Breast Cancer 1983. I am 75. Am I the oldest survivor?

mamason, DCIS stands for Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, In other words, very early stage cancer which hasn't yet become invasive. From your description of what you had you are likely to have had IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma) given that you had lymph node involvement. Great to hear that you have had no recurrence.

Mamason, it means Ductal Cancer in Situ, which is cancer that has not invaded the surrounding breast tissue. It is contained in a kind of capsule. That's where most cancer starts from. Of course eventually DCIS can break out and that's when the dangerous cancer begins. Not sure if that makes sense though! I just turned 69, so I'm not too far behind you age wise. I had a crash course in breast cancer 6 years ago, after my diagnosis. I think the acronyms are the hardest, because there are so many of them.

Mamason, I so know what you mean about age!

Mamason, thank you for sharing your story. It's encouraging to read your posts. I'm so glad that you are cancer free and wish you many more years of health and happiness.

Great to hear from you, gives me hope! I know a lady who was ned for 26 years before presenting with a new primary in the other breast. But no mets and she's doing great now. 34 years is fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

Hi,

A friend at church is in her 50th year as a survivor! Is that a record? She is now 84 and loving life.

Hugs to all you wonderful women!!!

Hogwarts

Alice -- welcome! You may want to post your question in the Research, News, Clinical Trials and Study Results forum. Someone there may have an answer for you!

And cheers to many more happy years ahead!

--The Mods

ms Phil diagnosed idc stage2 3mo chemo before n after Lmast reconstruction But body rejected the expander after only 1 then removed then we got married Our 2nd marriages then 7wks rads then 5yrs on Tamoxifen. Praise God. Positive helped me thru saying I Will get thru this healed. God Bless Us All

Hey Mamason1942 Your post is sunshine to anyone who is depressed right now .I am clinging to my faith in this phase of my life .I am so unsure about everything in life right now .Nothing excites you once you become aware of your mortality .I really pray to God everyday to help me swim through this storm .Thanks for coming back .Living a good life of 75 years is a big gift of God .Hope you have many more good years to come

A good friend's mom, Nellie, was diagnosed in 1956 while waiting for the birth of her daughter, my friend. They literally took the baby from her after being born, gave her to her sister to care for, and did a radical, radical mastectomy immediately.. She had a recurrence about 10 years later and had Cobalt treatments the precursor to radiation. She was not expected to live and doctors did not hesitate to tell her and her husband so. Her parents bought the house next door to them thinking they would have to take care of the children when she passed..

She SURVIVED and died last year of old age in her mid-90s! She was a SIXTY YEAR survivor!!

I get tears in my eyes every time I think of this strong woman who had absolutely no emotional support as no one talked about breast cancer in the 1950s. Her daughter told me her mom had to wear heavy, rubber prostheses that could only be held up in a longline bra. When they developed lighter weight prostheses in the 1980s, she was so happy.

She also had lymphedema for all those years.

You’re awesome too!! God Bless you!

@Denise-G: That’s an amazing story/experience!