Celebrating a goal achieved!!!
Hello Everyone. Today I turn 50. My oldest turns 21 today also and my youngest is 17. Eight years ago, I was bald, sick from chemo and had mets to my liver, bones and chest. My "stretch" goal was to live to see 50 although at the time it was described as a "lofty" goal by many. I would not have believed at the time that I would have maintained NED for nearly 8 years. I would not have believed at 50 I would be in the best physical shape of my life and living a somewhat normal life Yeah, I wait for the shoe to drop still and I still get Herceptin every three weeks and my finances are damaged as well from cancer ... but in spite of it I am pretty darn good. My girls were 9 & 12 when I was diagnosed and I prayed so hard to see them to adults.
Tomorrow my youngest and I are going to the Dominican Republic for a vacation and it will be a peaceful celebration for me. "Lofty" goals are possible!!
Jen
Comments
-
Jen,
Big congratulations! How wonderful. And 50 is a huge milestone. I was five years out from the stage iv diagnosis when I hit 50. And I turn 52 on the 12th! Yay
Have a great time in the DR. Happy Birthday from another Gemini:)
Love to you...
Rose.
-
Congratulations! I love your post.
-
Jen, great post! Enjoy your vacation and CELEBRATE!!!! Very happy for you!
-
congratulations Jen! Wonderful post! Celebrate!!!!!!
-
Jen, congratulations on your 50th birthday and 8 years NED! Wishing you all the best for more of the same!
-
Such a great feeling !
-
Big congratulations to you. Nothing like defying the odds. I hope that NED stays with you for a very long time. Best wishes and thanks for sharing such an uplifting post.
-
Jen - Happy Birthday and congrats on this milestone! Wishing you many more birthdays.
-
This is so great! Congratulations and happy birthday!!!
-
Absolutely wonderful!!!
-
Congrats Jen!
-
WOOHOO! Congratulations for 8 years NED, and happy 50th birthday. I love to read about people defying the odds. You are an inspiration and give hope to so many others here. Thank you for posting.
Enjoy your vacation.
Happy 21st birthday to your daughter, too. Wow, two milestone birthdays in one day, 21 and 50. I hope you are having a delicious cake to celebrate
Lynne
-
Jen,
Happy 50th Birthday and so happy for your NED status of almost 8 years! It is always so wonderful to hear about women thriving despite having BC. Gives many of us such encouragement. Thanks for sharing
-
Happy 50th Birthday!! Enjoy your trip. Cheers to many more celebrations!!
-
Haveva wonderful trip. And thank you for all your kind posts
-
Happy Birthday to you and DD1!! Lots to celebrate! Have a great trip.
-
Thanks for posting. My boys are 9 and 11 and right now I can only hope to give them a few more years guidance into adulthood. We lost their father to lymphoma last year and now I've been diagnosed. Complete results not yet in but we know not stage 4 but lots of affected lymph nodes and her2+. All things that indicate a hard road. Your post is the sort of inspiration I need to be hearing right now as I sit in my hospital bed dealing with drains following my double mastectomy and lymph node removal
-
The big five-oh!!!!
Jen, happy birthday! It's truly super cool that you reached this milestone. You've come a long way. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. I admire you and you continue to inspire. Birthday blessings for you
Now you can get teased about yer age....
-
Jen,
Happy birthday and congratulations on living well in spite of MBC. I am always thrilled to read inspirational posts like yours. Have fun in the DR.
Caryn
-
Congratulations, Jen!
You made your milestone birthday and are now counting the many blessings that have come during your long life with cancer.
May miracles continue to abound!
Wishing you a long spell of good-enough health, joy and wonders, Stephanie
-
Jen,
Looks like I'm a little late to the birthday party, but congratulations on your double milestones, 21 and 50, WOW! Wishing you many more "pretty darn good" years. 3 cheers for NED, Herceptin and vacation with family. Thank you for showing us all that it is possible.
-
Have a wonderful trip Jen
Terri
-
Congratulations and Happy Birthday to you and your daughter from yet another Geminii.
Enjoy your trip
What is your next stretch goal?
-
Happy birthday to you and your daughter! I am also looking forward to my 50th coming up next month. Enjoy your vacation!
-
Happy Birthday!! Even Happier Vacation!! (I love birthdays, particularly mine, but I believe in vacations)
May there be many many more of both.
-
Happy Birthday and awesome news!! Enjoy the vacation! Post pictures when you get back home
-
celebrating with you! Have a wonderful trip and wishesfor many more years of NED
-
Thank you for sharing this. My son is 7 and I'm newly stage 4. I needed badly to hear that it's possible I can still raise my sweet boy! You've given me hope and I'm crying tears of joy for you. Congrats!
-
Just as I read a sad post and get taken to the down I get your post and feel my mood lifted again. Thank Jen, Very happy 5oth and Cancerversary. Enjoy everything coming your way!
-
awesome news Jen !!!!! Thanks for sharing. Inspirational !!! Enjoy your bda vacation. That rocks !!!!! Live on. Full speed. !!!!!
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team