Anybody know lonnnng term ER+ survivors?

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ColleenS80
ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
edited November 2018 in Life After Breast Cancer

I read a comment the other day that really depressed me and I guess I just need some encouragement.

This person said that hormone positive bc is always going to come back, you can never get rid of it, it’s just that some women die of other causes before it manages to resurface.

Do you think there’s any truth to this?? As someone who is 38, I would like to live another 40+ years, and that comment makes it sound pretty much impossible. And thinking about it, I realized I’ve not seen anyone who was diagnosed young and is now much older with no recurrence or metastasis.

Do you know anyone who was diagnosed young and never had it come back in a long life?

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  • KathyL624
    KathyL624 Member Posts: 217
    edited September 2018

    I know how you feel! I was diagnosed at 38 and am now 41. My gynecologist told me her best friend was diagnosed at 35 and is still clear 15 years later. Comforted me a bit but I want much more! My family needs me for a long time!

    I know the comment you are talking about and it’s stuff like that that sends me into a panic

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  • ColleenS80
    ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
    edited September 2018

    Kathy, exactly! I see a lot of people celebrating 10 or 15 years, and while that is truly wonderful and I don’t mean to take away from it—in 15 years I’ll only be 53! I want more time with my family! It makes me panic too :(

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  • nowheregirl
    nowheregirl Member Posts: 894
    edited September 2018

    I was dx'd at the age of 39 with ER/PR positive HER2 negative IDC. My tumor was measured 3.5 cm and 2 nodes were positive. Did 12 x weekly Taxol followed by 4 x every 3 week AC before lumptectomy and another 12 x weekly Taxol followed by rads after surgery.

    Now it's 13 years ago. I am 52 y.o. now. No signs of the devil coming back and I am not going for the follow-ups any more. I have completely graduated. You will be where I am soon and trust me, there will come the time where you will barely think about cancer.


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  • InnaB2018
    InnaB2018 Member Posts: 1,276
    edited September 2018

    Colleen, my husband's aunt was diagnosed at 35. Stage 3, 5 affected nodes. ER positive. That was 30 years ago. Still disease free.

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  • ksusan
    ksusan Member Posts: 4,505
    edited September 2018

    A friend in her 30s was diagnosed and treated 21 years ago.

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  • Trishyla
    Trishyla Member Posts: 1,005
    edited September 2018

    My mother in law was diagnosed in 1987 at 43. She had a mastectomy and chemo only, no rads. She's still going strong 31 years later. It does happen.

    Here's hoping for a very, very, very long life for you.

    Trish

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  • ColleenS80
    ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
    edited September 2018

    Thank you so muchladies. I really needed to hear some hope today. <3


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  • DATNY
    DATNY Member Posts: 358
    edited September 2018

    CollernS, you are her2+ too. Why Herceptin hasn't been around long enough to fully understand very long term efficacy, current data indicates that it works by stimulating the immune system. This should have a lasting impact.

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  • ColleenS80
    ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
    edited September 2018

    DATNY- encouraging! Thank you :)

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  • Asaka
    Asaka Member Posts: 13
    edited November 2018

    Bump

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  • wallan
    wallan Member Posts: 1,275
    edited November 2018

    Hey:

    I was dx at 41 with stage 3a ER+/PR+ Her2- and 2 positive nodes, grade 3.

    I am now 55. Im still here and no recurrance of this cancer yet. So its been 14 1/2 years.

    I have heard of one women having hormone positive BC in one breast and then again in another breast a few years later in her 40s and died at 90 years old.

    I know a 60 year old woman who had hormone positive IDC BC 30 years ago and just had a mastectomy. She is fine.

    So there is hope. I cling to it.

    wallan




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  • DebAL
    DebAL Member Posts: 877
    edited November 2018

    congrats wallan! Great news! Let's all keep on clinging to hope.

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  • dtad
    dtad Member Posts: 2,323
    edited November 2018

    Hi all...I have a dear friend who was diagnosed with ILC over 15 years ago. Her tumor was 5cm and she had 5 positive lymph nodes. She had a BMX, refused chemo but did 5 years of an aromatase inhibitor. IMO its a crap shoot!

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  • Scrafgal
    Scrafgal Member Posts: 631
    edited November 2018

    My friend's great-aunt was diagnosed in her early 40s, had a mastectomy and was told to go home and prepare to die. She died last month at the ripe old age of 104! That story inspired me all through my treatment--when she was still alive! I read that post about bc always coming back--not true! As I tell my students, the risk of an event is something that can be calculated (and we know we can find those numbers), but risk is not certainty!

    Also, Ruby Dee (great actress) was diagnosed in her late-40s/early 50s and died of natural causes in her 90s...

    See this BCO thread for inspiring stories of 10-year survivors: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/5/topics/...



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