Is there really hope?

Jadejo -

Stats need some updating so remember that.. also numbers can be skewed as well. I answered one of your first posts, and I am sorry you have to actually " join the club" - you are going through the worst part, which is the beginning.... but the truth is yes there are a lot of unknowns, but there are also a lot of long term survivors out there that don't have cancer return.... I think a person has to actively choose to believe in hope, and then get your physical self and current mental state on board with it. I think it ebbs and flows - especially in the beginning.... I am a little over a year out, and my anxiety about it all has changed, but it still ebbs and flows.... but I have come to terms with understanding if I am in a bad place and can't do the day to day things that prevent cancer from coming back, then I've got work to do for me. That is the process that I am going through right now in addition to figuring out doc appts, tests, MRIs, still have to finish reconstruction,etc. Cancer walked in and changed everything, but for me I have actively chosen to believe in hope, and I pray daily that I can keep me, myself, and I staying on that same page daily as well. It is a process.... peace to you Jadejo

We find hope within ourselves. If you believe there is hope, you will have hope. And if you believe there is no hope, you'll also be right. Nobody can tell you the future, not even tarot cards.

The most recent statistics I've been for breast cancer are from women diagnosed from 2007-2013, and according to those statistics, about 85% of women with regional breast cancer (so those with lymph nodes involved) survive five years. But this data is already 5-10 years old, and thus not including some fairly recent developments in breast cancer treatment. They also don't differentiate between women who take treatment and those who refuse it, and if this board is any indication there are a significant portion of women who either don't complete or refuse some portion of their treatment plan.

As for how many women turn metastatic years down the road, nobody knows the true number. It is a subject of great controversy. The 30% statistic that is often quoted has no study to back it up that I know of, But we do know that 40,000 women die of breast cancer every year in the US. 266,000 are diagnosed every year. This gives a rough estimate of 15% of diagnosed women die of breast cancer. However, of those 40,000, we have no idea when they were diagnosed, what stage they were at diagnosis, or what kind of treatment they had, if any. On the other hand, not everyone who goes metastatic will die of breast cancer, some of them will die with breast cancer, but die of something else. So that 15% doesn't tell you anything about your own chances.

So yeah, nobody knows how survivable breast cancer is in real time. You can only know retrospectively.

I totally get your point though Jo. I was diagnosed stage 3 and have gone round and round trying to figure out my chances of beating this. For a while there it seemed pretty dire, but for whatever reason I'm feeling more optimistic now (probably because chemo is over). Hell, I even have some lung lesions that I know are there but am deciding probably aren't cancer and so I'm not going to worry about them anymore. I think I just got tired of thinking about cancer all the time. Once I turned that corner things got a lot more normal.

Yes. They were found on my initial CT and we did a follow up CT at the end of chemo. The initial CT found 2 1mm lesions and 1 4mm lesion, The follow up found only 1 3mm lesion, which they believe was the 4mm lesion the first time around. It was considered stable. I don't want to keep CT scanning them forever because that too can cause cancer. I think if my surgical pathology shows a good response to chemo, then there really is no need to worry about those lesions. I would have been more concerned if they had either grown or disappeared completely. My onc was content to consider them nothing from the get-go. I insisted on the second CT scan because I was going to skip out on surgery if they seemed cancerous.

Many years ago I started having twitches everywhere,,I feared the worst. ALS. Could not get that thought out of my mind. One day I went into CVS, was paying for items and they asked if I wanted to donate to ALS. I thought that was a sign. I heard of not one but 3 people who passed from ALS, (all during this time)who knew someone I knew. Took that as a sign too. Fast forward,,,not ALS. Taking that as a sign or the Tarot cards, we might as well get out the 1970's Magic * ball and shake it for the answers I'm coming up on a year since surgery. Passed the year of dx last Friday. I still deep down worry what may be lurking in my body, but I force myself to plow through the day. I have many more good days of thinking than bad. My sister who had Inflammatory BC 9 years ago..that is Stage 3 right out, is now NED. I asked her many of the same questions you have. She told me it does get easier...more hours spent not thinking about it than thinking about it. Does she worry about aches and pains? sure does..but she also says she had aches and pains before..just did not mean as much as it does now.

It can be tough to stay sane let alone positive during this time. I did not really take this advise myself..but each morning when you wake, just say you will do the best you can to make it a positive day. To not thing about the "what if's". I do it now...but then..I remember how tough it was to just hold myself together.

You got this..! really. ((hugs))

You got me going with a twice a day walking/exercise routine, Jo, and I 've kept going like the energizer bunny ever since. My plan is to die old, i.e., over age 95. I hope that, if I begin to slack off, say, at 94, I can get you to re-inspire me It's good to have you on this planet.