Any Long Time Survivors with Aggressive Tumors
Hi,
l've been lurking on this forum for a while now since my stage IV diagnosis out of the gate with bone mets 1.5 years ago. This forum is an incredible resource, and I've learned so much fro all of you.
Since I had a highly aggressive (Ki-67 35%) grade 3 ER+ low PR+ tumor (?luminal my MO first treated me with chemo which made my low volume of bone mets no longer visible on PET. We then proceeded with a mastectomy which showed 20% residual disease in the breast and multiple positive lymph nodes. I remain NEAD on Ibrance + Letrozole.
Despite excellent results so far, I am constantly waiting for the shoe to drop because of the aggressive nature of my cancer. From what I gather it looks like most patients who achieve long-term NED are either HER2+, have a single met or indolent HR+ cancers which respond to hormonal therapy for a long time.
Has anyone with similar stats experienced long-term remission? I need some encouragement here!
Dx 2/14/2019, IDC, Left, 4.5cm, Stage IV, metastasized to bone (de novo), Grade 3, ER+/PR+, HER2-
Tx DDAC x 4, Taxol x 12, mastectomy + RT, I/L
Comments
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Hello. I am not sure how you want us to define long term, but I am 3 1/2 years from mets to liver. Also grade 3, ER+, PR- (now <10%), HER2-, pretty sure luminal B. Now with FGFR1 amplification mutation.
Feel fine.
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Crazycatlady, we're sorry you have to be here for this reason, but glad you decided to join us. Welcome to our Community!
If you have any questions for us, please don't hesitate to reach out via the private message function, we're here for you.
Best,
The Mods
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Cat lady - are you at a major center where your MO was ok to remove the primary and do chemo? A few of the other de novo ladies on here the standard is to go with hormone therapy and no surgery.
But I agree with your observations about the long term (to me that is over 8+ or so) ladies its a combination of factors like having one met discovered after treatment just by chance or HER2+ responding well.
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Catlady, the Bone Mets thread is very active.
Go to this link and ask your same questions. I think you will get better responses!
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Hi Crazycatlady, I have aggressive, Luminal B like you. When I was first diagnosed, my BC was going at 100mph. Long-term remission is ideal and I hope that is exactly what you get. But even if it is not, there is still hope to be around for a long, long time, co-existing with mets. I am 5.5 years into bone and liver met diagnosis and was FILLED with mets in all my bones and throughout my liver when I was diagnosed. I have been on many treatment lines but have managed to continue working full time, maintain most of my lifestyle since before dx and still very few people even know I have stage 4 and am on treatment. There is someone else on the boards who has had liver mets for what must be around 10 years now and has never been NED. She usually checks in once per year to let us know how she is doing but isn't around here regularly.
It is frustrating to see that the durable, long-term remissions do seem to come more frequently in HER2+, micomets or oligometastatic mets, indolent hormone positive and more recently, small pockets of triple negative or other types with mutations or other genetic alterations that respond to immunotherapy. Herceptin was a game changer for HER2+. It just took one drug to change the prognosis for HER2+. I am hoping that drug is in the pipeline for us. It just takes one treatment!
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