How do you know when your anniversary date is?

dash · January 2008

Do you count from your mammo, biopsy, surgeries, start or end of chemo. Is there a general consensus on this or is it up to each of us to choose our own significant date? Do you consider all the post meds--AIs, tamox to be part of your cancer treatment? Or do you feel treatment ends after surgery, rads, chemo....? According to my onc, after 5 years of tamox, I'll be switched to x amount of years on an AI.

I'm always thrown slightly when someone asks me if I've finished treatment and there I am nippleless and prematurely hot flashing.

twink · January 2008

I have several anniversary dates.. when I found the lump, when I was diagnosed, when I started/ended chemo, when I had the bilateral mastectomy.... all are important to me. The one I hang my hat on though is the anniversary of completion of treatment. That's a little simpler for me given the triple neg status but, NED from that point on and counting.

carolsd · January 2008

I use the date I heard "unfortunately, it's cancer." I read and heard that a lot of people use their date of diagnosis as their "survival" date so I went with it. But there are no hard and fast rules.

Pharmmom · January 2008

I go from the day of the mastectomy when they took it out. That was November 2002. I did 8 rounds of chemo after it. So this coming year I'll be out 6 years in Nov. The good part is that the longer I go the less I really think about it. Its not the main factor in my life anymore. I have alot to look forward to and I plan on doing as much as I can. I hate cancer and I will not let it rule me!

Member_of_the_Club · January 2008

The American Cancer Society says date of diagnosis and that makes a lot of sense to me. Not all cancers are "removed", some are controlled instead, but those folks are still surviving. This is true for breast cancer as well. So I always count date of diagnosis.

dash · January 2008

Thanks gals but what's meant by diagnosis? When I got the results of the biopsy which unknown to us didn't show the invasive cancer? Or is it after my bilateral pathology report that gave me the true diagnosis?

If I were to go with my instinct it would be after my bilateral in August because it was that pathology report that changed everything. I don't remember how long after the surgery I received the results so I guess I would go with August 9th(the actual surgery date)

Sounds fair?

Pharmmom · January 2008

Dear Member of the Club,

I agree! Not all are "removed but controlled". I hope I didnt offend anyone. I did not intend to. Anyone that lives with this disease is a survivor.

Barb

Anonymous · January 2008

Bay, I've often wondered this same thing about the anniversary date. I had surgeries, chemo & radiation and I consider my last day of radiation my anniversary date even though I'm taking Tamoxifen. Everyone is different but for me the end of radiation represented a small turning point in this madness.

dash · January 2008

Hi Kathy, yes, I think we all have our significant moments so it seems like a good idea to mark my anniversary date with what feels right--because as I pointed out--I'm not sure what would be considered as my actual date.

Some of us may even have a few, like Twink and, I think, me. Because for some reason, the date of my original (disastrous) ---and first--- screening mammo stands clearly in my mind as significant, too. I'd say that was the start of it all.

marshakb · January 2008

I use the surgery date. That is the day I consider myself 'cancer-free". I think any date you choose if fine, depending on your situation.

How do you know when your anniversary date is?

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