Bouncing Back

You're welcome, L.  Congratulations on being right on the doorstep of finishing up rads, and I'm sending you hopes for blessings and peace right now.  The tough stuff is almost finished, then it's on to re-building a beautiful you!

And pass the vodka...

I think that at stage 3 we are all seen as at greater risk of recurrence than stage 1 but i have personally seen several node negative people, who are therefore lower stage, recur and get mets and node positive people do well. Statistics do not reflect other changes we may make to help ourselves, and i know of survivors who changed nothing but are ten and twenty years on, one even still smokes!!



So for me i think its a guessing game for each of us individually, all doctors can do is extrapolate from disease statistics not from people, if you see what i mean?

Lily55, 

i entirely agree, I guess that is what my onc is doing.....but as you say in amongst the statistics is an individual.  The two are really opposing forces.

That is where the difficulty is. Where to place ourselves in that, that is the uncertainty/unpredictability that I speak of. it's really hard. I am not going to be 'blind' to possible recurrence, neither do I want to immerse myself (every day) in that possibility. 

BC really is a rollercoaster of a disease, even when we get off following treatment being concluded (we never really get off). At least I don't. others manage that better perhaps.

Lovely Ladies. If I could add... I am the tiny mouse in the corner, the elephant is LONG gone. In the early days we latch on to anyting that remotely addresses our recurrence chances. We are so vulnerable and anxious it is perfectly normal to have these feelings of anxiety. What helped me was though  was as a stage IIIC  with nasty a** prognosticators, I knew I would get very aggresive treatment. I adored and trusted my On ( he was also my mom's onc, so we went back awhile) The aggresive tx did help , I think overall. While we may get the sink thrown at us, lower stage ladies may not have these options and may experience a  recurrence or not. After completing surgery, chemo, and radiation the reality  is we have over 80% of beating this. 

As I said earlier I am now the mouse. I don't wake up anymore with thoughts and fears of BC. I am enjoying my life more richly then before. I laugh and pray everyday.

I wish you all better and calming  days ahead. They will come before you know it!