Cured?!

I'm a member of the Cancer Survivors Network (and Breastcancer.org), and I am having a hard time with the actual title.

Every time I hear someone use the term 'cancer free' it makes me shutter because once you are diagnosed with breast cancer you never know when or if it will return. NED (no evidence of disease) is the terminology oncologists use when it comes to breast cancer. Some of the members in the discussion boards use the term 'cancer free' and either their doctors haven't taken the time to explain 'cancer' to them or they are suffering from self-induced denial. Who am I to judge them? Nothing in life is 'free' ...

If my tone is a bit sarcastic, forgive me. It's been a long day and I can't sleep. Insomnia is very common - so I've been told.

NED - another term to add to my cancer glossary.

Most cancer survivors aren't considered 'cured' until they reach the 5 yr mark but even then there are incidences of cancer returning after those 5 years.

When Dr. Frazier drew a picture of a breast and the location of my tumor on a yellow piece of paper, he mentioned the '5-year' recurrence rate of cancer. I asked what the 10 and 20 year rates were.

Some cancers use a 5-yr benchmark - if you make it past 5 years you're cured. Breast cancer does not have that assurance. You can have a recurrence after 6 years, 10, 15, etc.

My name is Irene Atsatos and I am 27 days old. My life after my mastectomy ...

As I mentioned in prior posts, this second lease on life has made me appreciate every waking hour more. I take nothing for granted. Nothing.

Everybody is walking under the shadow of death, people who have never had to battle cancer just aren't aware of the shadow. There isn't anything I or other breast cancer survivors can do about it, there is no guarantee that it won't return. Doesn't matter if your stage 1 or stage 3. 30% of women and men (yes - men get breast cancer) will have their cancer return. There is no cure for stage 4. We must take solace in knowing that 70% never have a recurrence. All we can do is hope for the best. (Source: American Cancer Society and Metavivor.org - a site for patients diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer).

If your tumor is ER+, PR+, or HER-2+, you are prescribed hormone blockers or Herceptin to 'lower' the risk of cancer coming back.

When I start taking Arimidex my risk of a recurrence will be 4 percent.

When Janice is finished with her chemo treatments, she will also take Arimidex. Her risk of a recurrence will be 12 percent. She had a malignant tumor removed from her right breast 10 years ago. She chose a lumpectomy, radiation and Tamoxefin. She had 'no evidence of disease' until a couple of months after reaching the 10 year mark.

There are no guarantees. All we can do is enjoy life to the fullest, pay very close attention to our bodies, and get our cancer screening tests done on a timely basis.

It's almost 4:00 am. I will try to get some sleep (key word: try).

Good night!