Survivors Needed

Kay,

Congrats on 3 years!! Woohoo

TripleTip,

Love to hear from those who are 5 years.

Thank you for sharing the all important 5 year mark.
Like your "Thankful and living in the present".

With positive thoughts and wishes for health and happiness.
Grateful for today.............Judy

Kay and TripleTip,

Dear Triple Tip,

Lillie -

Dear miss302

I am just a baby survivor at 2 years plus, but I thought I'd mention my aunt, who is 15 years cancer free since finishing chemo, and good friend, who is NED 8 years after being treated for a local recurrence.  Both had TNBC.  I am looking forward to posting about myself on this thread when I am eligible to join the 5-year club!!

I am NED as of September 2, 2011. Scans this week. Start new job Monday. No boyfriend, though...looking around a little. Daughters still absent. Lots of new wonderful friends, though---my new family. Every day is a gift. I am changing me in every way I can; the past way of doing things didn't work out so well and now I have another chance. 

I figure some of you tire hearing of me. Thanks Steve, for the encouragement. I was dx in Feb. 2001 . That was before they named TN. I only knew what I didn't have and I didn't fit with the rest. My stats are listed so I won't go over that detail. My dx was just prior to sentinel node becoming routine. They did shoot the dye but took 13 nodes feeling "better safe, than sorry" .  Because of the size of my tumor I think they expected a worse prognosis. My surgeons exact words were " you don't know how lucky you are." Protocol for the day was only 4 tx, no ports, no decadron, no DD. 11 years ago this month I finished tx. Good luck to you all. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Kirby - Listen up!  I'm ABSOLUTELY sure I speak for everyone!  There's NO WAY in HELL(O Operator) we could EVER tire of your story!  The encouragement and joy it brings us is as good as it gets.  Keep telling it.. WE LOVE hearing your 11 years and counting.  You're a HUGE inspiration girl! 

Another long-term success was my own dear mom.  The BRCA1+ gene was inherited from her side of the family.  Her father, my granddad was of Ashkenazi descent.  When Mom was 38 or 39 (still not certain) she was diagnosed with BC from a palpable breast lump that cropped up overnight while in the hospital recouping from back surgery.  The surgeon did not pass go and went straight away into surgery.  She doesn't even remember signing a consent to do the radical mastectomy (the entire breast... plus tissue, nodes & muscle from under the arm).  I recall back then it was indeed a radical surgery and it took her years to recover use of her arm.  Since TN had no name and they knew little about negative hormone receptor bcs or the BRCA mutation, the other breast was never removed.. She never had a recurrence or new growth there though!  No 'after drugs' were taken.   I remember how barbarically harsh the treatment was back then. They gave her massive doses of radiation. (didn't treat w/chemo back then) Her hair texture changed & thinned out.. she had severe burns all the way through to her back.  All of this to say she survived almost 30 years until she developed leukemia- AML. 


Edited by mindy555 - Jul 19 2012 at 4:52pm